Louisa Fever Today.......
Beautiful girl......
Before.....
The many faces of Ghana’s latest dancehall sensation Louisa Fever…
Paulina Opoku-Gyimah says: Life might be crazy for female celebrities in the West, but its even crazier in Ghana!!!!
Whilst their counterparts in England, America and France -say, are pampered, have the best of the best with regards to: stylists, MUAs, nutritionists, personal fitness instructors, manicurists, hairstylists, their own skin experts, choreographers, photographers, dentists, spiritual gurus, fashion designers et al -on speed dial, -Ghana’s hot new talents -[and the more established ones] have to make do, -unless they have a special [money] man -wink, wink, wink sponsoring them or they have travelled and might have an idea of what it takes to look good in front of the public…because there are no fashion stylists in Ghana...
Gone are the days when Ghanaian celebs could just wake up, shower, take the rollers out of their newly relaxed hair, wash their faces with black soap, cover themselves in Vaseline/shea or cocoa butter, shave their legs with a Bic razor, pluck their eyebrows and draw it back on with their market bought ‘very-good-black-eyeliner’, then use the same kohl pen to line their eyes, and again to draw a dark line [Mercy] around the contours of their lips, then colour in their lips with fire engine red.
Also, the ubiquitous stretchy black or red or purple man-made shiny material, ‘I’m-going-to-make-it-Dallas/Dynasty-one-shoulder-rara' dress…heavens preserve us oOo, -no longer works, -as every Nana Ama and Sister Serwaa is wearing them!!!!!!
With the likes of me/bloggers, social media, newspapers, magazines, gossip websites -and all 'that' crazy fascination with celebrity [culture], there's no escaping -not even in a country like Ghana, -the glare of the media -and the venomous tongues of some of its pundits!!!
Ghana based female celebrities fall into two camps..
The first camp is made up of the likes of: Lady Jay, Andrea Manuela -socialite and celebrated girlfriend of actor Chris Attoh, Agnes Ntow, Deborah Vanessa Owusu-Bonsu, Virna Michel -former model, socialite and wife of actor Majid Michel), Ajepomaa Mensah, Jojo Abot, accessories designer -Sandi Owusu, Jocelyn Dumas, film director -Leila Djansi and Sandra Ankobiah, just to name a few..
-And the second, -the ‘hit-and-miss-but-are-improving-brigade’ include the likes of: Raquel, Sala, Nadia Buari, Efya, Nana Ama McBrown, Mzbel, Mildred Wevelley Ashong aka Eazzy, Mimi and Kaakie, Bino et al, -now has another contender, -Louisa Fever. And like Nadia Buari and Kaakie, I really like her and feel that with the right team -she can go stellar!!!
A few of the Best Dressed in Ghana......
Singer Lady Jay on fine form….
Singer / Model / Socialite Deborah Vanessa Owusu-Bonsu looking her usual fierce -self…
Film director Leila Djansi looking ab fab...
Singer Jojo Abot
Some of the 'less' well dressed in Ghana....
Actress Nana Ama McBrown....
Singer Mzbel
Singer Bino.....
Mildred Wevelley Ashong aka Eazzy
I was writing a huge fun piece for fellow dancehall songstress, Kaakie and then I remembered Louisa Fever. A beautiful girl, just look at some of the above photos. Ghana’s latest singing goddess might lack that delectable innate stylish something, something of the first bash of Ghana based celebrities but like Nadia Buari and Kaakie, I believe that with the right people on board she can look hot.
Looking through LouisaFever’s photos her style struggles are evident.. A beautiful, fun gal, Louisa Fever has gone from wearing black weave-on to all out ‘Tema gal’ blonde ermmm hairstyle/wig/thingy and has also traded more natural looking make-up for ‘disco queen’ shiny, bright, look-at-me-I’m-about-to-blow-up-in-Africa make-up!!!
Its soooo not easy. The thing is …when you’re in the public eye -some will [always] like/love you -whatever you wear and others, -never, -just ask Accra based singer, Raquel!!!
So what’s a girl to do????? Well I don’t want to write another must do list, I’ve done one for Kaakie and I’ll post it soon enough - but in the meantime I think that La Fever needs to look at photos of the lady’s she admires and work out what they're doing right -and do the same!!!
When you choose to become an entertainer, you have to come correct -and the biggest part of that, apart from the talent, is to look good. And that means looking -flawless.
Sister Louisa Fever needs to work on her skin -because without flawless skin, her make-up will never look smooth!!!
She needs to aim for that lovely, clean, fresh, sleek look that the really well groomed -have.
Without working on making her skin as clear and as smooth as possible, her make-up whether its done well or not -will never look flawless.
Skin....
Miss Ghana contestant Nana Foriwaa Oppong is soooo beautiful. She has the most incredible skin, its flawless and glows. Even though she has next-door-eyebrows, she shows us how smooth, yummy, glowing dark skin looks -at its best…
***There are many answers to clear, glowing yummy skin... Drinking lots of water, getting at least eight hours sleep, exercising, eating properly etc ..but my number one must for skin, especially black is exfoliating.
If Louisa Fever wants beautiful skin, -she's going to have to get scrubbing at least twice a week. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. Louisa Fever can add a handful of common salt to her [foaming] face wash at least twice a week -to scrub away all that dead skin we all shed daily. If this isn’t done -black skin can look dull and ashy -and that's not a good look.
The following isn’t compulsory but will take her skin from ordinary to extraordinary..
After scrubbing or washing her face, Louisa Fever should spray her face with a water mist, and apply her moisturiser to seal in all that hydrating moisture. She will notice the difference in two week flat.
Hair.....
Smooth, glossy, healthy, shiny hair is a must for life in the public eye, thus Louisa Fever needs to work on her own hair. Louisa Fever loves weaves -who doesn't, but she needs to stick to black or dark brown weave-ons. In the above photos -La Fever's blonde weave has left her looking washed out and grey. She should also let go of that full head of weave look, -it looks soooo wiggy....
I can see from Louisa Fever’s photos that she loves blonde but I’m afraid that the only Ghanaian musician who looks good with said hair colour is rapper Tiffany [Hayden]. As you can see from above -blonde suits her and she looks good..Plus I think it helps that Tiffany's hair is natural and all her own!!!!
Natural Hair...
Firstly its best for Louisa Fever to ditch that full head of weave look, -its ageing, looks wiggy, beyond fake and I know some of you aren’t going to like this …but bar a few hot fashionistas -the majority of us sisters (and a growing number of special boys -wink, wink) with said look, -look a bit ermmm, dirty!!!! Plus if you get up close, some weaves stink -no? And I'm guessing that why most have us have gone natural /semi-natural, -so that we can wash [regularly] and go!!!!!
There are many fabulous black celebrities who are sporting natural hairstyles -right now, but my absolute favourite is Anglo-Zimbabwean, uber stylish chanteuse, shingai-shoniwa. She looks good, is is beyond fierce -and can carry any look; plus her natural hair hasn't hindered her sky rocketing successful singing career…Ghanaian musicians Lady Jay and Jojo Abot look good with their natural hairstyles…
Becca....
Ghanaian singer Becca is always on point with her beautiful natural hair...
Weaves...
Like models, female entertainers must never look like ‘ordinary’ women!!! Thus, smooth, glossy, healthy, shiny hair is a must for a life in the public eye, -so Louisa Fever needs to work on her hair. Note, there’s a big difference between good weaves and bad weaves. I love the above soft, beautifully weaved and relaxed hair by Accra’s premier hair salon -Beauty Bank (see past posts for the details)..
Singer Kelly Rowland always gives good weave…..I think that her hair -like the ones above look good because some of their own, well relaxed hair is left out..making it look soft, uber natural and less wiggy!!!
Bad weaves, terrible wigs and no, no lacefronts....
Lace fronts are a no, no. They look soooo wiggy and sad and uber street. There's really nothing [ghetto] fabulous about them, plus when even Beyonce can’t pull it off, no one can -or should!!! Please note Beyonce no longer wears lacefront wigs...
