Empress Njamah is one interesting character any day, any time. The talented actress apart from acting which she says is her first love is also an entrepreneur. In this interview, she spoke on her other passion, fashion among other things. Excerpts:
What have you been up to?
As you already know I have House of Empress Boutique based in Abuja. I have a spa. I have a saloon. And I’ve been working on so many things, my brands. My free times I do one or two movies. You see one thing with the movie, it’s always there. But what people don’t understand is that we also need a lot to fall back on. And then it’s not easy to start something like that and you just let it be. You have to work hard to see it grow. So far it is standing. I have a branch in Abuja. I also have another one in Wuse 2. So I’m coming to Lagos sometime soon. Lagos is clustered for me but it’s not an excuse. I’m still working on Lagos. I still need a lot of people to psyche me on that because it’s one place that I want to do this thing but there’s a of competition in Lagos. So, I’m actually taking my time? But I have loads of customers in Lagos that I bring stuff for more than every other place. But basically I love Abuja right now.”
Empress you have refused to ‘grow old’. Tell us about your beauty routine?
I try as much as possible to stick to a product. I’m not adventurous with beauty products. What a lot of people don’t understand is that it has to take over a year for a new product to work on you because it has to kill a lot of cells to get into the main skin. Most people start with trying to use something and it doesn’t work with one jar and they say it’s fake. People should learn to understand they need a lot of time to get into a particular product. I try as much as possible to moisturize. I can make do with any kind of soap. What I use for my face is what I use for my body. And I don’t do makeup all the time. Sometimes you need to allow the face to breath. I am this type of person if I’m not wearing makeup, I’m not wearing and if I am wearing, I am wearing.
What’s your favorite fashion item?
I can’t do without a lip gloss. I’m a hair person but I don’t go out of my way. But the thing I know I do that’s not the regular thing is that I wear like five p e o p l e ’ s hair at the s a m e t i m e . O v e r t h e years it has been m y style. M y h a i r has to be very full. And I can’t do without my claws. That’s why I don’t do epic movies. My nails, I call them claws. I can’t do without them. There was a time people were criticising me for not doing epic movies because I have the body for epic movie.
If you must do an epic movie can’t you take them off?
I can’t remove my claws. I can’t. My nail is me.
How do you eat Eba with them?
I eat Amala with them. I eat anything. I told you I’m an African woman, leave the nails. I can’t function without them but maybe with time like my publicist will say maybe when I have my baby.
How long have you being wearing your claws?
And what made you to start wearing them? Over 10 years. The first time I fixed my nails, they were acrylic and they were long for a character movie. After the movie it wasn’t easy to say I wanted to take them off, so being with the nails for over a week brought me into it.
What other fashion fetish to you have?
Oh I’m a freak. I have a shrine. I’m not kidding. You can ask like two or three people that know me; I have over three hundred perfumes.
Do you have a few favorites?
I wear masculine perfumes. I love strong perfume because they always have an after smell. And I’m not particular about the designers. I’m particular about smell. And I can never wear one perfume. I wear like three, four perfumes at a time so you definitely don’t know. And I’m that bad I can tell what someone is wearing, if you are wearing a known perfume. Perfume is me. I’m wearing a Tom Ford, Black Orchid, Eaudemoiselle de Givenchy, Poison,Trouble; I think I’m wearing over six. And I wear oil perfume most times. Most times when the weather is hot I use the oil perfume so that my skin doesn’t get burnt or affected. I love perfumes (laughs). That’s the only question I love answering.
Will it be right to say you are falling out of love for acting?
Do people ever fall out of love for what they know how to do best? When you say fall in and out of love, most people don’t fall out of love. They just let love be. We all have love in us. People only fall out of the wrong love. So if you are giving your love to the wrong person, you will definitely get it back.
I always try to make people understand that, not because someone says something out of depression then you let it stick to you. So you don’t fall out of it. A lot of us are born actresses or were made. So if you have it in there, it always going to be there. And then, the industry does not have an expiring date.
I could wake up tomorrow and say I’m not going to act for 10 years and after then I come back and act like a mother because of age and time. But it is still there. So there is always a role for everyone. There is no expiring date on things like that. I try to do the movies that are worth it. The industry is filled with squarepegs- in-round- holes. And most people don’t go far because they are loads of distraction once they come in. But basically, with where I have got to in the industry, I don’t think I should be everywhere. That’s the truth.
But you know yours is an actor’s family, aren’t you worried the name might fade away if you keep away?
A good name will always remain no matter what; if you are off for five years you will always be remember for your good works. So you don’t have to do 100 movies to be what someone wants you to be. I know someone that has done loads and loads of movie, once you don’t have the star trek you don’t have it. And you can do just one and that one is one. Okay, we all know Funke Akindele and we all know she’s been there all these years and she came up with this one movie that told a lot of story and that’s it! Even if for any reason Funke is not in the scene for a particular time, she will definitely be known for that work.
So what was the movie that gave you that limelight?
The movie that gave me my breakthrough is Girls Hotel. Till tomorrow I’m shocked that people still call me Tunika Robert. And when I hear it, I’m like e don tey.
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