The wedding industry in India is no joke. It takes intricate planning and execution to create the best day of one’s life. Recently, makeup artists, wedding photographers and wedding organizers are sought out for to make the D-day perfect, a lot of revenue is generated by this industry because of the willingness of Indians to spend an arm and a leg to make their wedding day extra special. Makeup artists are a bride’s best friend on her wedding day. Glambysugar is a business venture run by a 23 year old young lady. Shurouck tells us how she ventured into this profession and what the makeup industry is really like!
Tell us a little about yourself and how you ventured into this profession
I’m Shurouck Saleem, a 23 year old economics graduate as well as the founder of glambysugar and co founder of Sugar sisters. I’ve always loved art and anything related to it and make up has always been a passion. I started as a baker which did immense improvement to my artistic skills and helped me create an identity as a young entrepreneur. Glambysugar began as a friendly makeover for my best friend in 2014, with friends and cousins as clients for the following two years, glambysugar is my beautiful tree of effort and love started officially on 2016.
If it was not for my wonderful family and friends, I don’t think I would have ever shared this on social media and I’m glad I did. It was a popular make up artist Tamanna Roshan known as @dressyourface , whose classes helped me immensely in learning the technical aspects of this profession like makeup hygiene, client relation and a lot of amazing techniques .Since the classes where online,I could complete my graduation along with it. While branding, I knew I had to incorporate my previous cake venture into my name, as without it there wouldn’t be the identity I had back then, and also the financial back up required to take my passion to another level. By grace of almighty, it has been officially 4 years of glambysugar this year.
The wedding industry is booming in India, what is your take being a make-up artist
As a make up artist of the present, it is very rewarding as it was not the case a few years ago. Brides, and parents of today realize the value of our skill, that it’s not just about a few products that go into it, its a whole experience. So they are willing to spend on a make up artist to be the best version of themselves for their big day.
What are the latest trends in bridal make-up?
Most of the brides today are opting for a very minimal, no make-up look which emphasizes more on a very glowy and dew base rather than a very heavy look. Also most girls today are very comfortable in their skin and accepting of their lovely skin tones. I’m glad that gone are the days of a two shade lighter foundation!
Weddings are extremely special occasions, brides dream of looking perfect on their wedding day, does that put pressure on you?
Well, every experience isn’t the same, as some brides leave it completely upto us and trust us. I often start discussing with them as to what they have in mind as soon as they have their outfits picked. Most brides nowadays has a clear picture of what they want but the biggest problem I face is when a client shows me pictures from a famous makeup artist which has gone through a-lot of editing. I personally think every face and its features are unique and I always try to enhance the features they have instead of copying a look. I make sure they are comfortable with the look and will make changes accordingly as I go. Since there is a very consistent communication process is done, most of the brides are happy and satisfied with the end result.
How much planning goes behind deciding the make-up look for a bride?
Brides often start sending me photos of what they have in mind as soon as we’ve confirmed the appointment. It is mostly right after they’ve picked the outfit, we have detailed discussions regarding make up, hair and accessories and I make suggestions based on their features and other elements to bring a beautiful outlook which my brides are comfortable in.
What are the difficulties faced by make-up artists today? How do you tackle them?
Apart from the physical strains which comes as a part of the job, difficulties faced by makeup artists have reduced tremendously compared to a couple of years back. As an industry, it is not so frowned upon these days and people are more accepting of this as a career. Many young adults are taking this up as a profession which also creates a positive impact in the society for us.
How do you feel the Covid-19 Pandemic will affect the wedding industry and make-up artists in particular?
On the bright side for makeup artists and photographers, its a good time to just relax and step up their game by utilizing the extra time we have to improve our skills, get updated on the new trends, experiment with new techniques and focus on showcasing our virtual content . But it’s still a very uncertain situation. Currently all our April brides have postponed their wedding dates to June, it is a little difficult for us cause we don’t want their dates to overlap the existing bookings . And all our June brides are also confused if they have to postpone their dates or not because some brides and their families have to travel from overseas. We are all waiting for government orders and direction. Meanwhile also praying that the world heals soon and we get through this together.
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