Evolution of make-up artists

Popular cosmetic

brand Sugarbelle

has partnered with a few make-up artists for a range of liquid creams.

WHEN I was about 8 years old, my eldest sister tied the knot. As a child back then, I hardly took notice of her make-up. Not too long ago, I came across a photo of my sister on her wedding day. It was then that I noticed what she truly looked like on her big day. The first thing that crossed my mind was Wow!

Her lips had that glossy shine from her lip gloss, the blush on her cheeks were really obvious and it looked like she had the wrong tone of foundation on her face.

It wasn’t bad — it just wasn’t the natural make-up look we’re so used to seeing on the faces of so many brides today.

I asked her who did her make-up. “Me”, she answered. Now that’s something you’d hardly hear from brides nowadays.

I asked why and she answered that it was hard to find a mak andam (Malay term for make-up artists back then) and the ones she found were overpriced.

Okay, I’m not here to not talk about my sister’s make-up on her wedding day. But it got me thinking about a time when there weren’t as many make-up artists in the business. Fast-forward to today and you’ll see a make-up artist on every corner.

THE EVOLUTION

With the ever-growing beauty industry, the number of make-up artists have flourished too. Being a make-up artist is now considered a sought-after profession.

Make-up artists go hand-in-hand with many other businesses such as fashion, bridal and even production houses. People require the services of make-up artists almost every day.

Nowadays, asking the question “who did your make-up?” is akin to “who are you wearing?”

Go to any brides’ Instagram account and they will be sure to proudly show off who painted their faces.

Social media helps to boost these makeup artists’ profiles and strengthen their networking. I’ve known people who quit their

Ummi Nasir (left) and Khir Khalid are among the local make-up artists who have become celebrities.

corporate jobs to pursue a career as a a fulltime make-up artist. Guess what? They’re happier of course, and it pays good money.

I’m not saying everyone should quit their job and become make-up artists but it sure looks like something I’d like to dive into.

NOTABLE MAKE-UP ARTISTS

On our shores here we’ve got a few pretty popular make-up artists who have somethemselves. what become celebrities Khir Khalid, Syed Dewa, Syed Faizal Syed Noh, Ummi Nasir and Nad Ismail have all made their claim to fame.

The presence of make-up artists is

strong these days that women will pay a lot to have their “magic touch” on their faces. It’s like how fashionistas would pay big bucks to wear a designer dress.

BUILDING THEIR BRAND

Now, not only do these make-up artists’ list of clientele is growing day by day, many cosmetics brands are also collaborating with make-up maestros to produce limited edition make-up collections.

For example, local make-up brand Marcella & Co recently teamed up with Khir Khalid for a limited edition range of liquid lipsticks.

You can check out their collection at @ khirkhalid or @marcellaandco on Insta-

gram. Another example is popular cosmetics brand Sugarbelle, which partnered with a few make-up artistes for a range of liquid creams like Tiar Zainal, Nad Ismail (@ nvdism), Noriana (@thefacedesigner), Erin Leola and Bee Ramza.

As for make-up artists, a tie-up with popular cosmetic brands ultimately boosts their presence in the industry. In a way, you get assurance that the product is of good quality, given how it’s been given the nod by the make-up artist.

Now that they have teamed up with cosmetics brands, I wonder what’s next for these make-up artists. Local make-up brand Marcella & Co recently teamed up with Khir Khalid for a limited edition range of liquid

lipsticks.