She has worked at all the main cosmetics counters in Selfridges, Harrods, and Harvey Nichols. Joined the Estee Lauder Bureau, which is their in house team of consultants. The Lauder Group of companies includes Clinique, MAC and Bobby Brown. An okay timeline for an adult, a more than impressive one for the then teenage aspiring makeup artist. By the time she was 18, she was offered the chance to launch Iman Cosmetics in the UK as one of their main makeup artists on their flagship counter. In her free time, she was working non-stop as a freelance agent on the side on countless photoshoots, catwalk shows, music videos, beauty pageants and also did some print/editorial work. 8 years later, Sacred City was birthed- a one-stop agency for makeup artists, hairdressers, photographers and stylists. Today, FashionAfrica.com meets its creator, Lola Maja - self confessed bad driver; average scrabble player; accomplished make-up artist and holistic therapist; a true African pioneer.

‘AS WE FALL IN LOVE WITH OURSELVES AGAIN’

‘I owe it all to my mother. I grew up in a family full of women but I was a real tomboy. On my 13^th birthday she sat me down and told me I was now old enough to wear makeup. I’ve never looked back!  I’ve always been in love with art; I studied fine painting, photography and digital editing. Makeup was just something that has always come naturally to me. I started working while I was about 15, while I was still at school and worked for beauty agencies throughout college and when I started University. I’ve taken several specialist courses but the majority of my learning has come from hands on experience. I’ve worked with a lot of people who have spent a lot of time and money training to become professional makeup artists, and while it is important to understand the technical side of makeup, the health and safety aspects and good practice skills, no one can teach you how to be artistic. 

Working in store gave me a good grounding in the industry. I was trained by several different companies constantly dealing face to face with clients, and whether they were Black, White, Oriental, Asian, Male or Female I learnt to perform makeup on them all.

After about 8 years I decided to establish Sacred, which gave me a chance to allow new makeup artists to get experience in the industry by training and also give them the chance to shadow me on jobs as I didn’t have these opportunities when I was starting out.’

Fashion Africa: Do you ever plan on having your own make up line?

Lola Maja: A lot of people have asked me this question over the years. It’s become very popular for a makeup artist to have their own brand.  I’ve considered this option and it’s not something that I’ll ever rule entirely out but I’ve been blessed to be sponsored and named Head Makeup Artist by a professional brand of cosmetics called Pr1mero (Pr1), which is so far only available to makeup artists.

They specialize in custom blend makeup for all skin tones as well as having a full range of products, which are suitable for humid climates. They also carry a line of mineral makeup as well as fair trade natural products.   I am however planning on having my own line under the Pr1 brand name. The range will soon be on general release to the public. So watch this space.

A lot of time and money goes into researching and producing top quality cosmetics. I would rather put my name on products which have been made by dedicated specialists. Products which I have worked with, are tried and tested and have been put through stringent certification procedures to make sure that they are of the highest quality. 

I’m currently developing a range of professional makeup artist brushes and accessories. I’ve been frustrated over the years with the cost of good brushes, especially considering many of the top name brands aren’t even 100% natural yet they carry a premium price tag just for the label.’

FA: What should we expect from Sacred-City in the near future?

LM: ‘We’re going to be traveling a lot more in the next year or so. Expanding further into the African market not just in makeup but also to promote Holistic Therapy for everyone, male, female, adults and children. We as Africans need to understand how our lifestyles and the food that we consume affect us as a whole.

I’m working with a Pharmacist to develop a range of organic custom blended skin care to target specific individual’s skin conditions. The range will only be available after one to one consultations with a qualified therapist to ensure each product is truly personalised.

I want to bring a fresh approach to the way we see makeup in our every day lives, for weddings and also in fashion in general. Helping to train Makeup Artists and Holistic Beauty Therapists.

After all… Beauty is Sacred’

FA: How do you see the make up industry in Africa?

LM: ‘Africans love makeup. Unfortunately there just simply isn’t a wide enough choice of products. In America brand name cosmetics have now realized what we’ve known for a long time, that there is big business in cosmetics for ethnic skin tones, and they are now developing colours and starting to incorporate darker shades into their lines. However this hasn’t quite crossed over the Atlantic. The problem is that there is so much variety in darker skin, it’s not as easy to develop foundations, powders or highly pigmented eye/lip shades which will stay on and compliment our skin tones. Base products either end up too red or without enough depth leaving the skin looking ashy/grey.

Even in Europe you’re hard pressed to find a vast range of cosmetics for non Caucasian skins. If you need to buy a base product you’re restricted in your choice of brands which are available on the market, but luckily for other items such as shadows, lipsticks and glosses the choices are nearly endless. The fact that a lot of the major brands are simply not interested in expanding to Africa in general means that we simply don’t have the choice of products that we should.  The African market is a totally different entity. We need cosmetics that 1) compliment us and 2) stay on in the heat.  This is where the trouble lies and people end up applying too much to compensate.

