Kenyan content creator and media personality Azziad Nasenya has been unveiled as Maybelline New York’s first Digital Spokesperson for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Azziad announced the news via social media with a clip from the launch, positioning the milestone as both a personal achievement and a broader cultural shift.
“This is history… I’ve officially been introduced as Maybelline New York’s Digital Spokesperson for Sub-Saharan Africa, and what makes this so surreal is that it has never been done before, not in Kenya, not in East Africa,” she said. “A global beauty brand choosing a digital voice from here to represent an entire region means we’re no longer just watching global conversations…”
With this new role, Azziad now joins a growing list of Kenyan figures who have fronted international beauty brands, including Lupita Nyong’o, who has served as a global ambassador for Lancôme, model Malaika Firth, who served as ambassador for the fragrance Dream and digital star Elsa Majimbo, who has collaborated with Fenty Beauty.
This isn’t the first time the New York-based beauty brand has worked with an African ambassador. In 2023, Maybelline tapped Nigerian singer Ayra Starr as spokesperson for the brand in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In her statement, Azziad said the move represented a bigger cultural shift.
“We are part of them, and for me, this is bigger than a title, it’s representation, it’s impact, it’s shifting how our beauty, our stories, and our faces are seen across Africa and this is only the beginning.”
KBC Digital has reached out to Maybelline for comment.
