Starting something completely new is not a walk in the park, but once you do, it’s even harder to maintain it. Nahya Shero, then a university student, saw potential in makeup and making people look like the best version of themselves, and seized the opportunity. Years on, she has built one of the most coveted makeup brands in Kampala with a clientele of many brides and celebrities such as Lydia Jazmine and Nina Roz.
For our June cover story, Satisfashion UG caught up with the mother-of-one to discuss how she rocketed to success and what it’s like maintaining that status. Here are a few excerpts.
Starting out
When I joined university, I’d do makeup of my friends whenever we’d go out. I would also watch lots of YouTube tutorials and the rest has been history. Everyone that would be kind enough to allow me do their makeup recommended me to some other people. That’s how my journey started while at university. After graduation, because it was the only that made sense to me, I chose to get professional about it, instead of looking for employment.
Her first paid gig
“He [Eddy Kenzo] had a video shoot, and at the time, him and I were acquaintances, someone you see and just say ‘hi’,” she recalls.
“At some point, I remember telling him, “I do makeup, and if you have a gig or anything, please, don’t hesitate.” That day, he had a video shoot – I don’t even remember the song, but I remember it was shot was in Bugolobi. He called me and said he had a shoot and needed a makeup artist for his girls. I said why not? I didn’t even have enough products then – I went downtown, you can imagine!”
Eddy Kenzo, being the big star he is, Shero’s flood gates of opportunities were immediately opened.
“The gig opened an opportunity for me to land more video shoot gigs. It’s then when I met Nina Roz, Lydia Jazmine, Iryn Namubiru, Pallaso, Chameleon and so many other celebrity clients I have now,” she recounts. One name on her list that immediately catches my ear is Victoria Kimani, the Lagos-based Kenyan singer.
Stay true to your art
“First of all, you need to stay real to yourself. Concentrate on your creative niche because every makeup artist has their own. I’m not going to be doing the same thing some other makeup artist does. There is that uniqueness clients always look for, so you have to be unique.”
Be professional
“You also have to be really really professional – how you handle your clients matters more than anything else. You need to make your clients your friends, but also, refrain from being ‘overly friendly’, there’s that line you shouldn’t cross.”
She has a strong team
“I don’t really have a big team, but I have a strong team,” she tells me. “I have a personal assistant, a studio manager and also an assistant makeup artist. My personal assistant handles my gigs, receives this and that. Then the manager, the girl you met at the studio, receives money, banks it, pays rent and all. The assistant makeup artist, who is this one (points at the girl next to her) she’s always with me, as we run around backstage during weddings and other gigs. It’s just the four of us.”
Competition is nothing to worry about
“Everyone has their own blessing. You cannot keep hating on someone, or try to take their blessing. Now, let’s take a look at Fayth Presh, she’s my friend. When I meet Peter Russell, we talk. When I meet Imani, we talk. When I meet Bridget, we talk. Mona, we talk. Besides, the mall I work at has how many makeup studios? Like 4 or 5? That’s why I insist, up your game all the time, you need to be thinking about what’s next? Competition is a lot, but we work through it. Sometimes you’re busy, so you give other makeup artists a chance, and other times they are busy, so they send you clients. It’s a win win relationship.”
See full story here.
