14 DAY TRIAL // There’s a new beauty trend catching on in Africa, especially among female glamor models, video vixens, and socialites. A few days ago, Kenya’s very own Kim Kardashian, named Vera Sidika, went on the record with an admission that she’s had skin bleaching.
She actually prefers the term “skin lightening,” as you can see for yourself in the video embedded below, of her appearance on a show called #TheTrend.
Sidika is 24 years old and, just like Kim back in the US of A, she first gained attention for her very generous posterior. Photographic proof of the reason she’s so famous is also available above, in the form of a “belfie” (backside selfie) from her Instagram page.
She’s done work as a video vixen but she has come a long way from that: today, she describes herself as an entrepreneur, though she admits that most of the luxury items she gets to wear (shoes, handbags, and super expensive hair weaves) come from her very generous boyfriend, who just happens to be an oil tycoon.
Vera is also working on her own hair line and plans to open a boutique where you can just walk in and choose from the hundreds of weaves your ideal one. She’s also done some fashion, but the bulk of her income comes from paid appearances.
Now you understand where all these comparisons with Kim Kardashian come from.
However, unlike Kim, Vera has undergone a procedure that made her skin lighter in tone, and her admission has sparked a wave of concern and outrage among her fans.
However, she defends herself saying, “Looking good is my business. My body is my business, nobody else’s but mine.” Haters are going to hate no matter what she does, and if they choose to do it because she went for lighter skin, then she really doesn’t care what they have to say.
She’s not afraid that impressionable girls or young women who might look up to her would follow her lead either, saying that, just because the procedure worked for her, she’s not telling them they should get it too.
The secret is “to do it the right way,” she says. “Nicki Minaj and Rihanna did it. You just have to do it the right way,” Vera argues.
To make sure that nothing goes wrong, Vera flew all the way to the UK and had the procedure done with a specialist there. She estimates she (or her boyfriend, more likely) paid about $170,000 (€125,403) to have lighter skin, but she won’t detail what exactly the procedure consisted of.
If you have 20 minutes to spare and watch the video, you will see that Vera goes to extreme lengths to stress that she’s not advocating skin lightening, she’s just being honest about getting it done. She also talks about her parents and how they continue to support her in all her endeavors, and about how she’s living the life – which is why she decided to change the skin she was born in, to boost her profits and her public profile.
