September2019/Fairlady 19BYASHLEIGH ROMAN&SIMAMKELE MBANGAA
Entrepreneurs
BEAUTY
Most of the beauty products lining the shelves of our
bathrooms and vanities are conceptualised and created
overseas. But that’sall changing.Wespoke to two South
African women who have fearlessly infiltrated the industry
by creating their own local makeup brands.AJELESS AFRICA
ASTRID JONKER
STARTING UP:‘Starting out
was very expensive and it was
even harder to find labs that
would develop the products
for me.Inow knowwhy when
you go to makeup brands, they
charge you R300 foralipstick.’TURNOVER:2019 has been the
most successful year for Ajeless
since its inception in 2016. ‘We
have an online storeand that’s
wherepeople can purchase the
product. What we also do is
get influencers and bloggers
to boost sales and boost
awareness of the brand.’strid Jonker has
always been
fascinated with
beauty and
makeup. ‘When I
was younger I
would page through magazines and
wonder what made the models look
the way they did,’ she says. She
would watch her mother get ready
in the mornings and remembersher
always having an eyeliner,blush and
ox-blood red lipstick in her arsenal.
‘My mom taught me that when you
wake up, put on your clothes and
step outside, you must make a
statement.Youmust present yourself
in acerta in way to the world and
you must own it,’ she says.
Although entrepreneurship
wasn’tsomething she aspired to as
ayoung girl, it was something she
was destined for.‘In high school
Iusedtodomyfriends’ makeup
during break and charge them R5.My friends used to call me The
Hustler,’ she laughs.
After matric,Astrid studied
cosmetology,then makeup artistryat
the Make-Up Issue in CapeTown,
after which she entered the beauty
industry professionally by working
as amakeup artist for well-known
makeup brands for two years before
becomingafull-time freelancer.
During her time asamakeup
artist she couldn’thelp but notice
the lack of representation of people
of colour in makeup brands.
‘The faces of the brands were
always exclusively white females.
Ithought, how crazy would it be
if we showcased women of colour?
Because right now I’m not seeing
any of that. And thenIthought:
how amazing would it be to
have abrand that showcased
darker-skinned females–one that
was also an African brand?’
Although some brands do cater