Okemena Kezia E.

Yesterday I cried (happy hormonal tears) because God has been so good to me. The past few months have been back to back blessings and I am so grateful. I remember this time 2.5 years ago, I questioned my entire career. It had always been a struggle for me to focus and choose a path, because if you know me you know that I’m interested in MANY things. I didn’t want to make a decision. I didn’t think I wanted to lead or scale a fragrance brand. I tried to leave Nigeria and abandon this business, but for some strange reason it kept growing and we kept getting new customers. God’s hand showed up; so I met Him halfway and prayerfully poured my all into it. When CNN reached out to me, I thought it was spam and ignored the email for a few days, until I remembered that I prayed for this and Jesus never makes mistakes. At the beginning of this year, the Lord told me to talk less and let the fruit speak on my behalf and I’ve been doing pretty well so far… As I enter into my month of rest, I just want to publicly give God all the glory for how he has shown me unmerited favour and love. Furthermore, I know that He doesn’t bless us for us to keep quiet about it. The test is for the testimony. I want to remind you all to leave it at the altar; every worry, every business idea, every relationship, every health situation. He is in the story, He knows what He’s doing and His word never fails.

I’ve been wanting to do a post to remind you of my ‘why’ so here goes: In summer 2017, I was the most depressed I had ever been. It had been a year since I moved to Lagos, Nigeria, after facing crippling unemployment in the UK. I had just left a 9-5 working at a Nigerian advertising company and decided to delve into running my family’s fragrance and scent marketing business full-time. To others, the pivot seemed brave and promising, but truthfully, I was very lost in life. My family and I were dealing with premature grief from watching my cousin's condition deteriorate, as he battled with a terminal cancer. I didn’t feel fulfilled in my mental health, career or relationships, and felt like I was edging closer to 30 with nothing to show for it. I would scroll online and see so many highlights; people soaring in their careers, getting married, buying their first home. Yet, nobody was talking about their life behind the idyllic scenes and this bothered me. That’s when I had a spiritual awakening and God called me to create a platform that showcased the real reel- @thel8bloomers . A place where individuals can share their truth unashamedly and become vulnerable enough to connect with like-minded people whilst receiving coaching and blooming together in the process. My personal pain gave birth to my purpose and kick-started the most beautiful self-discovery journey, where I’ve decided to take control of my narrative for the best, and live a full life in return. Now, I coach people on how to do the same. Creating a life that puts your mental wellbeing and authentic story at the forefront of everything you do. My ‘why’ gives my life meaning. It’s why I’ve decided to keep going, It’s why I wake up everyday convicted in the knowing that if I’ve impacted one person’s life positively, it’s enough. Now, over to you…what’s your ‘why’? If you’ve yet to figure this out and want to know where to start…my DMs are open. ❤️ Photography: @kylebabb (we snapped this summer and I’m here for it!) Assistant: @pursustudio Make Up: @radiancebyalicia @tonalcosmetics Dress: @notisaidthekat_

The story of @cececascents goes beyond me…Our brand was started in 2013 by my dear Carolla during a really difficult time in our family. My mum felt God call her to find a way to set up something back at home (Nigeria) and Cececa was the seed that she planted. When we first launched, I was registered as one of the directors. At the time, I remember thinking “Now why am I in it?” (Nene voice) I was 22, still struggling to find my path in the world, tbh I hated where I was in life and having to work with family was the last option I wanted to take. I used to resent it and fed myself with the excuse that; “Cececa isn’t really my baby, I was just the elder sister who had to nurture and hold it together ” However, the reality is that it held me. This brand has been a light to my life in the darkest times, an avenue to nurture my creative passion for fragrances and marketing. My business school, one of my outlets and even my personal VC i.e. @thel8bloomers would cease to exist without it. Some of you have seen my journey, and earlier this year was rough. I was low-key looking to close because there were so many internal issues and I felt like I didn’t have the capacity to overcome. However, God is funny because our client list surprisingly kept expanding, so where was I really going? Looking back, I didn’t understand the importance of legacy building. There’s something about when God’s hand is on something and sometimes it takes perseverance to see his blessed plan. Producing our own line of candles is a dream I didn’t think I could ever lead to reality, and these product shoot images really made me cry ugly tears. It has been an honour to fall back in love with building our brand. I’m grateful to my team who have helped us get to this phase of growth. Thanks to the customers who have stuck by us and trusted us to enhance their brands through the power of fragrance. It’s my pleasure to introduce our first locally produced candle; representing the light of a lasting legacy that we hope to bring to the world via Nigeria. I’m looking forward to Cececa being a household name ✨ Available online 17th November 2022. In loving memory of Uche 💕 #stillwebloom

