A Cape Town woman is the face of Rihanna’s new makeup range, Fenty Beauty.
Kuils River local Carmen Solomons lit up Rihanna’s Twitter feed yesterday as the international superstar posted a photograph of her representing the Fenty Beauty brand.
Ladiesss……I can’t believe it’s only 3 days away #fairybomb and #bodylava… @fentybeauty April 6th pic.twitter.com/GG0RQ7zijc
— Rihanna (@rihanna) April 3, 2018
The post prompted an outpouring of support from Capetonians expressing their pride in homegrown talent making it big overseas.
“Carmen Solomons from Kuils River in Cape Town just living her best life repping one of the biggest beauty brands in the world, Fenty Beauty. Us Khoi San descendants are doing the damn things in 2018,” said Earl Hendricks (@EarlCraig06).
“Yassss Riri just tweeted our Cape Town bae, Carmen Solomons here in this Fenty campaign pic! So happy for Carmen, she’s an incredible model and a huge Ri fan. Let’s make a fuss of our girl being a Fenty face, this shot is everything!” said Aqeelah Ally (@SAFshionBreed).
Carmen wrote on Instagram that her unique facial features and colouring have prompted many questions about her ethnicity since she has relocated to the United States.
“WHAT ARE YOU?! This is a question I receive on a daily basis since I’ve been in America,” she wrote. “The cradle of human life remains in South Africa, and the oldest people are the Khoisan. Genetic evolution, mixing, and mutation down the line make people unique and distinct. The Khoisan people… are also responsible for nearly every color, gene, and nationality of modern humanity. They are beautiful.”
Before her modeling career took off, Carmen worked as a secretary in a doctor’s offices, according to an interview with Huffington Post. She said modeling was never her dream as a child, but she decided to give it a try after being approached by agents.
“The universe kept on sending me hints,” she said. “I was discovered about five times when I was younger and agents kept on giving me their cards and telling me I should model. So I just welcomed it into my life and thought, ok, I’ll do it, this could be fun.”
Now she is based in the USA, and working towards her goal of walking in a Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
This isn’t Carmen’s first high-profile campaign. She appeared in a commercial for Kendall and Kylie Jenner’s clothing line, and impressed them so much that she went on to model for Kylie Jenner’s lip products. She’s also appeared in music videos for Usher and Drake, and modelled Kanye West’s clothing line.
Picture: Instagram @carmen.solomons