Big deal for local beauty
A FORMER Miss Port Elizabeth and Revlon model has landed the biggest opportunity of her modelling career to date and will soon be seen on billboards and campaign posters across sub-Saharan Africa.
Port Elizabeth’s Valene Sampson, 27, has been named the face of Charlie beauty and cosmetics products, covering the entire subSaharan district for cosmetics manufacturer Revlon.
Having been the local face of Charlie since 2003, this is a huge honour for the former Andrew Rabie matriculant and Miss PE 2005 winner, who now lives in Johannesburg.
Sampson said she was "ecstatic” when she heard the news earlier last month.
"I found out mid February, I was extremely excited as this is a huge deal for my modelling career.
"From being just the face for South Africa to being the face in all sub-Saharan countries is an honour,” she said.
"The news came out when we were busy going over my 2012-2013 contract. So you can only imagine what a surprise this was, when I saw that they had offered it to me.”
For Sampson, the deal means her face will be seen across sub-Saharan Africa on billboards, in print media as well as in shopping malls.
Sampson was also the face of the ethnic hair care campaign, Le Sell hair care, and their product line, Trendsetter, in 2011.
Having lived in Cape Town for six years, Sampson said she was enjoying living in the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg.
Sampson is also a qualified yoga instructor.
"I’m gymming like crazy and keeping my body in good shape. Yoga helps me to stay focused and tone my body.”
The Korsten beauty, who visits Nelson Mandela Bay regularly to see her family and friends, hopes to spend this coming Easter in Port Elizabeth again.
"I was there for Christmas and had an awesome time with my family. I’m extremely excited to see friends and family and catch up over Easter.”
Sampson, who was also a former contestant in the modelling reality TV show Revlon Supermodel, moved to Gauteng because she hopes to get a break into TV soon.
"I just felt like the market here is bigger for my new career moves,” she said.
The bubbly beauty will also be taking her love for yoga to further heights.
"I want to do more yoga courses to build up on my yoga knowledge in a more diverse spectrum. I also want to bring out my own yoga label.
"Yoga is currently the love of my life. I’m giving private lessons and lessons at the local gym too.”
Sampson has a heart for giving back and previously ran a modelling school in Port Elizabeth, House of V, with the assistance of her mother, Valery. These days she is working on other projects to uplift her community.
"It’s just a matter of prioritising my time better so I can get back into uplifting the youth of PE in a bigger and better way, so I’m working on a plan,” she said.
This is a version of an article that appeared in the print edition of the Weekend Post on Saturday, March 23, 2013.