‘Perseverance Pays Off!' - How Hannah Chased Her Rainbow

She Turned The Beauty Of Colour Into A Booming Business.

- Fleur Guthrie

Undeterred by bullies or her high school’s no- make-up policy, Hannah McKeich used to turn up to class each morning wearing bright-green eyeshadow − albeit perfectly blended.

Her cunning plan was to never look her teachers in the eye, in the hope they wouldn’t notice. It, of course, failed (“I’d always get told to wipe it off!”), but this former teen mum has had the last laugh.

Never one to follow rules – and without any formal business qualifications – Hannah used her drive, determination and talents with a make-up brush to teach herself online marketing and develop her own cosmetics brand, Colour Junkie.

Her hard work has paid off too − she’s landed a deal to stock the range in Life Pharmacies nationwide and aims to launch across the Tasman next year.

“I’m pinching myself! It feels so surreal that my perseverance has paid off,” says the 26-year-old, whose success is a far cry from her previous hardships of a dysfunctional childhood, domestic violence and depression.

After leaving her Wellington school early to study a certificate in hair and beauty at Whitireia tertiary institute, Hannah fell pregnant and gave birth to her daughter, Isabella, at 17.

“The first three years, we spent a couple of nights living in the car and staying at the Women’s Refuge. It was very, very difficult,” she explains.