The John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in Onikan, Lagos, glowed with energy as the sun dipped behind the city skyline. It was October 2025, and the maiden edition of the Tacha Beauty Festival was underway. The air was filled with music, laughter, perfume, and the soft buzz of hairdryers. Inside, something far greater than makeup artistry was unfolding - history in the making.
Anita Natacha Akide, fondly known as Tacha, had transformed her festival into a world stage. What began as a celebration of creativity and entrepreneurship soon evolved into an audacious attempt to set not one, but two Guinness World Records. By the end of that weekend, the world would know that a Nigerian woman had just rewritten the global beauty narrative.
The Tacha Beauty Festival wasn’t designed as just another social event. It was a movement, a gathering to celebrate African creativity, elevate young entrepreneurs, and amplify the voices behind Nigeria’s booming beauty industry. The three-day festival featured masterclasses, exhibitions, fashion showcases, music, and live makeovers. But the highlight came when Tacha, ever the bold visionary, decided to attempt something extraordinary: a 24-hour marathon of cosmetic transformations that would test her endurance, artistry, and willpower.
With cameras rolling, judges observing, and supporters cheering from behind the glass panels, Tacha got to work. Every brushstroke carried precision. Every model that took a seat before her became part of a larger story, one about ambition, faith, and focus. The first milestone came after eight intense hours. She had completed eighty-two makeovers, setting her first Guinness World Record for the most cosmetic makeovers in eight hours by an individual.
But she didn’t stop there. The lights stayed on through the night as fatigue set in, yet she kept going, blending, brushing, smiling, pushing through the haze of exhaustion. After twenty-four relentless hours, Tacha had transformed one hundred and forty-four faces. It was a triumph of skill, endurance, and spirit. She shattered the previous world record of 111 makeovers, setting a new global benchmark and securing a second Guinness World Record title.
For many, it was a record. For Tacha, it was proof of purpose. “This record was born from resilience and courage,” she said afterward, surrounded by an emotional team. “I wanted to show that Nigerian women can achieve anything they set their minds to, that our creativity and drive deserve global recognition.”
The achievement was deeply symbolic. Setting the record in Lagos, Africa’s cultural heartbeat, gave it a resonance that went beyond cosmetics. It was about representing Nigerian excellence on the world stage, proving that beauty is not superficial; it’s a language of power, artistry, and identity.
Those who attended the festival remember the moment vividly: the beauty of the night at 3 a.m., the crowd counting down as she completed her final makeover, the tears, the cheers, the confetti. The makeup brushes may have rested, but what lingered was something profound, a shared sense of national pride.
When the Guinness World Records certification arrived, it confirmed what everyone present already knew: that Tacha had turned a local celebration into a global statement. From reality TV fame to record-breaking legacy, she had evolved from star to symbol of ambition, endurance, and unapologetic Nigerian brilliance.
As the festival ended and the last lights dimmed, Lagos carried a new kind of glow. The Tacha Beauty Festival had done more than showcase cosmetics; it had painted a portrait of courage. And at its heart stood a woman who dared to dream loud enough for the world to hear.
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