It’s not just makeup as such but cosmetics and skin care in general.   As Africans we have to change our view of and relationship with the beauty industry. But this can only be done through education.  We need more products available in stores with trained professionals who can work with you to explore and create different looks. Makeup is not a one shade suits all type of thing. It’s very personal to each individual.  You can change your whole image to suit the occasion whether it’s a corporate look, daytime casual or evening. We don’t always have to use the same colours in the same way.  Experiment and have fun. After all, if it’s not working for you, you can always take it off!

There has been quite an uphill struggle to get the industry regulated and professionally recognized. In the past, working as a makeup artist in general wasn’t considered to be a real profession; thankfully times are changing with several well known artists now being highly respected. But we still have quite a way to go.

Beauty and Fashion are so closely linked in the media. Africa as a whole is expanding and new magazines like Haute and cosmetics houses are being launched bringing in an influx of fresh ideas, reflecting modern women and the way we view ourselves. Photographers such as SubySinem and modeling agencies like Confidence Models are dedicated to the same principles.  We have beautiful women who can compete on the international stage and designers such as Deola Sagoe and Oswald Boateng who can stand side by side with top names. We can show who we really are as Africans, sophisticated and imaginative. As we fall in love with ourselves again the world will follow suit.’

Lola is now an accredited member of the Perfume Studio - they create hand made personalised custom blended fragrances. Working with you to create a unique and individual scent which will then also be named by you. No two people will ever create the same blend. 

View some of Lola’s Beauty Tips and discuss in “Forums” on FashionAfrica.com

- Wadami.

I have often referred to this boutique to various people that have asked as the ‘pet project’ I am working on while I get used to the Nigerian corporate environment.

The truth of the matter is that ‘Leila Fowler’ is an idea that was born since I was a little girl playing with glamorous Barbie dolls and watching the beautiful women in my family go about their daily routines. - Funke Fowler.

Funke Fowler: Very well thank you.

FA: Please give us a brief introduction about yourself.

FF:  My name is Leila Olufunke Fowler. I was named Leila after my paternal grandmother. I have been told that the name Leila is originally of Arabic descent, although now commonly used in the English language to mean ‘oriental beauty’. In Arabic it means ‘night’ or ‘dark beauty’. I am in my mid-twenties and have a BA in Economics from the University of Nottingham and an MBA from AIU.

FA: How did the idea of Leila Fowler manifest, what was your A-Ha! Moment?

FF: That’s not a simple question to answer. I have had the idea to open a boutique for the last 16 years at least. I have always loved fashion and have grown up around very glamorous women. My aunt owned a boutique in Liberia before she passed on and I remember writing in my diary when I was 10 that I was going to grow up and own a boutique just like she did. The A-ha moment I would say, came more for me while I was trying to decide the name of the store. I contemplated between various names and decided on ‘Leila Fowler’ as I wanted the boutique to be very personal and for my clients to feel like they were shopping in my own personal space. Baring in mind also what ‘Leila’ means, what better name than to just call it mine…   

FA: Can you virtually walk us through Leila Fowler, What do we see? What should we expect?

FF: I think I will leave the look of the store for clients to find out on their own, but fashion and style wise one should expect to see unique hand selected pieces from various local and international designers. The store also stocks an extensive designer jewelry collection with the highest quality in sterling silver, precious and semi-precious stones and gold filled pieces.

FA:  How are the brands picked to be in Leila Fowler, and how exclusive should we expect the brands in the boutique to be? Is it also concentrated on just designers of African descent? It’s a very wide variety?

FF: I work with various international suppliers and go through their current collections and pick out the pieces that I think would work best with the overall look and feel of the store. Not forgetting the various needs that Nigerian women may have style, size and culture wise. And yes, I also carry items created by African designers. I am an overall fashion junkie and do not have a particular preference on designers or the cost of an item. I wanted a very eclectic mix of designs in the boutique to satisfy different styles and price ranges. Which to me is what makes a boutique different from just being an ordinary clothing store, the individuality of the pieces in the store. So it was definitely important for me to carry a wide range of designs. I do not usually stock more than a couple of a particular item which helps to keep the uniqueness most women might be looking for style wise.

FA: What is the price range in the store?

FF: That is a question I do not usually answer, but I will say that there is something in the store that meets most price points.

FA: Who is your favorite Fashion Designer? Should we expect to see them in Leila Fowler?

FF: hmm… that is another hard one to answer. I do not have a favorite designer period and am just a fan of beautiful things.  

