Guidelines to Become a Make-up Artist by: Aniruddha C

• Make-up can do wonders is the most common phrase used nowadays. It is believed to be capable of transforming a plain Jane into a glamorous starlet. The biggest mistake most people in the profession seem to make is in doing away with a personality completely and creating an artificial façade instead. The very aura and essence of a person must come out at all times and the use of make-up is simply to enhance and not transform that aura. The extrovert, the introvert, the shy, the coquettish will each have her own style of make-up.

• Two essential attributes required to make it in this profession are a basic aesthetic sense and the right attitude. This is a creative job and in my opinion you either have it or you don't. Anybody can learn those certain amateurish dos and don'ts in applying make-up but without that creative instinct and flair, there really is no point. If you cannot visualize the person's aura and change through make-up, the profession will seem monotonous and boring.
  

• If you want to broadly categorize three styles in applying make-up, they can be the natural, nude look (which gives the no-make-up look during the day), the shimmer and shine look, and the wild and smoky look. The shimmer look came into vogue and with it did hundreds of different varieties of cosmetic products providing glitter, both underplayed and in-your-face. The smoky look is adopted to provide that extra sensuousness to a person. All these are dependent on the parameters drawn by a person's complexion and personality. Never play around with the fact that what suits one person may not suit another.

• Pakistani/Indian women have always been prided on her incredible eyes. The exotic appeal of the eyes can only be defined with the use of a kohl pencil (M.A.C Eye Kohl in Smolder). Very few women abroad can carry this off with as much élan as a Pakistani/Indian. I believe in focusing more on the eyes than the rest of her face and creating subtle, yet stark nuances with it.

• What is a social life? What is a personal life? If you want to succeed in this profession, no such thing can ever exist. If you think this is a glamorous profession comprising dressing up the rich and famous, you are mistaken. Dedication and commitment are essential and work must come before all else.

• So how do you make a name for yourself? Sheer publicity. The game lies in word-of-mouth where one person will tell five, who in return will tell another 20 and so on.

• A word of advice: Never think that you have done it all or you can't go further. The biggest competition is yourself. You must live by the motto "Tomorrow's work is always better than today's."