Her teachers would often find eye shadows, lip-glosses, palettes in her bag. Little did they know that most of them are going to be dolled up on their wedding day by her. With a hint of nostalgia, make-up artist, Aiza Bhat shared her past memories.
Aiza has been in the field of makeup since 2015 when it was a lesser-known profession in Kashmir valley. She used to fly from Qatar to Kashmir during the wedding seasons for her brides. Having done a lot of shows in the Middle East, she has now decided to stay here in Kashmir.
Recently she has started her studio in Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar. In her make-up studio, apart from the makeup and styling section, she will be offering makeup courses to the interested ones and will be taking the finest artists in her team.
“I was settled in Qatar. I did a course of makeup in 2015 and started an internship there. I kept shuttling between Kashmir and the Middle East because I loved my work and my client chain started developing very fast,” she said.
From the age 17, she started working in the field from researching about new products to learning various skills of makeup.
She has recently launched her skin care products manufactured from Lebanon and Morocco and has been receiving good response for her products including creams, soaps, scrubs, hair masks and oils. Soon, she will be going to launch products for acne care.
“Usually, I used to get those products for my brides, then the demands increased so I decided to showcase it. The response was great. One of the skin products is collagen. The hormone that our skin produces but with age, the skin stops producing that hormone. Kashmir is a mountainous area so dryness is everyone’s problem and our products are the solutions,” she said.
Apart from that, her studio is a one stop for the female folk for garments, footwears and accessories.
“I have studied in Rizvi college Mumbai. I was in the HR field too. I stepped in the make-up field and worked very hard. The institute where I learnt makeup is giving certificates under my name,” she said.
With the success, she had to face the pressure from society for choosing an unorthodox career option.
“My father has been a backbone and people spoke about me and him too but he didn’t care. Today the same people praise me for earning a name. Since then, I have done my work with dignity. I have always respected my bride’s privacy and never used their pictures without their permission,” she said.
Aged 23, Aiza comes from a business family who are settled in Qatar but she was connected to her roots and wanted to come back to start something of her own.
Currently, she is preparing for the make-up course that she will start in the winter. She said, “This will be a very good opportunity for youth. The best ones who I will train with, I will prefer to take them in my studio.”
Going against her family who wanted her to pursue law, she did what she was fond of since childhood. In the past she worked with an international company but that did not match her interests and stepped into the make-up field.
She believes that the quality and satisfaction of clients works for her. “My makeup service charges are very minimal. I believe there should be a genuine rate for makeup. Overpricing should not be there. It’s a big day for a girl and we makeup artists shouldn’t take advantage of it,” she added.
She said that when she was in Mumbai, she got a lot of offers for modelling and acting from big names but that never compromised on her dreams.
“I support women and if they have something in their heads, they should go for it. Whatever society says should not bother them, let people see you achieving things. I am very much attached to the roots because I love Kashmir and I haven’t been much here. Now I want to focus on my place only,” she said.
