Words by Imala

In this tiny nation of Maldives, we are seeing so many young and talented young people who are working towards in achieving their dreams and goals. Every day we see our people showing the world that Maldivian blood can also achieve just as much. It is truly inspiring that we get to interview these gifted individuals and bring the readers an insight of how they are working towards in making a mark of their own in this challenging world of giving and being the best, they can be.

When we first came across her products, we were under the assumption that it was an international brand. It was such a surprise to find out it’s a line launched by one of our own. Without any further due, for this week’s special feature we would like to introduce 16-year-old Qani who is the sole owner of her own name-based arising cosmetics brand QANI. She had launched her brand with two lipsticks on her birthday, September 26th. She is an O’level student who is waiting for her results in order to pursue her higher studies to do Masters in Business.

“I actually wanted to do something of my own so I came up with an idea to do a business with the help of my brother. As a young person of 16, I faced a lot of difficulties to be where I am today.” Qani stated with a smile. “Since I was young, I loved to do makeup. I used to make up on my own messing up my face. Even when my mom was not ok with it, I kept doing it in secret. And I got my inspiration from Kylie Jenner when she became the youngest billionaire after she started selling her brand at 17. That’s really how I got into the makeup world.” Qani continued with a laugh.

To start with, we inquired about her brand name which is so simple and sophisticated, Qani replied that, “Since I was a kid, my name has been very different. When I was in school, I did even get bullied for it at first because some couldn’t pronounce it properly. Even so I always found my name very unique and just wanted my name to be known instead of my face.” Qani further elaborated on her brand logo saying, ” It’s about a girl who starts from the bottom and it is like a lifeline that will always come back to her.”

Furthermore, Qani clarified that it was hours and hours of research and it took her around eight months of designing and more than a year of brainstorming and creating the products. “Back then it was quite difficult since I did all the work on my own but slowly, I am building up a team now. It was really hectic with creating and getting ready for exams. The biggest challenge for me is to face my own self to do this. I go through a lot of things personally and this is my biggest dream to have a brand of my own and to make it international someday.”

As we kept talking about her brand, she took out three lipsticks from her bag. We were tempted to her ask her to elaborate a little more. Without skipping a beat Qani explained that, “Pop and Ltera are two moist lipsticks that will last up to 8 hours with less stain and easy to remove.” It was evident that she truly loved and enjoyed what she did. And it made us more curious to find out more about this young woman who is ready to conquer the world.

Furthermore, what intrigued us was her latest release called The Fountain of Youth which is focused on Ageism. “I did some research and there are so many comments saying old people cannot use makeup so I just wanted to focus on that and release a nude matte shade that embraces all skin types. Mostly, I am trying to come up with shades for the darker skin tones.”

“Personally, I want to keep the quality of my products constant always. To keep it in the same level, since my target is to make it international too. In future a very big surprise is coming up which I am very busily working on. I am planning on bigger things to introduce since I don’t want to limit my range to cosmetics only. So hopefully will be announcing new things very soon.” She spoke with a gleam in her eyes as she told us about her future plans for her brand.

When we asked her about the community feedback, Qani replied, “First it was very negative because I was a very young girl. But later I got a lot of support from a lot of people. In regards to the product I got a lot of positive feedback saying that it is very light on the lips and that is something I actually worked on a lot. Getting that as a feedback was very nice.”

Qani attributes her success to her brother who helped her start up this venture. “My biggest motivation is my brother who is like the only family and friend. He has always been a constant supporter. I am very thankful for him.” Moreover, for any young entrepreneurs who plans to start a business Qani had one thing to say. “It is a very big risk. Even if you are alone just do it. And it is going to be very hard and difficult. My brother is very strict and yet even with the strictness just face it. Without facing it you won’t know how it would turn out. I started with nothing. If I could do it then anyone could do it. Just believe in your dreams.”

On that note we ended the interview wishing Qani all the very best in her future endeavors and success in seeing Qani become an international brand. It was truly an honour.