Their shade of beautiful — from caramel to chocolate brown
A-Listers with Craig Jacobs
● It’s taken far too long but the beauty industry is finally picking up speed when it comes to rolling out products which reflect diversity and inclusion.
Take Nivea, the German personalcare brand founded in 1882, which has realised it can no longer take a onesize-fits-all approach when it comes to what we slather on our bodies.
On a gorgeous Thursday morning I was invited to the most charming of settings, a family farm in Muldersdrift called Ground, for the reveal of two additions to Nivea’s range of body lotions catering to “your shade of beautiful”.
Arriving at the venue, which boasts a forest and a vegetable garden, we are led through arches painted in different hues from caramel to chocolate brown, down a path and into a garden where cocktail tables are set up between daybeds and branded photo booths.
It’s there that I meet one of the most striking women in the country, Shudufhadzo Musida, the mental health advocate who wore the Miss South Africa crown in 2020.
Shudu gives me a warm hug and chats about her uplifting children’s book inspired by the Venda beauty’s childhood and the bullying she experienced.
Her efforts have been recognised by data company Nielsen as one of the most popular children’s books of the year.
I sit with Nontando Mposo, the clever and chic editorin-chief of Glamour magazine, at a table under a tree and we are joined by makeup queen Bongi Mlotshwa, who also happens to be actress Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa’s mom.
Bongi tells me her daughter is still in the studio, putting the finishing touches to the collection she is showing at South African Fashion Week under her label, Essie Apparel.
We all enjoy the canapés of beef Wellington slices, beef and Parmesan meatballs with Napolitano sauce and vegan Vietnamese spring rolls.
Up comes someone who always gives me joy when I see her — award-winning singer/songwriter Shekhinah, who arrives with her sister Elizabeth Donnell.
Around the corner I spot Bonang Matheba, effortlessly cool in a biscuit-coloured Prada knit dress with a long fringed hem finished off with Steve Madden stilettos. I ask her about the tussle with her former agents over ownership of the House of BNG sparkling wine brand.
“It’s looking good. Very positive. It is an ongoing legal process, but we are very excited,” she says.
It is now more than an hour since many of us arrived, and it is a relief to get out of the sun and into the barn-like venue where long wooden tables are decorated with pretty posies in clear vases.
When Bonang gets up to greet us, we are reminded why she is such a pro. The former TV presenter introduces us to marketing manager Mpume Tuone, who sings the praises of the Nivea products which “pay homage to our beautiful skin in all its shades”.
Mind you, I can’t help but chuckle that even though the name Nivea is derived from the Latin for “snow”, there is no mention of colour or words such as “dark” or “light”. On to the faces of the campaign, and Shekhinah and Shudu are joined by influencers Aisha Baker and Vongai Mapho, along with 2022 Miss South Africa runner-up Anarzade Omar, who participate in a panel discussion led by Bonang.
Things are all very vanilla except for when Aisha, who is married to cricketer Wayne Parnell, has a strange explanation why she didn’t find the time to moisturise in the past.
“I’m a single mom because my husband is always travelling,” she says.
Er, Aisha, there’s a difference between singlehandedly raising a family and being a WAG ...
Next we are entertained by songstress Zoë Modiga, but by this stage it looks like we will be faced with way too many more speeches about lotions and creams before we are served anything substantial to eat, so I sneak out and make the 45-minute drive back home to the Big Smoke.
The previous evening I had found myself at quite a raucous event to celebrate the catwalk fest by those folk who design what is often called our second skin.
The Cruz Vodka South African Fashion Week opening party took place at Ferguson’s Fifth Floor, a Joburg rooftop venue in the upmarket suburb of Illovo, between Rosebank and Sandton.
This is the sort of do where the cocktails flow and the speakers blare (though snacks to line our bellies are as memorable as last season’s duds).
Who showed up?
The whole gamut of the fashion ecosystem from designers such as Ole Ledimo, Hangwani Nengovhela of Rubicon and Amanda Laird Cherry (who has been designing for her eponymous brand remotely from Charlotte, North Carolina, for 14 years) to those who primp and prime the models backstage — like Boyd Meilhon, the follicle king from Carlton Hair, the official hair partner for Fashion Week.
And, of course, the fashion plates who love strutting the red carpet in all their finery. Folk such as Lesego Tlhabi, who is wearing a chic fuchsia blazer and short shorts I didn’t initially notice.
Commenting that I thought she was going pants-less, the quick-witted comedian responds: “I might next time. Keep your eyes on the prize!”
Someone wearing clearly visible bottoms and matching top (from Loxion Kulca) is YFM DJ Teboho “Caddy” Tsotetsi who finished his off with a Balenciaga bag and Crocs, which I still shudder at the sight of.
Next I meet Nefisa Mkhabela, who is wearing an unusual white gown by a label called Tomi R Creations. Along with fellow cast mates from House of Zwide, including Lois du Plessis, she is there due to a clever collab
— a Fashion Week “show” formed part of the e.tv storyline this week.
Oh, and colour-wise, it seemed that many of the celebs had a preference for pink — outside Lesego’s thigh-baring outfit, it also cropped up in Lerato Kganyago’s fitted suit, trans activist Yaya Mavundla’s vintage David Tlale ensemble, and in the eye-catching dress worn by Oratile Masedi, son of the late legendary TV veteran Vinolia Mashego.