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hi, my name is Rabia Ghoor and I am the founder of swiitchbeautyŽ 

I started 5 years ago, from a 4 square meter area in my bedroom. I was fourteen years old at the time. 

 

It all began when I discovered this incredible thing on the internet, called Youtube 

At the time there weren't many South African beauty Youtubers, so I was primarily watching international makeup channels.

I remember thinking to myself: “international makeup enthusiasts have so much more of a variety” -  American, European or Asian brands that are unavailable here in South Africa were constantly innovating & evolving - (especially in the digital space), while South African brands lagged behind or just straight up didn't exist 

I began researching product sourcing, formulation, e-commerce, packaging, manufacturing, design with the end goal in mind being to create a beauty brand that firstly, didn’t break the bank and secondly - made things that people would actually use in real life - things that did what they said they were going to do 

I remember getting dressed for parties at friends places - and all the girls would pull out their little vanity cases and show off their internationally purchased, cult branded makeup 

I wanted to create an affordable, local product the South African girl / boy felt proud to purchase, and more importantly, proud to use 

The project started small, with an Instagram page & two products and a conversation between a brand and it's consumer through the internet 

I guess most makeup that’s made isn’t made by the user, that's what makes swiitch special 

The product development process with is really close to home 

The things I make are the things I use - so I’m able to optimise them for efficacy, ease of use & performance. I’ve also always maintained that the dynamic between my consumer and I is a conversation. Because of that I’ve managed to crowdsource a lot of really important ideas when it comes to the development of new things  

For over a year, I ran the company whilst attending high school full time. It was a complete one woman show & I wasn’t coping. I knew what I was trying to do with swiitch, and I knew it needed my full time investment and so I dropped out of grade 10 in may of 2016 to run swiitch full time 

I was 14 at the time of starting my business and I know it sounds clichÊ but I think when you're so young nothing seems unachievable, because no one's told you so just yet 

I am 21 this year, and it's all been kind a whirlwind, seeing the company go from inception to where it is now 

I can’t believe I get to make makeup for a living. What a concept 

I am so grateful to my friends, family members and to you, sitting behind your screen, for your part in my journey  

love & gratitude 

Rabia Ghoor

 

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