Bonang Matheba and Ama Qamata are set to take centre stage at what promises to be one of South Africa’s biggest beauty events of 2026, as L’Oréal Paris brings its makeup masterclass back to Johannesburg on 19 September.
The event, taking place at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, will be hosted by media powerhouse Bonang Matheba and L’Oréal Paris Global Makeup Artist Harold James, with actress and L’Oréal Paris Sub-Saharan Africa ambassador Ama Qamata joining them.
The masterclass comes with considerable history. In 2024, L’Oréal Paris South Africa hosted a record-breaking makeup masterclass in Midrand, with reports confirming that 440 attendees took part in the Guinness World Record-winning class led by UK beauty expert Uche Natori and Bonang.
The new event therefore brings together two of South Africa’s most recognisable women in entertainment and beauty, while continuing L’Oréal Paris’ growing investment in African talent.
Bonang Matheba: from media star to global business force
For Bonang, the L’Oréal Paris partnership represents another chapter in a career that has long extended beyond television and radio.
The presenter, entrepreneur and producer has spent more than two decades building one of Africa’s most recognisable personal brands. Her career has included major broadcasting platforms, international hosting opportunities, fashion collaborations and some of the biggest commercial partnerships in the entertainment industry.
She was the first international ambassador for Revlon outside the United States and has subsequently worked with major global brands including Cîroc, Ipanema, Samsung and Steve Madden. Her Steve Madden collaboration saw her become the first African to collaborate with the American footwear brand.
Her business interests have also made her more than a celebrity endorser.
In 2019, she launched House of BNG, her luxury Méthode Cap Classique brand, becoming the first Black woman to join the Méthode Cap Classique Association. The brand has since become one of the most visible celebrity-founded luxury beverage ventures in South Africa.
Speaking about the thinking behind her business ventures, Bonang has previously explained: “It’s not just about me slapping my name on to something.”
She added: “I’m a bubbly girl, so I launched my own bubbly. I’m a shoe girl, so of course, I’ll have my own shoe collection with Steve Madden. I’m a big makeup person, so of course I’ll be working with L’Oreal.”
That philosophy has helped turn Bonang from a media personality into a commercial brand capable of moving between entertainment, fashion, beauty and business.
Her recent hosting credits have included major international and local platforms, including the Earthshot Prize Awards and Miss South Africa, further cementing her position as one of the country’s most sought-after presenters.
Ama Qamata’s rise from actress to global beauty ambassador
For Ama Qamata, the masterclass comes at another important point in an already impressive career.
Qamata first gained attention through South African television before becoming internationally recognised for her role as Puleng Khumalo in Netflix’s Blood & Water. She also starred in Mzansi Magic’s Gomora and has continued to expand her work across television and film.
She has also moved beyond acting. Qamata received her first co-producer credit on Fight Like a Girl, a film in which she also starred, marking an important expansion of her creative work behind the camera.
Her international profile has continued to grow, with Qamata joining the cast of the South African film Boyz Trip in 2026.
But one of her biggest recent milestones has been her appointment as L’Oréal Paris’ Sub-Saharan Africa ambassador.
L’Oréal Paris describes her appointment as part of its effort to place African talent on a global stage, noting that Qamata made her debut with the brand at its 2025 Le Défilé event in Paris.
Her appointment also placed her within a powerful legacy of African women associated with the beauty giant.
A meeting of two different generations of influence
The significance of Bonang and Ama appearing together goes beyond a beauty tutorial.
Bonang represents a generation of African entertainment figures who transformed celebrity into business, while Qamata represents a younger generation of African actors building careers that move between local productions, global streaming platforms and international brands.
Their connection through L’Oréal Paris reflects the company’s broader strategy of using African talent to connect with consumers on the continent.
L’Oréal has increasingly positioned South Africa as an important market for its global beauty business, including through its Walk Your Worth fashion initiatives and partnerships with South African talent.
Qamata’s appointment as Sub-Saharan Africa ambassador is particularly significant because it gives a young South African actress a platform within one of the world’s largest beauty companies.
From a record-breaking masterclass to another major beauty moment
The 19 September event will also build on L’Oréal Paris South Africa’s previous attempt to create the world’s biggest makeup masterclass.
The 2024 event was designed as a large-scale beauty experience, combining professional makeup education with product demonstrations and beauty kits for attendees. L’Oréal’s official campaign material recorded an attendance limit of 600 consumers for the Johannesburg event.
This time, Bonang returns to the masterclass environment, but with Ama Qamata joining the experience as one of L’Oréal Paris’ leading African faces.
For Bonang, it is another major global beauty association. For Ama, it is an opportunity to further establish herself beyond acting and as part of a new generation of African women representing the continent internationally.
And for L’Oréal Paris, the pairing brings together established influence, emerging talent and a distinctly African interpretation of its longstanding “You’re worth it” philosophy.
On 19 September, Kyalami will therefore become more than a beauty classroom – it will be a meeting point for entertainment, fashion, business and African representation on a global stage.
