INTERVIEW with Awange Label || Official Lash Sponsor for Island Haus Runway 2026
SD: Hi, Ruth. For my readers who don’t know you yet, can you please introduce yourself?
RA: Hey, I’m Ruth Awange, the founder and CEO of Awange Label, a Brisbane based cluster lash brand. I created Awange Label from a genuine love of beauty and self expression, but also from wanting to see more of us reflected in the beauty space. At the heart of the brand is individuality, creating products that enhance what’s already uniquely yours rather than changing it.
SD: What does beauty mean to you?
RA: To me, beauty is self expression. It’s our individuality, our different features, our skin tones, our eye shapes, all the things that make us distinctly ourselves. I think beauty becomes so much more meaningful when we stop looking at it as one particular standard we’re supposed to fit into and start seeing it as something that can look completely different from one person to the next.
SD: What’s the most important to you at the moment?
RA: What’s really important to me right now is helping reimagine what the Australian beauty industry, and beauty more broadly, can look like. I want to see a space that genuinely reflects different skin tones, eye shapes, cultures and expressions of beauty, including those that haven’t always been centred in the mainstream.
Representation has such an impact on how we see ourselves. If you rarely see people who look like you represented in beauty, it can quietly send the message that you’re the one who needs to change. I want to contribute to an industry where more people can look at what’s in front of them and think, “There’s a place for me here too.”
SD: What is the meaning of success for you?
RA: Success has changed meaning for me over time. Of course I want to build a strong and lasting business, but the bigger measure for me is impact.
If someone can come across Awange Label and feel seen, feel represented and feel inspired to embrace their own features rather than wishing they looked like somebody else, that means something to me. I’d love for what we’re building to play even a small part in broadening the beauty narrative for the next generation.
SD: What inspires you and keeps you going?
RA: My children, without question. Becoming a mother has changed the way I look at ambition and what I’m building. There’s definitely a balancing act between motherhood and running a business, and some seasons require more from one than the other, but my children have given what I do a much deeper sense of purpose.
I want them to grow up seeing that you can create something from an idea, back yourself and build a life around what matters to you. They’re a huge part of my motivation to keep going, especially on the days when running a business feels challenging.
SD: What would you say to your younger self?
RA: I’d tell her that the things that feel overwhelming right now won’t always feel that way. Some of the moments you think are setting you back are actually shaping you into the person you’ll need to become.
You don’t need to have everything figured out, and you don’t need to rush to become who you think you’re supposed to be. Trust yourself a little more. One day you’ll look back and realise that even the difficult chapters had a place in your story.
Tickets are selling out fast. See Awange Label on the runway and buy your tickets HERE
Island Haus Runway:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/islandhausrunway/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586227610162
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@islandhausrunway
Awange Label:
Website: https://awangelabel.com/
Cluster Lash Collection: https://awangelabel.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awange_label/?hl=en
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awange_label
