How One Beauty Maven Cares for Her Skin

With nearly 30k followers across her social platforms, lifestyle and beauty vlogger Fumnanya Ekhator—aka Maha Maven—has been empowering women around the world since 2013. On her blog, Maha Maven, Ekhator shares beauty, style, and wellness tips, and encourages women to be unapologetically true to themselves. “You are an expert at being you,” her mission states. “It’s about teaching women to be and look their best, and assert their best selves to the world. No apologies, and no questions asked.”

Being so involved in both the makeup and skin care world, we were curious to hear about what Ekhator’s skin care routine looks like and—much to our surprise—it turns out she likes to keep things simple. “That being said, I am a product junkie,” she says. “So I’m always trying something new!” Ahead, Ekhator gave us the breakdown on how she cares for her skin morning and night.

STEP ONE: CLEANSE

Ekhator, like many others, is a sonic cleansing enthusiast. Every morning to cleanse her skin, she uses a Clarisonic cleansing brush with Kiehl's Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash, a gentle, soap-free cleanser. At night, she reaches for fan-favorite micellar water, Garnier's SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water All-in-1 Mattifying, to remove her makeup. “Micellar water has changed my life,” Ekhator says. It’s safe to say the cleansing liquid is a product she simply can’t live without. And with all of the benefits a few sweeps of micellar water can provide, we don’t blame her!

STEP TWO: TONE

After properly cleansing her skin, Ekhator always follows up with a toner. One of her favorites is Kiehl's Calendula Herbal Extract Alcohol-Free Toner. Applying toner is a great step to take for your skin since many formulas—the good ones, anyway—can help refresh and balance the skin, as well as ensure any lingering impurities after cleansing are whisked away. Hear that, toner naysayers?

STEP THREE: MOISTURIZE

As a last step, Ekhator hydrates her skin with La Roche-Posay's Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer UV with SPF 30, which she received compliments of the brand. “I always use a moisturizer formulated with SPF,” she says. “This is very important, even for those with dark skin and especially after cleansing and exfoliating.”

There’s no denying that Ekhator loves to care for her skin, but she made a point to explain that beauty—in her opinion—is not just about what’s on the surface. “Drink water, eat well, and work out,” she advises, “focus on being a healthier you and your beauty will radiate from within.” Most importantly, Ekhator urges readers and fans to smile more simply because “everyone looks good smiling.”

We can’t argue with that.