Makeup on Kilimanjaro
It’s not every day someone summits Mount Kilimanjaro wearing a full face of makeup—false lashes included. However, it made sense for Toni Ko, founder of NYX Cosmetics and Bespoke Beauty Brands, a beauty incubator for personalities and influencers looking to build their own cosmetics empires.
“I’m proud of being a woman. I’m proud of being in the beauty industry,” Ko shared. She reached the peak of Kilimanjaro on September 12 after a grueling seven-day hike. “Someone like me may seem very unconventional, doing the kinds of things that I do, but it is a misconception that you can’t be girly and rough and tumble at the same time.”
Ko hasn’t always been an outdoor adventure-seeker. It wasn’t until the last few years that she began embracing the power of connecting with nature while pushing her mental and physical limits to the next level.
“It just gets me excited. I get energized, and I get happy,” Ko explained about her newfound love of outdoor activities.
Choosing Kilimanjaro
Ko, describing herself as more of a “mental athlete” than a physical one, took on the challenge of climbing to the top of the world’s highest freestanding mountain as part of a larger “say yes” year.
“One of the reasons I started planning Mount Kilimanjaro is because I turned 49 this year, and I decided that I was going to have one year of saying ‘yes’ to everything,” Ko explained.
After reading about the destination in various books and hearing about it through conversations with friends, she knew it was her time to take the first of many steps. Consequently, she embarked on a journey with the luxury travel company Scott Dunn, which also included a five-day safari before the trek.
“I believe the universe was just waiting for me to be at the right mental and physical stage to tackle Kilimanjaro,” Ko noted.
Hiking the Lemosho Route
Every day, Ko and her fellow hikers woke up before dawn to enjoy breakfast prepared by the crew’s chef. Following this, they would begin their daily six-hour hike, backed by a dedicated team of over 60 porters and guides—a feature of the Scott Dunn trip.
While there are shorter options to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, Ko and her group chose the eight-day Lemosho Route. Not only is this trail less crowded, but the longer itinerary also allows the body more time to adjust to the altitude, significantly enhancing hikers’ chances of successful summiting to about 90%. Ko credits her summit success largely to the group’s head guide, Charles Obed, from A-Team, a local Tanzanian operator.
“There’s me before going up the mountain and myself coming down from the mountain,” Ko remarked. “I will forever be a changed person, thanks to Charles.”
Reaching the Top
As Ko struggled to hike through the cold and early morning darkness on summit day, battling altitude sickness, the crew kept singing and encouraging her until she reached the peak.
“So many times I felt like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t, it’s impossible for me to take another step,'” Ko explained. “I almost tapped out, but every time I just kept reminding myself that I get to do this. I have two legs. Fortunately, I get to take another step. I can push forward. I can do it.”
Although Ko was the last of her group to reach the summit, the victory was just as sweet. After a few photos at the top, Ko descended the mountain feeling transformed. These changes and life lessons have remained with her, and she believes they are here to stay.
“I’ve already applied these lessons [back home] because they’re engraved in my soul and my mind,” she said.
With ample time before her 50th birthday in April 2023, Ko expressed her intention to keep seeking new challenges and adventures that help her live life to its fullest. “We have one life, and if you live only one version of life, that is so one-dimensional, right? I don’t want to go to my grave having lived only one dimension of life,” Ko asserted. “I want to experience multiple dimensions—the goodness, the juiciness of life, but I also want to experience the hardship and the tough parts.”
