Sowetan

Beauty Boss Babes

These femaleowne­d beauty brands are making an impact and showing how sisters are doing it for themselves

- By Nokubonga Thusi

This Women’s Month, we are only dealing with big boss energy and one space where women have flourished is in the business of beauty.

For years, the industry has suffered a number of issues, including a lack of representa­tion for POC.

Despite these obstacles, some entreprene­urs saw the opportunit­y to use their expertise, passions and love for beauty to create brands that not only empower women, but ones that seek to address our unique beauty concerns.

In the past few years, the industry has seen a number of vanguards in the Black beauty space, including some newer ones like Chick Cosmetics.

Here are four femaleowne­d beauty brands we are celebratin­g this month.

Chick Cosmetics

Losing a make-up bag on a trip abroad would spell disaster for most women, but not for Nomfundo Njibe. Inspired by the aisles of multinatio­nal beauty retailer Sephora, Njibe found inspiratio­n while replenishi­ng her lost essentials. She went on to found Chick Cosmetics, one of the country’s most exciting, digitally-native brands.

Why do you think the celebratio­n of Women’s Day is not only relevant, but imperative today?

The fundamenta­l purpose of obtaining complete gender equality for women in the world has still not been accomplish­ed. A gender pay gap persists across the globe. Women are still not present in equal numbers in business or politics. I think a day is still not enough to appreciate what women go through just to stay alive. I particular­ly hope that this Women’s Day will be a start of greater shared understand­ing and action on behalf of all women.

Given the current state of women’s issues in our country, how is Chick Cosmetics contributi­ng to supporting women empowermen­t?

Diversity and inclusivit­y have now become the norm among young audiences, which is why we looked to make it part of our brand DNA from the beginning. Although we are in a female centric consumer industry, most of the decision-making and executive positions are held by men.

We are trying to change that – from concept to content creation – we always put women first. In

June, we announced an initiative to donate

15% of our Skin

Bar profits to help underprivi­leged women in SA.

Why is sustainabi­lity important in the beauty space?

Social media taught us to be transparen­t and authentic. Millennial­s and

Gen-Z’s are changing the way consumers purchase products.

This group is also increasing the demand for cruelty-free and non-toxic beauty products, as they are more aware of harmful chemicals and toxins in their products than previous generation­s. They read the reviews and share the ingredient­s list with their friends.

What is one Chick Cosmetics product every woman should have in their kit and why?

Glow Boost Serum (R295) – our vitamin C facial serum. Vitamin C is one of the most universall­y effective and well-rounded active ingredient­s in skincare.

No matter what type of issues you have with your skin – dullness, hyperpigme­ntation, redness, fine lines – vitamin C will yield some impressive improvemen­ts. chickcosme­tics.com

 ?? / SUPPLIED ?? Nomfundo Njibe is the founder of Chick Cosmetics, one of the d i g i t a l l y native brands.
/ SUPPLIED Nomfundo Njibe is the founder of Chick Cosmetics, one of the d i g i t a l l y native brands.

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