They can make you blush!

Sheetal

Want to look good? Let MUA help you out. If you are someone who turns to social media for makeup tips, the terminology may not sound all that strange to you. On social media, MUA stands for makeup artists.

And thanks to social media, women are not the sole beneficiary of makeup tips any longer. Social media influencers like Ankush Bahuguna and Siddharth Batra are educating men how to wear makeup to look good. We talk to popular makeup artists and beauty bloggers of the region to know more about their work and how are they planning to continue in the absence of TikTok, which had emerged as a favourite platform for MUAs to demonstrate their skill.

Promoting local brands

Beauty blogger and fashion influencer with 20K followers on Instagram, Ash Sidana is a professional makeup artist and based in Ludhiana. She says, “I started two years back. The love of my followers, their questions and trust in my advice encouraged me to produce fresh content and styles. In the time of a pandemic, brands need to do marketing for their products and what better way to slip in good products in your makeup tutorial or styling videos? Being an influencer I completely support brands that are starting out and have good range of products to offer. I think banning of Chinese products is commendable but at the same time supporting local Indian brands will bring about a bigger change. And together we can!”

Surviving TikTok ban

“Choosing a career as freelancer makeup artist has been my dream. From dolling up myself to experimenting on family members to making my clients look good for photoshoots, it has been a great journey. It was just a startup for me in the year 2019. Covid-19 had a major impact on a profession like ours,” says Damanpreet Kaur, a makeup artist from Amritsar. She works from Chandigarh as well as from her hometown.

Talking about the current scenario, she adds, “The wedding market will not be the same for a while. If the lockdown persists, the budget for marketing and advertisement will be slashed.”

People are now afraid to invite freelancers at their place for services. Further, the ban on TikTok, though is a great initiative politically, is going to affect certain section of MUA.

Being a TikTok user herself, Damanpreet adds, “TikTok was a good platform for those who were shy to come out in real, a great way for MUAs to show their work within few seconds that could actually attract viewers. There is a higher level of engagement on YouTube and Instagram. So, makeup artists should post their best work on those platforms.”

Keep upgrading

Antim Chopra, freelance makeup artist from Amritsar, has a word of advice for aspiring artists, “Change is inevitable. People today are exposed to a wide range of brands and makeup trends due to social media. Invest your time in learning new techniques. If you are consistent and up-to-date with new trends, with hard work and determination, you can shine and gain followers in no time. And then, money will start flowing.”

Talking about a mistake that one should avoid, she suggests, “Investing in costly products when you do not have enough clients is a big no. Invest in marketing and upgrading your skill on regular basis.”

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Word of mouth works too

• At HK Makeovers a team of professional makeup artists is headed by Honey Kalsi, who is a go-to artist for Pollywood. Honey is based in Chandigarh, while his associate Manu Sharma is from Ludhiana.
• Honey says, “I started eight years ago when there were not too many players in this field. I personally missed out on social media promotions. I never used TikTok and I am not even regular on Instagram. We have been getting business through the word of mouth.”
• Manu adds, “You learn something new each day—how to do light makeup, which makeup suits best in raw file, HD shoot or red camera shoot. Of course, the competition has grown over the years, but if you keep upgrading yourself, nothing can stop you.”

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