Amanda du Pont Opens Up on Building Lelive into a Global Beauty Success

Actress and founder of lelive, Amanda du Pont was recently in conversation with radio and TV host Anele Mdoda on the 1st for Women, The Anele Podcast: Her & Now, where she opened up about her journey building her skincare brand, lelive.

During the interview, Amanda reflected on how the brand came to life and what made it stand out in the beauty industry since its launch in 2021. She explained, “In fact, maybe the biggest brand out of South Africa and one of the fastest out of Africa. Why it was so effective, we did the science and we did the research. We spoke to an Indian community, Asian community, Indians shared with us the buchi oil and the turmeric, Black people shared with us the aloe and White people shared with us the Rooibos. Everyone shared collectively, that’s why its foolproof, people know what works for them.”

She further added, “That’s how it grew is because we listened to people instead of forcing products down people’s choice. Then we made sure we locked in the science.” Amanda explained that the team worked closely with scientists to create carefully developed products that could suit different skin tones and skin needs, making inclusivity a key foundation of the brand.

She also spoke honestly about the early struggles of launching the business, revealing how difficult it was to secure financial backing. “I failed to get funding in the beginning for my business. So we self funded, myself and my partners. Put our own money into it. If you noticed there was a time in my career where where I never before, and all of a sudden I was doing club gigs. Babe, I was raising capital.”

Despite the challenges, Amanda’s persistence paid off. Today, lelive continues to grow internationally and has become a major success story. The brand was recently the only African beauty label named a finalist for The Business of Fashion (BoF) Global Beauty Awards 2025.

In 2024, lelive also expanded into the UK, marking another major milestone in its global journey.