Next Level Beauty – Fajer Fahad’s new beauty and wellness platform La Collection Privée – Dior takes us on a

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

NEXT LEVEL BEAUTY What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? As soon as I wake up, I do oil pulling, while I shower. I always try to do two things at once to save time. Once Fajer Fahad has recently launched I shower, I start my skin care routine. I always start with AB cleansing balm, I actually leave Beauline Beauty, a platform for carefully it on as a mask to get the extra moisturise and hydration while I start my day. I make my curated next level beauty and wellness morning coffee using the gangster chic Inulin powder, which not only gives me a flat tummy but makes my latte extra delicious. Then I turn on my phone, I check WhatsApp, email, Insta and TikTok in that order. While I reply to my WhatsApp and email and I drink my coffee, I am usually ice rolling with the Skinny Confidential ice roller at the same time. How did your previous roles support you being able to launch your own brand and how did you know it was the right time? Working for Azzedine Alaia was the role that really helped me witness what it was to be an entrepreneur. He was multifaceted and wore many hats in his business, he oversaw everything and was very detail oriented. Being around that kind of energy helped me get to where I am today. You never know it’s the right time, you need to trust your gut. I have great partners who encourage me to follow my intuition. It was a now or never moment for launching @beaulinebeauty. How challenging was refining the logistics process of building an e-commerce platform? It’s very difficult and takes patience and strategy, my partner is a genius at logistics and shipping. We were very lucky and had very few hiccups. How do you select the products on the platform and how involved are you in that process? This is actually my favourite part, I love trying things and finding things that work. Beauty and wellness has become so broad and saturated that we try to curate only the very best. We want our consumer to love our selection but also be a return consumer. How did you balance the creative and commercial sides of the business and do you feel more drawn to one than the other? It’s difficult to balance both, I would advise knowing what one’s weakness is, identify it and then find people who are strong in the fields you are less strong in. That being said I am more of the creative, but I do strive to be a part of the commercial side

IMAGES: SUPPLIED How many people are in your team now and did you start out alone? No I was never alone and very lucky to have a business partner from the start, we did start off as a very small team but eventually grew very quickly as the company now ships worldwide and carries a broad offering in terms of brands. What would be your advice to other entrepreneurs regarding taking on investment from external parties? Is it necessary? Yes, I believe it’s very important to have strategic partners. If the opportunity arises for investment from an external party it can help a brand grow and scale. What have been the biggest challenges to date and how did you overcome them? Whenever launching something new there is always a daily challenge, we have weekly meetings with all the different departments and discuss goals and strategy. We brainstorm, assign different jobs, update roles and have weekly/monthly goals that we strive to achieve. Keeping everyone motivated when things are hard or when we are busy can be the most challenging. Communication is key in any organisation. How have you found social media in terms of supporting brand growth? It plays an immense role, there are so many ways that you can organically grow a company on social media that it’s very important to scaling the business. There are many options between Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat that can convert into sales and a great way to directly be in touch with your consumer. How do you approach scaling without compromising on quality? Always bring it back to basics and ask what do you want to achieve? Is this product right for us? We keep it simple, if it works we want to sell it ! Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what knowledge did they impart? Yes so many, Kim Kardashain, Jen Atkin, Pat McGrath, Charles Rosier and Dr. Barbara Sturm, to name a few. I was lucky enough to witness them all create amazing brands that changed the industry, they were all disrupters and raised the bar. More than knowledge I witnessed their focus and that was key. What advice would you give to your younger self? Be patient. That’s the biggest thing I have learned in life. Life has become so fastpaced we feel like we are always behind somehow. It’s ok to do things at our own pace, no one should dictate that time line for us. This is The Entrepreneur Issue – what does this mean to you? It means opportunity, we live in a day and age where the world is connected like never before. As entrepreneurs we should take that and realise the possibilities we have that past generation didn’t. Social media has changed how we interact, perceive and receive information. This gives us an opportunity to reach a much wider audience. That in itself is a super power.