Dubois Road in Nairobi’s CBD is every slay queen’s paradise.
Every day from 9 am to 5 pm hundreds of slay queens and thousands of Kenyan women in general flock to the street for cheap make-up products and weaves.
You will see a lady breaking hearts and necks in the popular clubs within the city and think to yourself that she looks like a million shillings and this is all thanks to Dubois. For as little as ksh.1,000, a regular looking lady will look like Kim Kardashian.
The merchants there make 100% profit from their sales of counterfeit make-up from the big brands like MAC, Maybelline, Black Opal, Urban Decay, Kylie and other enviable international brands.
Whereas authentic stores for these products exist within the city, the prices differ immensely and cannot be afforded by the normal mwananchi. Where foundation that is authentic may range around ksh.6,000, it retails at KSH.500 in Dubois.
From uptown to downtown, no normal functioning lady who likes a good bargain hasn’t been to Dubois. The products sold in the stalls vary from make-up to hair wigs and jewellery as well. You can get a good looking wig for as little as ksh 1,500, imagine that!
Despite the repercussions that counterfeit beauty products pose to consumers, Nairobi ladies are throwing caution to the wind for the experience to look like movie stars.
Influencers in Nairobi are further promoting the businesses there with ‘beauty on a budget’ videos they release every so often in the market described by others as the ‘black market for beauty products’. Dubois is a favourite for our celebrities from Joanna Kinuthia who btw has her own cosmetics line to Yummy mummy and many more.