In an industry traditionally preoccupied with youth, fashion and beauty influencer Candice-Lee Kannemeyer has embraced turning fifty and is doing things the way she’s always done them: her own way.
By Wanita Nicol
Candice-Lee Kannemeyer arrives for her cover interview a little flustered. She’s very slightly late, having come from a visa appointment that ran over time and is extremely apologetic. “I’m usually the person who arrives five minutes early,” she explains, looking sheepish.
She’s wearing jeans, sneakers and a light, moss-green jersey, a surprisingly relatable outfit for a fashion and beauty influencer, although it has the casual elegance that comes with carefully selected, well-fitting items of clothing.
Although Candice-Lee celebrated her fiftieth birthday this year, her skin looks youthful and enviably radiant. Expensive products, surely? “Good genes,” she says. “My mother aged well and so did my grandmother. The most expensive products are not my vibe. You don’t need to spend a fortune on great skincare ever.”
It’s this practical, grounded approach to the world of fashion and beauty that has earned Candice-Lee a loyal following on her blog, Inmybag.co.za and her social media channels; that, and her candid, easy-going demeanour.
She punctuates her sentences with a familiar tap on the knee or arm like she’s confiding in an old friend. She’s quick to laugh and she seems very comfortable with who she is, and who she’s not.
Life In The Fab
Lane Candice-Lee began her career in modelling – first in front of the camera, then as a booker. She formed good relationships with magazine editors and it was thanks to those relationships – and her natural eye for style – that she entered the magazine world as a fashion and beauty editor.
For more than a decade Candice-Lee was the authority on all things style and beauty for some of South Africa’s most iconic women’s magazines. With the rise of digital media, she spotted an opportunity to start her own business.
“Going to events, I started seeing these bloggers and I thought, this is an interesting model, you can run your own platform, create your own content and write what you want. I decided to be brave and start a beauty blog.”
The blog gave rise to a thriving Instagram community, a YouTube Channel and more recently, a TikTok account and her content has expanded beyond beauty and fashion to general lifestyle. Yet Candice-Lee still found time to collaborate with a friend on a range of sleepwear. Called Dream Weaver, it was 100% cotton, comfortable and locally made. Sadly, load shedding put a halt to production, but she has plans to relaunch the label in 2025. “My whole thing was to make beautiful cotton sleepwear with interesting details that were affordable and sophisticated enough for grown women to wear.”
Fun At Fifty
“I’m a ‘mature influencer’,” Candice-Lee says with a smirk. “It’s hilarious. You feel 20 and you think you’re ever fresh, but your body and face say otherwise!” Of course, hers don’t. Partly it’s those good genes, but she also takes care of herself. “Sleep is important. I’ve also become very into exercise.” That includes gym classes and twice-daily walks with her German shepherd. “I enjoy keeping fit,” she says. “I like the way I feel afterwards and I also love to eat, so I have to exercise!
Here, she gives us a glimpse behind the camera…
AW Where did you find the courage to leave the security of your magazine job and become a full-time blogger?
CK I didn’t overthink it. I love and embrace change. I was also lucky that my partner could support me for a few years and I had saved a bit of money, so I had something to fall back on; but I also just knew that it
wasn’t a bad call.
AW What are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt along the way?
CK You really know who your friends are when you start your own business – and sometimes it’s a shock to see who does and doesn’t support you. That for me was very eye-opening.
AW Your job looks very glamorous – what’s it like behind the scenes?
CK Running your own business, you work much, much harder! I work seven days a week, whether it’s writing, editing content, or planning. We’re going into launch season now and sometimes in launch season, you attend three launches a day. It’s lovely, but afterwards, you have to put a reel or a blog post out and it’s a lot and I’m always trying new stuff, which is a pleasure, obviously.
AW Your daughter must love that about your job…
CK She has no interest whatsoever in beauty products or fashion! She’s an academic. She’s 20 now, she’s at university and she has no interest in this at all! So weird how that happens.
AW What do you love about what you do?
CK I want to help women feel their best. I love it when someone asks me for the most expensive product and I say to them, “Beauty products shouldn’t have to cost a fortune. What are your skin concerns?” and I give them a list of products and it all comes to under R1 000 and they can’t believe it. Then three months down the line, they’ll say, “My skin has never looked better.” I also used to do style consulting and I found it very rewarding helping people define their style. I think if you’re going to do something, you need to be of service. Beauty and fashion can be seen as quite frivolous, but if you’re doing it with the aim of adding value to people’s lives, it’s a good thing.
