5 make-up artists share what ignited their passion for their profession

We speak to five celebrity make-up artists who divulge what kindled their relationship with make-up 

Until some years ago, the stature of “celebrities” was limited to actors and models on screen. However, from the glamour they exude to the dialogues they narrate, every facet of their performances you see on the screen is put together by an army of people who are experts in their own fields— think hair and make-up artists, fashion stylists, script writers, lyricists and so on. Today, as social media becomes a vital platform for celebrities, ‘credit culture’ has taken centre stage. As a domino effect, these experts have managed to amass more and more recognition over the years, getting the credit they deserve.

However, restricting their identity to being a particular celebrity’s artist and extolling their work occasionally doesn’t make the cut. We decided to go one step further to understand what their initial points of inspiration were, and what amplified their passion to consider make-up as a profession. 

Mitesh Rajani:

I was into client servicing and had moved cities to be with someone I was dating back then. While I was in Hyderabad, I found myself to be jobless. Given my limited education plus the fact that I was perpetually moving cities meant I didn’t have access to enough job opportunitiesIn 2011, I took up a job as a salon manager since I was bored and wasn’t doing anything else. I’d like to believe that that’s where it all began.

Luckily, I moved to Mumbai soon after with my then boyfriend; I started assisting make-up artists at fashion weeks and on shoots. That’s when I realised that I am very passionate about this. I felt excited to go to work and wanted to do my best on the job. Those were perhaps the indicators that told me, “Yes, this is my path.” Eventually, I started assisting as much as I could and meeting as many new people as possible; I constantly tried to work with new artists. Eventually, I’d visit London often for short courses—I’d been to the Kevin Fortune Hair Styling Academy because I wanted to learn professional blow-drying techniques and how it’s done internationally. I also took up some backstage training at fashion weeks to get a hang of how things work there. I also did a three-day Make Up For Ever course at their academy in Paris to understand product usage. 

All in all, what remains consistent is the idea of beauty that I hold from the start. Every time I did a class or course, I certainly picked up something from there but most of it was about my vision of beauty so I’d combined it with something of my own to create something beautiful. That’s how I work on my canvases to date. I am more than grateful for this journey—it’s been nothing but rewarding. 

Sandhya Shekar: My first encounter with make-up was when I was a little girl, probably four or five years old. As far as I recollect, I was obsessed with beauty—I’d play around with a lot of my mother’s make-up. I was also drawn to colours so a lot of paint and colour would go on my face. And as someone who grew up around nature, whatever would bleed colour would end up on my face. 

Professionally, it was only when I was 24 and stuck in the rut of a finance corporate job for three years—and didn’t want to be in it anymore—that I thought, “what next”? I then chose to transition into make-up; it happened out of boredom and I thought I would be good at it. I had thoughts about it previously and was cognizant of the commercial viability vaguely since I had friends who were make-up artists working in the industry. However, I got that clarity after three whole years of the corporate-world experience. I also got into this with a mindset that “let me give this a shot, if it doesn’t work out, I will go back to corporate life.” I remember I’d seen my sister’s make-up at one of her wedding ceremonies and felt it wasn’t working at all—I ended up re-doing it myself and when the pictures came out, they spoke for themselves. That was one of the first signals that beauty was for me, and this had happened way before I even got into my corporate job. 

I quit everything, took up a short formal course, learnt professional make-up and came to Mumbai to assist people in the business. I’d tag along with random hair and make-up artists for about a year to see how things function on a set. I did a lot of unpaid assignments, despite being broke as hell. But, each year was better than the last. I was working for about 28-30 days a month by the sixth year of my make-up career, it was fatigue-inducing but I kept growing. By the eighth year, I got the opportunity to work with Deepika Padukone—it changed things for me in terms of the scale of work. I will complete 14 years in this industry next month, and it’s quite fulfilling. 