Good and Bad cornrows & plaits…
I like plaits as much as the next gal…but I like it to be uber neat, as smooth as possible and always done with dark/black hair unless you are Caucasian -then you should steer well clear of this hairstyle or use the same hair colour as your own…
Ignore this beautiful lady’s foundation -her plaits done by Beauty Bank, Accra Ghana is fab.....
Jada Pinkett Smith always gives good plaits…
Solange Knowles is fabulous -whatever.....
Personally, as a stylists I would never allow my client to go before her public with plaits or cornrows, its just too ordinary, too girl-next-door… But as I’ve seen Louisa Fever with said styles -I thought I’d put up what looks I think are acceptable and not…
Bad Bush Gal Plaits....
Why??
Why??
Plaited at the scalp then left out at the bottom -or whatever they call it -is just plain ugly… whether you use black or brown or blonde it’s the opposite of fabulously sleek and chic or natural and sexy hair -and looks sooo messy and I bet you -some of it can be found flying around their neighbourhoods!!!!
Why??
The photo below comes courtesy of Talk of GH -and is sooo painful to look at. How a group of beautiful young ladies with beautiful dark skin, --think they can put a clown load of cheap jagger-jagger, brightly coloured plastic hair extensions in their hair -and look good -is beyond me!!! It makes their hair look sooo dirty …sorry!!!
Hair I'm loving right now -as follows...
***Hair has to be smooth, sleek and bone straight or soft, natural and curly -and I'm truly feeling the latter -right now!!!!!
Make-up....
Bold Eyebrows, bold lips... I love this look and think it would flatter Louisa Fever...All La Fever needs is the right foundation -and she's good to go...
Bold eyes -nude lipsssss... Another trend that would look good on Louisa Fever.....
Flawless skin with lashings of eyelashes... I'm loving Teyana Taylor, one of my all time fave fashionistas' 60's make -up right now!!!!
ibrows...I’m going to share something that only a few black women really know; -that to look good, you have to look like a ‘Rich Bitch’ -and one of the BIGGEST tale tell signs that a women isn’t rich or stylish --is her eyebrows!!! It sounds crazy I know!!!
The thing is, like fashion eyebrows go in and out of fashion and right now its healthy, glossy, dark, rich bitch, thick brows (this look is in for most stylish women -all the time and transcends trends and fashion) -that’s in!!!!
LouisaFever’s ....I don’t know, ...over plucked then drawn back on….. back-in-the-day, Limann or should that be Acheampong’s regime eyebrows -are a real no, no -and she’s far from the only Ghana based celebrity with this problem.
The best example of what a black woman’s eyebrows should look like --are the ones sported by black high fashion models like Joan Small, Jourdan Dunn, Arleis Sosa and Sudanese models: Malaan Ajang, Nykhor Paul and Atong Arjok -and my favourite fashion icon ever, and someone I’d like to be like when I grown up, -uber socialite Genevieve Jones….
Joan Small
Arleis Sosa
I can’t think of any Ghana based model with said eyebrows (I wonder why -laughter) but we do have a few fierce celebrities based in Accra including uber beauties: Agnes Ntow and Virna Michel who sport thick, smooth, -face framing eyebrow....
Singer Lianne La Havas has beautiful eyebrows
The painted on eyebrow thingy......
I know many aspire to the above eyebrows, I am not a fan!!!! Louise Fever must aim for couture eyebrows -not this!! From afar, these eyebrows look thick and gorgeous, thus is quiet aspirational. But honestly …up close, its make-up over kill and says…this girl's not a natural beauty, thus the rest of her must be fake -tooo. This drawn on ‘gal-next-door’ eyebrow thingy will never be high-end, nor will its owner ever be found wearing couture -but I get why the masses love it.
The Nike eyebrows below are self explanatory.!!!!! The very opposite of high-fashion, ‘rich bitch’ brows, -this ghetto-gal-wants-Nike-but-can’t-afford-it brows are the first word in No, No, Fashion…
“Before she allows the world to judge her face, a woman is entitled to create it” Kenny Fraser
The Foundation to flawless skin….
Louisa Fever needs to find the right foundation for her complexion and work with a professional MUA....to create flawless skin and 'look'..like the ones below...
