Tasha’s Flamingo Room in Sandton City was packed with extraordinary women who all waited anxiously to witness the big reveal - the new face of Pond’s.
The wait was short-lived when Ayanda Thabethe, also the brand ambassador of Pond’s finally announced 24-year-old Nomfundo Mlaba as the new face of the brand.
Hailing from Bozini in Pietermaritzburg, Mlaba is a community manager for a property community development company. Defining beauty as confidence, she says she was encouraged by her colleague to enter the competition.
“My colleague Terran pressured me every day to enter. She said 'You’ve got what it takes,' and previously, people did tell me to enter but Terran definitely pressed the issue.
Nomfundo Mlaba says she wants to uplift young girls and encourage them to take the lead.
"Being the face of Pond’s means re-writing the narrative for people who come from small towns and rural areas. It most occasions we are exposed to such things but we have a fear of going to such spaces because we think that it’s not a space for people like us. If you’re exposed to such opportunities grab it with both hands. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter if you know someone within that space or not, just do it," said Mlobi.
Wearing her natural hair with pride and flaunting her curves in a pink figure hugging dress, Mlobi said she is determined to make a change in her community by encouraging young girls.
"I want to go to my hometown and start a Non-Government Organisation where I uplift young girls and encourage them to take the lead especially with careers in the media industry because our parents think that’s a no go area, my parents were also like that. I just want them to be able to do what they wish to achieve," she concluded.
Mlobi walked away with R50000 cash and will be taking on ambassador duties for a year.