“Thank you so much Clere. I really love the lotions and crèmes; they’re the reason why I have such great skin,” said a visibly emotional Thandiwe Zuma with tears in her eyes, on finding out that she’d just won R100 000 in the Are you Clere’s number one fan? Winter Promotion. The competition ran from early March this year and ended on 31 July with a whopping 150 000 entries. “This has undoubtedly been one of Clere’s most successful competitions to date,” said Clere brand manager Su-Marie Annandale at the prestigious grand prize handover in Johannesburg. “It’s an absolute honour and privilege to be able to change people’s lives this way.”

The 27-year-old Zuma, who comes from Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal, purchased her favourite Clere product – Lanolin & Glycerine Lotion – at Pick n Pay in the KwaMnyandu Shopping Centre. She could never have thought, in her wildest dreams, what that simple purchase and entry would lead to. “It’s the first competition I have ever entered, and I just can’t believe it.”

When she received a phone call a couple of months later informing her that she was one of the finalists in the Clere competition, she was shocked. Landing in Johannesburg for the first time, after experiencing flying for the first time, all she knew was that she was a finalist with no idea that she was in fact the grand prize winner. It was to be a day of many firsts.

When asked what she plans to do with the money, she says she’s going to save it for now. “All I know is, my life has changed.”

She adds, “There aren’t enough words to express how happy I am. I’m overwhelmed. Clere, you’ve made my dreams come true.”