WHEN Durban North resident, Amber-Lea Horne decided to enter the Clicks Sorbet Cover Model Search Competition, she never dreamed that she would make the top three, and would be visiting Cape Town for the first time.“I had never won anything before – not even Bingo!” she says.

“But I had just lost 20kg, and when I saw that they were looking for girls who were real people, not ‘picture perfect’ I decided to give it a go!”

Together with Nokulunga Zungu and Bridgette Jones, Horne beat over 10 000 hopefuls entered this year’s competition. They’re the three winners of the 2018 Clicks Sorbet Cover Model Search, which aims to find the face of ‘real women’ across South Africa.Amber-Lea, who turns 23 next month, is an entrepreneurial make-up artist.

Read also –Durban North paddler pulls off surfski win in Portugal

She decided while she was still training that she would not follow the normal path of working for a salon.“I had so many people asking me to do their make up for special events, that I realised that I could make a go of this on my own,” she says.

“So I started my own business straight out of college three years ago, and I haven’t looked back. I love what I do so much that it doesn’t feel like work.

The first time Horne did a bridal make up, it took two hours because she was so nervous, but now she is completely relaxed and can easily cope with the bride, the bridesmaids and the mother-of-the-bride too.

Read also –No obstacle too big for triumphant athletes

“I just love making people look their best,” she says.

Horne is not too concerned about whether she will be the winner of the competition. “I feel like I have won already,” she says.

“I never dreamed that I would make it to the top three and I am loving every second. This is the experience of a lifetime.”

For more from Northglen News follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram