Shreya Bhandari, Delhi based Makeup Artist Shares her journey in the beauty & fashion industry.
“Like every little girl, I used to watch my mother when she got ready for any occasion. The lipstick she applied, her defined eyeliner, the way she draped her saree and all that stuff always delighted me. At times, I would take my mother’s lipstick & make a mess by scribbling them it all over the mirror. It was always exciting to put on makeup and get ready but it was quite surprising for me to take it up professionally as well. My life gave me an opportunity out of the blue and I took it."
I have always been a rank holder in high school and went on to complete my graduation from Delhi University. Like every other student, my plan was to get a master’s degree and settle down with a good job but my life had some other plans for me.
As I mentioned, makeup was always fascinating for me but I could never gather the courage to take it up professionally.
"And magic happens when you believe in yourself."
Initially, being a newbie in this makeup industry I was scared & a bit nervous but as they say, ‘Sometimes you gotta struggle before you level up, It takes you a place you wouldn't like to come back from’. I started with some online classes & eventually trained under various makeup experts to hone my skills. The up close experience taught me not only the makeup skills but also to handle immense pressure at such a high scale and work through it. The skills combined with some experience and hard work gave me the most important factor, self belief. The work experience and professional skills just gave me the push I probably lacked as a new makeup artist.
Makeup industry sounds easy as it is ‘just putting on the makeup’ but is certainly as difficult as any other industry. Especially here in India where there are already a number of established makeup artists in the industry, it was undoubtedly difficult to even survive initially but my seniors in the industry & my parents always advise me to believe in myself and keep doing what I like and I got the results. I started working with some close friends & relatives as my clients which impressed a lot of others & my journey as a makeup artist began right there. That being said, I don’t think my ‘struggle phase’ is over and neither do I want it to be over to be honest, I believe that I should always be struggling to get better and better.
I believe that there’s no competition when you are manifesting your own lane. I was 19, when I started my journey in this industry, I thought maybe if I tried convincing my clients that I was better than others, I’ll give them the confidence and trust to choose me for their special day, However, I soon realised that I just had to prove that I am good at what I do and not that I was better than anyone else.
The next hurdle in my journey was for me to travel alone all over the state, early in the morning or late at night and all alone for various freelance projects. I also had to let go of my post graduation, fun and family plans and hangouts because of my makeup projects.
Eventually my hard work paid off. I believed and kept confidence in myself, faced all the peer pressure & figured out my way. It was tough but worth it. I am a proud entrepreneur now.
Establishing myself as a makeup artist and getting a lot of business is good but only a partial sucess for me. I belive in empowerment of every aspiring woman on this planet and if I can do even a little to contribute to it, it would be an honour. I spent half my time teaching my skills to a lot of younger girls who have similar dreams as I did when I was their age, if a little push and professional skills can give them what they want, I would be happy to be the person doing it.
I organise a lot of workshops for self makeup and professional makeup for individuals seeking to learn the skill. I used to get so many queries from girls who cannot travel and sit abroad, so I finally planned to organise skype live makeup sessions specially for them. The technology helped me spread the knowledge all over the world and now I have taught over a hundred lovely girls throughout the world in countries like Germany, France, Pakistan and many more countries. I am so proud of each and every student of mine and I stay conected to all of them teaching them and at times learning from them.
I make youtube videos and IGTVs for the people who want to learn and do something with their lives, I keep organising giveaways in collaboration with other brands to give back the love my supporters and my instagram family has given me, I love it when they participate in those giveaways.
I train people who love makeup and also have my own line of makeup brushes and eyelashes.All through this I learned that life is not what you planned but it is something which is destined, all you need is a little determination and a lot of hard work.
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