'Hollywood was brought to Bulawayo' - Event recap of the Vault Cosmetics launch

The most talked about Zimbabwean event of January, named Vaulted Queens lived up to the theme. I must say, I have never seen so many women in one place like I did at the launch of Vault Cosmetics in the City of Kings, Bulawayo. The venue, Truworths became a mouse hole and it was ridiculously packed with people buying the Vault products, makeovers and champagne courtesy of JC le Roux being served on the house.

As much as I was one of the MCs for the event, I was really impressed from the entrance of the afternoon event right to the evening Vault Black & Bling after party. On arrival at the venue, guests were welcomed by the red carpet laid out on the pavements of Truworths Bulawayo and a glass of sparkling wine. That for me screamed, HELLO WE ARE HERE TO STAY. I loved the staff that were all dressed in Vault t-shirts and had amazing welcoming smiles on their faces. The decoration was simply white with a little detail of purple colour theme, crystal diamante hanging for that glamorous look and tall wine glass vases, just topped up the feel. One outstanding aspect of the decoration was the art pieces that were on display from the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, it brought some sophistication to the whole event.

I personally have a high level of respect towards the Vault Cosmetic staff; every one of them was vaulted and had their lips popping out, the branding of their products was well presented through them. The event started just at 12noon as scheduled with people streaming in just before the time of commencement. I was one of the early birds as I did not want to miss any action happening on the most talked about day of January 2015. With everything set and some music playing in the background, the crowd started their luxurious shopping spree.

The beauty of women and men of different sizes, shapes and colour walking through into the venue, is one sight I haven’t seen for a while in Bulawayo. By the time it was 1pm, the venue was packed, a little birdy informed me that an approximate number of 800 people walked in during the launch. The venue became smaller, that even the air conditioning system couldn’t keep up with the excited crowd. In no time, the make-up stations were flooded with women getting their makeovers soon after purchasing adequate Vault products. Jackie Mgido, the Founder of Vault Cosmetics, had a station where she demonstrated on how to have a perfect eye brow. Her passion for beauty, shined throughout her free one on one demonstration, no wonder she has an Academy in Harare.

My watch was saying 2pm when the guest – Dillish Matthews of Big Brother Africa, arrived in style causing a jam on the streets of Bulawayo with cameras flashing from every corner. She travelled all the way from Namabia and a little bit of tiresome was showing through her, but she didn’t disappoint with flashing smiles. 

Her arrival was welcomed with screams from the public and she was immediately welcomed by Jackie Mgido through a speech. Dillish also welcomed the audience, expressing her excitement of being in Bulawayo. Of course, as an entrepreneur, she encouragedpeople to buy her Dillish by Vault lip gloss range.  A live make over was done on her by Jackie Mgido, but I must say, her skin is flawless. She is beautiful.  

The champagne continued flowing to the music with people purchasing Vault products. I was particularly excited by the surprise performance by Tehn Diamond, one of Zimbabwe’s Hip Hop sensations who had just arrived for his performance later for the after party. The guy has lots of energy, one wouldn’t thinkthat he had travelled hours from Mutare where he had performed the previous night, it was a magical moment. An instant photo facility was also made available to those that would have had a makeover or bought products and wanted to get their pictures taken.

Hollywood was brought to Bulawayo, cameras were flashing everywhere and I even spotted some notable Zimbabwean public personalities in attendance. The likes of Neo Soul Musician, Prayersoul, Rap Artist – Cal Vin, Former Miss Zimbabwe – Lorraine Maphala-Phiri, Actress – Eve Mwatse, Radio Personality – Nap Star, Hip Hop Sensation – Tehn Diamond, TV Buddy – Mbo Mahocs and a whole lot of fabulous people, came through to support the launch. That open love from the City of Bulawayo to Vault Cosmetics, dropped some tears off Jackie Mgido the Founder, when she was giving her remarks at the end of the official launch, which was spectacular.

The Official Launch had been scheduled to end at 4pm, but it took some time to clear people out of the fully packed venue. Itwas only at 5:15pm that everyone had left. The positive response by the people, the organisation and the class the Vault Cosmetic Launch brought to the City of Bulawayo, was impressive.

THE VAULT BLACK N’ BLING AFTER PARTY

After a long day at the Official launch, I had to go home, freshen up and bling in my black. I appreciate the theme of the after party as for me, it is not just about dressing up in black, but it is about embracing ourselves as black people and also bringing out our golden hearts and personalities. This is how I took it and interpreted it; someone else might have their own opinion which I will not even challenge.

I arrived at Horizon Restaurant & Lounge at 9pm, just in time for the first performance by Cal Vin who brought some absurd energy. Before his performance, people were hanging around despite the fact that music was playing and very few were dancing. I will share my experience of Bulawayo, the people respond when they are involved and this whole Vault journey had them on the lock that they supported it. With a few bars into his first song, Cal Vin got people singing along and the vigour spread throughout the venue. But wait, where was Miss Dillish Matthews in this entire midst?

I would like to believe that Dillish was still tired from the travelling, she hardly danced. But I must say, from the afternoon to the evening event, she still looked so fine, like refined mealie meal. Of course, as the guest, people would have expected more interaction with her and also take a few pictures at the after party, well I guess it is always for next time. She was dressed in a black jumper that showed some skin and incredible gladiator heels. Her face was vaulted with her Dillish by Vault lip gloss sparkling right through. She is BOSS at that.

The second performance was by Tehn Diamond who did not disappoint and made sure that nobody sat down. He performed alongside his music buddy, Take 5 and they delivered just as much as they did in Mutare where they had previously performed. His spicing up of Brenda Fassie tracks, had an interesting twist to his performance. Immediately after his performance, Zimbabwe Music Award Nominees, Djembe Monks, proved why they were nominated in the last years awarding ceremony.

As a performer or Dj, one thing you need to understand when coming to Bulawayo or performing there, is that the people appreciate dance tracks and music. Give them Djembe Monks, the whole house will stand up and remain standing for the rest of the night. This is what exactly happened when the Monks got on stage for their set.

Just before the event ended, the Humongous Vault Cosmetic cake was brought out and a few words of gratitude to Bulawayo were said by Jackie Mgido. For those that were lucky enough and went to the restaurant side of Horizon, they got a slice, while the rest continued dancing. I still remember taking lots of pictures at the famous sparkling gold Vault backdrop and also chatting to a whole lot of people that came through to support the launch &local artists. 1am, I had had enough of the standing and had lost half of my crew which had come along with me. It was time for me to call it a night; I headed home with a Vault smile on my face. This whole launch process was done in an incredible way.

Remember to hit me up on Twitter Gilmore Tee #OTNGtee  and let me know what you think, looking forward to hearing from you.

Picture Credit: Good Ideas/BYO Reloaded/Ernest Mackina