That support South African small businesses hustle

I’ve been on the whole support small businesses train for a bit now. In fact, since this blog was formed I’ve tried to feature young female entrepreneurs doing rad stuff. I’ve recently found myself buying a lot of things off Instagram, specifically from South African female entrepreneurs and I wanted to share some of the items I’ve received because I’ve loved them so much. I’ve been blown away by how beautiful the items are and how great the quality has been. Below are three different products I’ve purchased this past month and my thoughts on each. As I’ve mentioned, I spent my own money on these items, paid full price and am now reviewing.

Please note I’ve used photos for this blog post from the small brands’ websites. These are copyrighted and belong to the sites linked.

Kheper Gym Tights

South African female entrepreneur

The Kheper brand originally came on my radar a few months ago when Kandy Kane Make Up was posting about them. I started following the Instagram page and fell in love with the passionate and out spoken owner/designer of the brand. From what I can gather her goal is to create Athleisure items for all shapes and sizes, allowing people to feel comfortable and work out no matter their body shape. Despite loving the look of the tights and the fun IG Story content I was EXTREMELY dubious to purchase. Even though I kept seeing pictures of an assortment of differently shaped women rocking the tights I was still scared.

Pants are my nemesis. I have big booty and thick thighs. I find that when I find pants that get over those the waist sags and I spend all my time trying to pull them up. Alternatively, the pants are too tight and feel uncomfortable, cutting into my waist and riding up in the crotch. After a few weeks of umming and ahhing I decided to take the leap and purchase a pair of the High Waist Pocket Tights in Black. They cost R549. The tights arrived beautifully packaged with washing instructions and a cute feel good message. They’re also incredible. The fabric sits on you like skin. The fit was PERFECT. They stretched beautifully over my bum and sit snug but not tight on my waist. I live in this tights now and even wear them as every day pants because they’re that comfortable. I also find they don’t cling to my cellulite as much as other gym brands. I’m so incredibly impressed with the Kheper tights and plan to purchase the Celluhide pants next. They also have a host of pattern pants and I’m trying to be brave enough to purchase those. These are fab!

Sugar Free Sundays’ Macro Mixes

South African female entrepreneur

I stumbled on the Sugar Free Sundays blog during a consulting job while looking for cool individuals. I was immediately engrossed by how awesome Max’s vibe and energy is. I started following her on Instagram and very soon crossed over to her Macro Mixes – which is a range of delicious protein rich mixes Max has made. She has a BSc CEM so she isn’t just someone tossing ingredients together. I’ve purchased lots of “healthy” food options over the years and find they all taste like absolute rubbish. They’re expensive and not so yummy. But I was so enthralled by Max, I decided to give her Macro Mixes a go.

I purchased the Chocolate Protein Porridge and the Vanilla Protein Pancake mix which cost me around R180. The mixes arrived and I decided to try the porridge. You literally just add hot water and it was DELICIOUS! I’m not kidding, it tastes like cake batter. The rich chocolate flavour came through and I would never have been able to tell that it was a sugar free, carb free option. It was so yummy and indulgent. I tried the Protein Pancake mix next, you add eggs and milk, and made a yummy batch of pancakes that were soft, fluffy and full of flavour. I’m now going to stock up on all the different porridge mixes as yummy treats that are far healthier than a chocolate bar or packet of crisps. I’m converted. This stuff is so good!

The Love Story Dress from the Arum Lilea Collection

South African female entrepreneur

I’ve followed Arum Lilea for so long. Leanne has this incredible story to tell: she is a lawyer, a stroke survivor and one of the most elegant women I know. Despite her being WAY more girly than me, I’m obsessed with her Instagram feed and love her style. Her content is real and true to who she is. A few months ago she launched the Arum Lilea Collection – which is a range of bespoke dresses she makes. I’ve drooled over them for some time but always felt like I’d not look good in them. For starters they’re far more girly than my traditional black dress look. I’ve also always worried that Leanne’s body shape is so very different to mine that what looks flattering on her would be horrible on me. And then my friend Irina posted this:

The dress she was wearing is the Love Story Dress from the collection. I’d first seen in on Leanne here:

Now I don’t have the same body shape as either of these girls. I’m more pear than anything else. But I couldn’t believe how stunning it looked on two different bodies. I also thought the print was really interesting. While it was floral and feminine it could be dressed in such a way that it could add a pop of colour and styled to still fit a look more in my line. I also think it would look gorgeous on stage. I was so stressed about the cut not working but had a chat with Leanne who was happy to let me purchase, try on and if need be change sizes. I purchased the Love Story dress on sale for R850. It arrived the next day, beautifully packaged and I was so impressed by the dress. It is a cotton sateen fabric and really good quality. The finishes were beautiful. And the dress fitted! It’s completely out of my usual look and a bit tight around my tummy (Guess who is buying Spanks!) but it felt so luxurious on and made me instantly stand taller and feel so glamourous. I’m in love with it. It’s going to add such a great dynamic to my wardrobe both for on stage hosting and for special events like weddings. I’m so excited to buy more from the collection now and take a few more risks with my wardrobe. Leanne’s dresses are divine!

I’m so happy with all my purchases and will remain a loyal repeat customer, so I had to share with you. Do you have any small entrepreneurs you support? Let me know about them in the comments below so I can check them out! 

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