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Notes at Dusk - a Homecoming Experience was one of those nights where everything just came together. Good people, real laughter, and moments you didn’t have to think about, you just enjoyed them. If you’d like to be part of the next one, sign up through the link in our bio to receive an invite. 📹 @wearepema #banquetseason #cececa #cececascent #homecomingexperience notesatdusk

2026 is off to a beautiful start for us at Cececa as we celebrate the opening of our flagship store ✨ For the first time, we’ve opened our doors to fragrance lovers who can now experience our home fragrances in person - explore them and leave with the scents you love. Thank you to everyone who joined us for the launch. The event marked years of hard work, intention, community, and a dream finally becoming reality. We’re so excited to welcome you into our world.🤍 Shop in-store at: 📍 Shop 1, Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos. 📷 @rockyemmyphotography

The Fruit speaks… Still overwhelmed, yet so grateful to my Heavenly Father and my awesome tribe. 2025 ended on a high. 2026 we’re so ready!! 🎥 @g.o.dstudios_

1. Rest is imperative- do less, rest more. You miss out on nothing when you show up fully rested. 2. It takes a village; allow your helpers to empower you. Establish a collective. Nothing of value is built alone. Remember that you’re building to serve others first and foremost. 3. God cares a lot more about it than you do. Try not to force things. He knows what you need and desire. He’s always working it out behind the scenes. 4. Forgiveness is a journey, so get on board. Some days are easier than others, but it’s lighter to walk in love. 5. Some things are for prayer alone. Don’t speak too much, spend time with your issues in prayer- It changes things. 6. Faith without works is really dead. Get to doing great things. Pursue your dreams and watch doors swing wide open in your favour. 7. If you’re not feeding your mind you’re falling behind. Give your mind the diet it deserves and stay watchful and alert that you don’t feed it poison. 8. Learning is not a spectator sport. Get in the arena and test it out. 9. Wear the fragrance- stop waiting for special occasions to leave every room better than you found it. 10. You don’t have to look like what you’ve been through. Stay fabulous always. Dress by @torloweiworld 11. The Bible says most of this and more… read it.

Brick by Brick 🧱

Mena Emuh launched the Nigerian fragrance company Cececa in 2013 to create signature scents for brands across Africa and abroad #CNNAfricanStartup

To God be the glory…We’re on CNN! 🎉 This is a huge milestone moment for us, and we’re so proud to share it with you. 🤍 Our CEO, Mena Kezia @menakez , sat down with CNN to share how Cececa became a leading name in scent branding, not just in Nigeria, but across Africa 🌍 It’s been a journey rooted in a passion for creating multisensory environments, empowering careers, crafting bespoke fragrances for brands and homes, and using scent as a tool to strengthen brand identity and elevate everyday experiences. This feature is a celebration of over a decade of our relentless vision, local craftsmanship, and scent innovation. ✨ Thank you to @CNN for choosing to spotlight our story, and the amazing crew for bringing it all together 🎥 Watch the full feature now via the link in our bio - we can’t wait for you to see it! Outfit: @pepperrow #cnn #cnnfeature #luxuryfragrance #wecareforyourair #cececa

2025 - The year I will let The Fruit speak. 🫶🏾