20 Fairlady/September 2019Website:www.ajelessafrica.com
Instagram:@ajeless_africa_cosmetics
Facebook:@ajelessafricaEntrepreneurs
for darker skin tones, Astrid found
that many of those were European
made, and often unaffordable. ‘I
felt that it was time we started
producing and profiting off our
own stuff. As Africans we aretaught
that if you’re going to learnsome-
thing, you learn it from Europe.’
Astrid began conceptualising
the business in 2015 and launched
the first 10 shades of lipstick in- Since then, she has launched
nail polish, matte lipsticks and
lip glosses. ‘I did my research;
Iwanted to createabrand that
catered for the women of Africa
and also for the harsh African
climate,’ she says. Ajeless lipsticks
have an SPF of 15. ‘The reason
is because when it’shot,it’svery
hot. When it’scold, it’svery cold.
The SPF not only protects the skin
from the harsh sunlight, but also
moisturises the lips.’
The name behind Astrid’sbrand
is representative of female power.
Ajeless isacombination of her,her
mother’sand grandmother’snames.
‘AJ is for Astrid Jonker,LEisfor
Lehane, my mother’sname, and ES
is for Esme, which is my grand-
mother’sname and also my second
name. The rest of the letters are
just for spelling purposes!’
The products are manufactured
in alocal lab. Astrid explains that
beingalocalbrand sets her apart
from other brands, who buy the
finished product and slap their
name on it. ‘What we do is we
develop it.Wego to the lab and
see how it’smade.Wedevelop it
from the ground up,’ she says.
Astrid then tests them on
herself and ensures that they are
cruelty-free and well priced
before putting them into retail.
‘I’ve always wanted my prod-
ucts to be affordable,’ she says.
Having had experience in
retail makeup artistry,Astrid
knew whatmostwomen liked and
the coloursthey generally went
for.Her aim was not just to make
women feel good but also to make
them feel powerful, and make
women of colour feel represented.
‘I’ve seen that when I’m doing
women’smakeup andIput on
that lipstick, it’slike something
happens to them. They feel good.
They could have been havingabad
day until then, but that lipstick
transforms them and they feel
good,’she says.
‘Wealways say it’sfor thewomen
of South Africa, for the women
of colour that we have as the face
of the brand–but women of any
colour can use our products.’
Astrid has big plans for Ajeless,
which includes introducing
foundations inafew years and
having her products sold in local
retail stores.With agrowing
following in Australia,she has
dreams of seeing her product sold
all over the world. ‘When the
foundations come, they’re going to
be atotalgame changer,’ she says.
‘Weare growing fast and we are
going international.’
With her mother as her biggest
support system, Astrid has been
able to overcome any challengesshe’s
encountered. But, she says, ‘even
though I’m doing this for women,
I’ve been knocked down by wom-
en: people arecompetitive, but you
have to remainprofessional. There
are always problems, but what
makes youagood businesswoman
is how you get back up from that’.
For Astrid, it is all about taking
risks. ‘You have to always strive to
be authentic because people pick
up on that. They can feel when
you’re not being authentic.’bia Ghoor
tarted what
ould become
wiitch Beauty
hen she was
ust 14. ‘I was in
Grade eight,’ she says, ‘and a
straight-A student in everything
other than maths, but at the time
it was an escape;Ihad this cool
thing on the internet thatIwas
doing, away from the real world.’
The brand is aimed at Gen Z
and millennial customers looking
for high-end beauty products at
affordable prices. While surfingthe
web, she discovered theYouTube
beauty community,and noticed
agap in the market.
Her vision?Alocalbeauty
brand withadesire to include the
customer in the creation process.START-UP COSTS:‘My father
lent me R6000.Ipaid him back in
three months and haven’t
borrowed from anyone since!’
TURNOVER:‘Wenow have
abeautiful office in Pretoria with a
team of six and do multi-city pop-
up tours to engage with customers
and sharethe brand experience.’SWIITCH
BEAUTY
RABIA GHOOR