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At 39, Louise Volschenk is living proof that you can juggle motherhood, marriage and a booming business without dropping a single lipstick. The Pretoria-based entrepreneur is the proud owner of Halouw Professional, a makeup products brand, and Halouw Makeup Academy, and she’ s just added another feather to her perfectly sculpted brow: starring in Showmax’ s latest reality hit, The Mommy Club: Van Die Hoofstad.
The show, the third instalment in the record-breaking Mommy Club franchise, follows Pretoria’ s wealthiest and most dynamic moms as they navigate career, marriage, motherhood, and legacy-building. Louise quickly became a standout personality, known for her sharp tongue, infectious humour and, of course, a heart bigger than her trademark makeup bag.
From Nelspruit to Pretoria
Born and raised in Nelspruit, in Mpumalanga, Louise moved to Pretoria after high school to study drama. She lasted about six months in the programme before deciding that performing on stage wasn’ t quite her scene. But what she discovered instead was makeup, and that was love at first swipe.
“ My love for makeup came from my mom, really. I used to watch her get up in the mornings, tired, with bags under her eyes, and then a few minutes later, she’ d completely transform. And it wasn’ t just her face that changed; her confidence did, too. I found that completely fascinating,” Louise recalls.
Like many a girl, her childhood experiments began with Barbie dolls.“ I’ d take makeup remover and redo their faces – which didn’ t go so well, because I’ d rub off their eyes too and they’ d end up looking a bit scary,” she laughs. But soon, her passion evolved from dolls to
www. babysandbeyond. co. za real people. A friend’ s wedding became her first real client job, and it wasn’ t long before her reputation spread. By sixteen, she was giving makeup classes.“ It just grew from there,” she says with a laugh.
Halouw: more than just a brand
Louise’ s leap of faith was bolstered by her husband, Juan, who has been her rock for 12 years.
“ One day, as my boyfriend then, he drove me to a workshop I was facilitating. On the way home, he told me,‘ I’ ve never seen you so passionate about anything. You have to quit your job and do this’.”
It would mean a lot of sacrifice, but Juan had faith that if anyone could do it, it was Louise. That gave her the courage to quit selling printers and dive into makeup full-time, and by 2012, Halouw Makeup Academy was born. By 2013, they were already the main makeup sponsor for the Mrs South Africa competition.
The brand is a tribute to the opportunities that have shaped her
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