FA: Any plans of Leila Fowler becoming a department store, with boutiques all over the globe? What city or country should we expect this dose fabulousness next?

FF: I pray that one day ‘Leila Fowler’ would be a chain of exclusive boutiques around Africa, because I believe that there is a great need for that here. But more importantly I want the store to always have the personal hands on feel it has at the moment.   

FA: Fabulous! For aspiring boutique owners out there, would you like to give a brief process on how you got to this point? Anything they should be aware of?

FF: This boutique has been a very personal project for me and one that a lot of time and effort has gone into. I think that for everyone that is in the process of opening a new business especially one so personal, they will find as I did, that a lot of hard work, patience and attention to detail is very important. Once all of that is in place, everything with the grace of God will fall into place.

FA: Well, Funke, we have no doubt you are a pioneer when it comes to blessing the City of Lagos with a fresh and Luxurious experience when it comes to boutiques, we wish you the best, any gifts you want to leave our readers?.. like discounts?!>.. :).. HAHA! Take care!

FF: Thank you very much for wanting to talk about the store and we look forward to helping your readers find that special item. Discounts? Hmm… that’s something we just might be able to arrange.

See pictures of the opening of Leila Fowler in the events section on FashionAfrica.com

- Wadami.

British-born Ghanaian designer Samata Angel has showcased her label ‘Samata’s Muse’ at prestigious international events such as the Festival of Youth Arts in association with The Mayor of London, The Clothes Show Live and The Face of Asia, and today she launches the beginning of FashionAfrica.com’s ‘Who’s HauTe’ series - A profile of up & coming talents that are definitely worth looking out for.

Samata Angel hails from Cambridge; the talented designer was nominated as ‘Exceptionally Creative’ at the British Female Inventor and Innovators Awards 2007, her stunning designs have seen requests from the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Dawn Richards (Danity Kane), along with an offer to join the design team for JLO’s ‘Sweetface’.

Samata has always had a knack for fashion and has worked as Fashion Editor of The Talent Magazine writes regular blogs for leading UK fashion website Fashion Capital and is a talented musician. She recently launched her Spring/Summer 2008 collection at the Nolcha Fashion Week (becoming the first black British female to show).

Samata Angel was nominated for the Aristoc Woman of the Year 2007, and will launch three collections and a guide book for young designers. She was also made Ambassador for the Girls! Make your Mark Campaign.

We are honored to have a chat with this promising talent, who just glows of positive radiance:

FA: Hello Samata, how are you today? The trip from Spain & Italy, how did it go, refreshing we hope?

SA: It was great to get away and spend time with my friends. I went to Spain for a holiday and Italy for business (even when I am meant to be taking a time out I just can’t!)

FA: When and how did Samata’s Muse come about?

SA: I launched in 2005 after having spent time customisng and creating pieces for women. I felt like I wanted to make it more formal and official. Plus I had been working as Head of Marketing for a clothing label and Head of PR for a boutique so I did already have a good understanding of the industry for a number of angles…

FA: How and/or where else do you pull inspiration from for the label?

SA: I think it has a great deal to do with putting myself into new and exciting environments and trying to stay positive and happy. You can not really create if your mind is not clear - having said that sometimes you create your best work when your life is in a storm….my main source of inspiration is originality and change.

FA: How many collections have you launched till date? Your label seems to be broken down into different sections, do you mind explaining what “Unique” “Limited Edition” and “Humble Ambition” are about or are they just names for previous collections?..

SA: Two collections so far. Every one of my collections is announced by the term ‘The Muses’ which simply announces a collection of pieces that have been inspired.

• The Muses - Unique clothing range presents unique design - jackets, skirts and dresses with cut-outs, intricate beading, angled cuts and flattering layers. Limited Edition are one off pieces created to mark special occasions such as our launch, the label’s birthday (5th April), Christmas and other important occasions.

The Humble Ambition range is a collection of t-shirts coming soon.

FA: We noticed ‘The Knot” in some of your collections, is that a Samata Muse trade mark?

SA: Yes definitely, so is the ruffled vertical hemline!

FA: How did it feel to be the first black British female to show at Nolcha Fashion Week?

SA: It felt good - I want to make history for as long as I can be and be the first at many things so this was great but really it was more important that other young black designers contacted me to say they also now thought it was something they could do. It is all about opening the doors for others and inspiring other people.

FA: Where is the label heading to now, and what do we expect to see and hear from Samata Muse in say, 2 - 5 years?!

SA: I would say the launch of more ranges is imminent but also I will be launching a guide book series for emerging or struggling designers to offer them advice in areas from marketing, to manufacturing to how to present themselves for sponsorship.

FA: As a young designer, who is also working on a guide for young designers, do you feel you have garnered enough experience to teach up coming designers. Off the bat, what would be your first advice to designers that are looking up to you now?