Black Beauty: Ghana's very own Kate M......
Fashion…..
Fashion Know How’s….
Firstly, …I know we Ghanaian women love our Louis Vuitton.. It really is the only monogrammed logo-logo, -bar Gucci’s GG’s that one can carry without looking too try-hard-and-desperate -and JJC!!!!
We Ghanaian women are so crazy for LV that some, even those you imagine can afford the real deal...buy fake, -mostly China-made wannabe LV’s.
We’ve all read about a certain high profile Ghanaian actress who’s been accused of carrying and selling fake Louis Vuitton bags -and the rumours concerning LV wanting to prosecute her!!! Thus my first advice to LF is to never buy/wear fake 'anything'…
Sandra Akonobiah
La Fever should make like Fashion 101 host, Sandra Akonobiah -shown above surrounded by her vast collection of LV goods, and only buy real Louis Vuitton and other designer goods.
Louise Fever should never carry a fake Louis Vuitton or any other designer handbag. She should never wear fake leather, be it shoes or clothes, -it looks cheap. Nor fake gold or silver, its better to invest in a pair of large gold hoop earrings than wearing loads of cheap wannabe gold and silver bits’n’bobs….
I suggest she commissions a couple of large REAL gold earrings from the two Accra based jewellers that have been featured on Ghana Rising and limit her accessories to -one custom jewellery or go mad with differing sizes of REAL wooden funky bangles, because, and it can be seen on Kaakie, -a cheap plastic pink bangle thingy looks just that, -cheap.
Accessories Galore….
Shoes are Us.....
I’ve seen a lovely but blurry photo of Louisa Fever out shopping for shoes, and I’ll suggest she goes for the really high sexy heels she presently enjoys but to aim for ones made from real leather -because whilst the masses might not care -there are those of us who can spot a cheap plastic wannabe leatherette skyscraper shoe thingy from a day away.
I hope the above sexy heels go some way to inform La Fever as to what shoes are hot -and will make an impact on the stage -right now… I suggest if funds are tight -for Louisa buy one wow-sexy-statement shoes and one hot but more classic, sexy pair of black heels -and make them work. She can always customise cheaper shoes with metal studs, chains, eyelets, paints, sequins, jewels etc…
Apart from staying away from fake designer goods, Louisa Fever should also stay away from the ubiquitous Ghana gal cheap stretchy, Lycra or spandex as they call it over the pond -dresses. They look cheap, plus everybody else will be wearing them…
Deborah Vanessa Owusu-Bonsu in 'that' Lycra body....
So its best to stay away from 100% Lycra -because even the ever fabulous Deborah Vanessa Owusu-Bonsu struggled to look good in this100% Lycra all-in-one-body thingy she has on above -and just manages to pull it off.
Note, Louisa can do 'stretchy' -they should be mostly cotton/viscose/jersey with under 10% Lycra or spandex or whatever.
Louisa Fever should and can do denim jeans with rock’n’roll t-shirt combo. Its sooo easy to get right. Because even a pair of cheap denim hot pants (cheap denim is the only cheap thing a celebrity can get away with) is better than stretchy 100% flammable leggings thingy!!!
If she does go cheap on the denim, -its all about customising it with studs and eyelets or embellishing it with jewels, crystals, sequins, leather or elegantly distressing or bleaching them, then then rest of her outfit -should be top quality .. See below for inspiration…
Hot and studded...
Painted...
The t-shirt should also be customised -because why should she look like anyone else?
Louisa Fever should think sexy and tight at the bottom (the jeans) and sexy and slouchy at the top (loose and slouchy can also be sexy) -so a one size bigger t-shirt or a thin slouchy sweatshirt -distressed with the neck cut away and maybe stretched a bit, embellished with studs, eyelets, jewels etc or just slashed and sexy.. She should wear it off one shoulder for a more rock ‘n ‘ roll look.. and add a detachable collars -maybe something really blingy, sparkly or mat…
Some fabulous pieces /ideas.....to inspire!!!!
