Applying make-up is not only about taking a brush and dabbing a little powder on one’s face rather it entails finding your shade, products that work for your skin tone, applying foundation, contouring and baking, eyeshadow, blush, highlight and a whole host of other things in order to enhance your features. It takes someone with the love for the craft to venture into the field and make a career of it because of the amount of patience and time it requires.
For Natasha Persaud, applying make-up to enhance her features or cover a pimple was something she always had a knack for at a very young age. She has the patience to stand, cower and contour for hours just to achieve the desired look.
It was that love for everything make-up that led the single mother towards becoming a make-up artist. Natasha is 27 years old; mother to a four-year-old daughter and the need to provide the best possible life for her daughter is what drives her to achieve perfection.
“I am a strong, independent woman and about a year ago I opened my studio after years of doing house calls. Business is tough but you have to persevere and everything will fall in place,” she said.
Natasha’s studio, Tasha’s Touch of Elegance, is located in Eccles on the East Bank of Demerara and she explains that the journey to that accomplishment is one that was filled with challenges. She added that the misconception with Make-Up Artists is that they are too expensive but clients do not consider the costs of make-up, brushes and labour.
Natasha, a professionally trained make-up artist, says there is much more to make-up than what meets the eye. To achieve the desired look, one would have to start with the basics. Since some products absorbs the natural moisture and oils our bodies produce, one would have to first moisturize the area make-up is to be applied to. After moisturizing, then comes the application of primer followed by foundation and concealer. Once concealing is finished, the artist then moves to the brows and gives the face time to bake which is letting translucent powder sit on your face for five to 10 minutes, which allows the heat from your face to set your base foundation and concealer, and then dusting it off your face, leaving you with a creaseless, flawless finish.
Once baking is completed then comes the highlighting, application of blush, eyeshadow and lipstick. Sounds like a lot right? Yes! As Natasha puts it, the application of make-up is a lengthy process that requires commitment and knowledge of both the product and desired look. “When I am finished with my clients, I want them to look good and feel good. Make-up shouldn’t be too much that it overpowers the person but it should be just enough to accentuate the client,” she says.
As a relatively young person now establishing a business, Natasha says the challenges are many and they range from accessing the right product, equipment and getting clients to pay the correct amount without complaining.
For now, Natasha is focused on building her brand and expanding her reach. She is currently offering make-up classes for anyone who has the drive and passion. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
