Tshego Sebitloane
Kabelo Happiness Marumo is a 23 year old self-taught make-up artist, mobile salon owner and a Law student from Bloemfontein.
Kabelo had a normal childhood, she loved playing games like hop scotch, marandaas and other fun games children in the location usually play. Her late grandmother was her best friend and she would spoil her a lot.
She started her schooling career at Karabelo Primary School and went on to Navalsig High School. She is currently doing her LLB at the University of the Free State.
Kabelo owns a mobile beauty salon named “Beats by Pelontle”, offering make-up services for her clients. Asked how it came about she answered “it started really silly, it was one lipstick, an eyeliner then mascara”. She also mentioned that a lady from her church would often give her make-up and she would explore with it, and that is where her love for makeup began. She would constantly ask the lady to come shape her eyebrows, but she never came through, she then told herself “I’m gonna teach myself and get better at it”.
Kabelo refers to herself as “a YouTube born” makeup artist, because she learned some things from various YouTube channels. She is also looking into doing a short course/part time to broaden her knowledge and in order to get certified, and work with certain make-up brands. Kabelo loves beauty and exploring various products, she used to practice on her mother’s face in order to perfect her skill.
Given that she is not a professional make-up artist yet, Kabelo understands that she needs to work hard. “I have to work 10 times more than a certified make-up artist, as they are taught a lot and I have to explore and educate myself”. Her love for make-up/beauty expands as she learns.
Asked what sets her apart from others she answered “nothing, sets me apart, I’m not bringing anything new to the game”. She also went on to quote Vusi Thembekwayo and said “Vusi Thembekwayo once said a business is not something that was not known, a business is someone’s idea you take and make your own”. Her main goal is to excel in make-up artistry.
She is inspired by Mihlali Ndamese “I believe that her hard work is what sets her apart” she also believes that her hard work will also set her apart. She is also inspired by Nigerian make-up artist, Dimma Umeh.
Kabelo aspires to host her own masterclass, as she has a number of people asking her to teach them how to apply makeup. Even though she does not know how to go about it, as it requires brand sponsorship and financial backing. She also wants to grow as a digital content creator. She gets booked for weddings, farewells and private bookings, being a celebrity make-up artist is also one of her aspirations.
Apart from being a part-time make-up artist, Kabelo is an LLB student and she is currently doing her fourth year. Asked what inspired her to study law she replied “my stepdad is from Congo, he would often get arrested for nothing and experience police brutality”. From then, she wanted to know more about South African law. Law is her first love, she realized another talent that she has and one she could make money from while pursuing her dream career, which is being a makeup artist.
Her interest is property law and contractual law, simply because they are things that will always be there and they are intertwined with business. She also aspires to do LLM, even though she has not decided which type of law she will focus on. Her biggest aspiration is to be an advocate.
Luckily for Kabelo, she can manage time effectively and she is very disciplined. “If there is money involved you have to be disciplined” she adds. You can check her out on her new YouTube channel, “Pelontle Marumo”.