This fierce chunky gold chain by Emefa Jewellery (Ghana) is sooo hot and will make any outfit POP!!!! http://www.emefajewellery.com/
https://www.facebook.com/EmefaJewellery
Be Inspired.....Anbuley
Ghana Rising fave, singer Anbuley always gets it right...https://www.facebook.com/anbuley
Wax print Dress by Ayikai Couture...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ayikai-Couture/112876252065938
This skirt is driving me crazy, its sooo hot!!!!
I love this dress by Shik Collection its sooo firece.. http://www.wix.com/akushik/shikcollection
Boxing Kitten's African wax print shirt and shorts with embellished details
Sparkly shorts are sexy...-no?
FAIR + True Fair Trade African print round neck jacket
Both by Anita Quansah London (www.anitaquansahlondon.com/)
**These two yummy pieces of jewellery (above) by Ghana Rising fave, Anita Quansah can be worn over a distressed t-shirt and sparkly shorts and uber high heels /sexy boots combo -or a bod-con dress like the strippey dress above. Then...all you need is attitude hair, fab pink lips and a pair of sexy shoobs (shoes that look like ankle boots).....
This removable collar can be worn over a pretty vintage or prom dress or t-shirt to add a bit of rock 'n' roll.... See Naana B's dress (below) -its perfect!!!!
Be Inspired -Ebony Bones.......
I've love Ebony Bones' style forever - https://www.facebook.com/iamebonybones
Fair + True's detachable collars.....
Helmut Lang leggings....
Dress by Shik Collection
https://www.facebook.com/ShikCollection
Dress by Naana B (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naana-B/275018469363)
Dress by MABM Designs (https://www.facebook.com/pages/MABM-Designs/256265614387633)
Sterling silver and Horn cuff by Emefa Jewellery Ghana.....
**Why not commission one of Ghana's textile mills to produce a wax print cloth designed by you!!! Then ask either Maa Akua Berko-Mensah of MABM Designs or Shika Geo-Glavee of Shik Collection to create a one-of-a-kind frou frou dress with said cloth? The dress can have a sweet heart neckline and lashings of brightly coloured delicate silk tulle peeping out from under the skirt -lovely!!!
Jojo Abot.....
***Why not.....wear a sexy t-shirt or sweatshirt as a dress (do buy a longer t-shirt etc and put a pair of small sequined shorts underneath) -or a vintage statement frock....and add loads of funky chunky [real] gold chains like the one by Emefa Jewellery [above] and some killer rough & ready studded boots or heels etc etc….
Be Inspired.....Cassie
Singer and all round sexy-gal-about-town Cassie is always on point.
http://cassie-ventura.com/
As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve done a full-on comprehensive piece about Ghana based celebs and what they can do to up their game and look good -and will share it soon!!! But in the meantime I thought I'd do this piece for Louisa Fever; not because she asked for my style advice but because I think she's talented -otherwise I wouldn't waste my time!!!
Right now style wise, Louisa is trying, but its not easy!!! -Especially when most of her music partners/management are men, -and we all know how Ghanaian/African men want their women to look; -and right now, sister Louisa Fever isn’t too far from this ermmm 'blonde-weave-on-Tema gal pink-eye shadow-and-lipstick-ambitious-Zongo-princess-newly-arrived-in-the-city look…
LouisaFever is talented and beautiful, -and she’ll be fine -and will one day, hopefully be feted with the likes of the first group -who can do fashion with their eyes closed, if not, -she must get herself a stylist -sharp-ish or risk becoming like most of Ghana’s female MC’s/singers/rappers/DJ/jump-up/whatevers.... -beyond ordinary and soon ---forgotten!!!
To keep up with all of Louisa Fever’s musical happenings visit her Facebook fan page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/LouisaFever-GH/241171235956904
Ideas.....
Check out Ashanti Brazil, Ayikai Couture and for cute dresses...
Try and work with Accra based MUA, Ashiakie Momo for a flawless look...
Visit Beauty Bank hair salon in Accra for ideas…
Charming shoes, happy to see them here. I also saw some at http://www.upere.com/upere-wedge-sneakers-c-1.html
ReplyDelete