Savleen Manchanda:

I was a tomboy all my life, so my parents were pleasantly—or perhaps unpleasantly—surprised when I told them in class 11 that I want to pursue a career in make-up. I remember I had given an aptitude test in the same year, the results of which made me think I could be a lawyer; however, since my family comes from a business background, my father wished for me to pursue MBA. He suggested that I list down the pros and cons of the professions I am considering before making a decision. I made the list and that led me to understand that I want to be a make-up artist and don’t want to study any further. It took some time (longer than I expected) for my father to be on board with my decision. And I am talking about a time when make-up wasn’t a “cool” profession and only a few names like Mickey Contractor and Ambika Pillai were known in the field. However, my father eventually gave in and agreed with my choice. I’ve been in the shadow of Mickey Sir during my stint with M.A.C Cosmetics in my initial days—it was enriching and inspiring. The fact that make-up could create a whole new personality and say so much about the character you’re trying to put out there really stayed with me. 

I remember I was at Selfridges with my mother as a kid. She was picking up some M.A.C products and I saw people donning smokey eyes, glossy red lips and super glamorous make-up looks that we only saw on celebrities in India back then. I was super mesmerised by this and asked my mother if we were in a fairyland, to which she responded, “No, these girls are here to help us pick stuff”. And I told her then and there that I want to do this someday—I think I manifested it strongly at the time.  

Soon after working with M.A.C Cosmetics, things started to fall into place. I was covering fashion, bridal and editorial clients in Delhi. I took the next big step when Mohit Rai, a celebrity fashion stylist and designer, and a very good friend of mine, pushed me outside my comfort zone and insisted I come to Mumbai. I came to the city towards the end of 2018; it was a little difficult and took some time to work with the right people. But, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some amazing people. I am someone who is ruled by my heart and not my head so it’s my passion that’s kept me at this.

Tanvi Chemburkar: I stumbled upon make-up by chance. I studied commercial arts for about four years and worked as a graphic designer, but always felt like something was missing—I didn’t enjoy the work and sitting in front of a computer all day didn’t particularly excite me. So, I decided to take a sabbatical; I consumed a lot of Michelle Fan content on YouTube during that period of time. I was obsessed with those make-up videos. Growing up, I wasn’t into make-up as such; I only liked wearing lipstick … so much so that if my mother wouldn’t give me hers, I would glide my red crayon on my lip as a kid (I know that’s not healthy, don’t do it). I definitely had an inclination towards colours since childhood, and seeing Fan’s videos and how she would transform herself using colours really called out to me. That’s when my brother and husband (boyfriend, back then) both encouraged me to consider make-up. I gave it a thought and went for it.

I signed up for a short course in an academy called Fat Mu in Mumbai and I loved every bit of the class—how to enhance your features, in particular. Having said that, I come from a small town and had no contacts in the industry, which is why I felt lost and under-confident. That’s when I took up a job at M.A.C Cosmetics to get into the world of make-up—practically, and not theoretically; I was at one of the busiest stores in Mumbai at Palladium Mall. We got proper training from the company; it was really game-changing for me. I got even more assured of my decision to be a make-up artist.

Soon, I assisted two big make-up artists in Bollywood and learnt that there are so many spaces to explore in the field—from editorial to on-set make-up. I quit retail to get into fashion and editorial make-up. Through one of my shoots for Vogue, I got the opportunity to do the make-up for Rhea Kapoor; she believed in me when I didn’t and she took me under her wing by introducing me to more people in the industry. Gradually, I also discovered my signature look—the no-makeup makeup look. Since then, there’s been no looking back. The first movie I worked on was Chopstix with Mithila Palkar. I then met Janhvi Kapoor and have been her go-to make-up artist. What still excites me and keeps me going is that my brief is never the same on two different days. This is my tenth year in the industry, and I still feel the same way. 

Mehak Oberoi: I always knew that I wanted to be in the fashion or make-up space, but wasn’t sure which one. But, as a child, I was always intrigued by different hairstyles and make-up looks. My mom was also very fashion-forward, so I would end up accompanying her to the salon and appreciating the work that people there would do on different hair types. I feel like that’s where my inclination towards the world of glamour kickstarted. 

Over the years, I also came to realise that I wasn’t very great at academics. That’s when I took up a professional make-up course, and there’s been no looking back since. What kept me going is the feeling of being here, getting the work done and seeing my work on different platforms.

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