SA: I definitely have. Firstly I have my degree in Economics, Finance and Management which gives me a really good understanding of business which a lot of creative people do not have - they have all this amazing talent but not necessarily a great deal of business acumen - even down to how to present to a potential investor. I have also had the chance to work in a number of fields within the industry and not just as a designer so in areas such as PR and Marketing I have a great deal of advice and really I think it is important to learn from people (from everyone to be honest), especially those who have done what you want to do. I have had amazing press coverage for someone who started so recently - I was just interviewed by BET! So I do think I have a valid point of view worth listening to.

FA: Speaking about being a role model, congratulations on being an Ambassador for Girls! Make your mark campaign, how did you get into that, and what other charity organizations do you work with?

SA: Thank you - I was actually recommended by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown - Number 10 suggested we get in touch with the organisation, we did and it went from there. Right now they are the only organisation I work with and I want to keep being selective.

FA: It was so sweet chatting with you Samata; we wish you all the best life has got to offer in your endeavors, any last words for the readers?

SA: Live your life with your passion in it. Even if you can not do what you love full time, make a little time for it otherwsie you will lose touch with your God-given ability which not everyone is lucky enough to have!

Check out Samata’s collection; Samata’s Muse in the designers section of FashionAfrica.com

- Wadami.

FASHION AFRICA: YOU ARE THE YOUNGEST FIRST BLACK PERSON TO EVER REPRESENT SANLAM SOUTH AFRICAN FASHION WEEK. HOW DOES IT FEEL?

MILISUTHANDO BONGELA:  Amazing. A year ago, I was at fashion week and I made a pact with myself that within a year, I would be involved in fashion week in one way or another.  I’m glad that I’m not the face of fashion week because I think that afterwards, you become obsolete.  With this job, I’m gaining practical experience and an in-depth behind the scenes look and feel of how everything works.

FA: WHAT WERE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FROM THIS YEAR’S FASHION WEEK(S)?

MB: They were very high. Last year’s debut collections set a very high standard. From what I’ve seen, I can certainly say that South African designers are inspired and continually growing in innovation, creativity and global relevance.

FA: WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGNERS THIS WINTER?

MB: Abigail Betz absolutely blew my mind. Story’s use of PVC treggings was absolutely amazing and out of the box. I thought that Clive Rundle’s The Riot was the best collection I’d seen the entire weekend.

FA: WHAT IS THE FASHION MOOD IN SOUTH AFRICA RIGHT NOW?
MB:  The pot is finally boiling over. For a while, with the launch of labels like Stoned Cherrie in 2001, it was simmering. Now, seven years later, we’re getting back to referencing ourselves as a society and there’s a youthful energy infused in all of this. There’s a lot of youthful, fresh and worldly talent in fashion that can compete on ANY catwalk in the world. Labels like De Mil and Zintle Makuva have taken menswear to another level. They’re playful, experimental in their lines, cuts and design. Watching the show, you could feel that their objective had been fulfilled: to manipulate the audience to feel what they felt when they were creating their collections.

FA: WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK THE BUSINESS OF FASHION SEMINARS PLAY?

MB: These are imperative because here, fashion editors, designers and fashion observers can converge and interpret the state of fashion and its genuine placing in society. One should be able to tell the zeitgeist of a society based on what people are wearing but more than that, all of this should be interpreted into something that can contribute to the economy. Currently, fashion contributes about R37 million per annum to the South African economy and is also one of the industries that employs the highest number of females. Now that we’ve increased our fashion weeks to Autumn/Winter, it allows for more investment to be ploughed into the industry and more collaboration opportunities between the industry and government. Fashion is not just a frivolity; it is an important stamp of SA’s culture and a significant contributor to our economy.

FA: WHAT IS YOUR FEELING ON THE NUMEROUS FASHION WEEKS SA HAS?

MB: I think its great because it’s a true reflection of where we are as a country .We’re a very young democracy - we’re in our teens and teens always have problems with their identity but as they live and learn, they grow into themselves. I think everything that’s happening in fashion is there to help us develop into something greater and more collaborative.  

FA: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF SA FASHION?

MB: South Africa is a melting pot of marvelous and contrasting things. Earlier, one of the speakers said we are a bickering nation. He was right, we are but underneath that, another speaker said, we are a hopeful nation. It’s not going to take a few years to get us to where we need to be. Big brands like YSL, Dior and Prada took decades to build themselves into the pioneers of industry they are today. I think we must embrace our shortcomings and celebrate the multifaceted energy our fashion industry has. The world looks to SA for a lot of things and ultimately, the caliber of our people determines what talent we put out to the world.

Milisuthando is 23YRS old.

- Lelethu L.