The table is laden with foundation, concealer, mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick and myriad shades of nail paints and Y. Ramakrishna, a professional makeup artist, is at work to create a flawless makeup look.
“With practice, you can change the shape of your face with makeup. Pointing to one side of the nose of the girl sitting in front of him, he tries to create a ‘shadow effect’ which, he says, makes the nose appear more angular.
For someone like me, Ramakrishna almost looks like a magician with makeup tricks right on his fingertips. Poof! And the pimple disappears!
After a tossing-twirling sleepless night, if you need to look like you got a full night’s sleep or want to create the illusion of higher cheek bones, people like Ramakrishna can do it using their magic makeup wand. A native of Kondaveedu in Guntur district, he is currently based at Bangalore working his magic on the faces of television celebrities. “Earlier, I was associated with the Telugu film industry,” he informs.
“Not very long ago, makeup was the domain of the privileged sections,” he says, adding how “even a middle class housewife today clutches the ‘facial contouring palettes tighter than ever”
Ramakrishna is demonstrating a wedding makeup at a workshop at BDPS Fashion and Beauty School in city. A good number of beauticians, aspiring beauticians and other individuals walk in to comprehend makeup tips.
“Although I don’t wear makeup every day, I do enjoy using it. And I’m not alone there. Women have been using cosmetics for thousands of years, and there are many reasons why,” says Swetha, a participant, talking incessantly about what she calls “the insanely transformative power of makeup”.
Since there aren’t really any rules when it comes to wedding makeup, he mainly focusses on the sparkle and burgundy lipstick and jewel-toned shadow. “Don’t allow timidity to show on your face,” intervenes V. Bharati, directing at the girl in the chair. “Allowing fear of what other people will think affects the way one thinks about oneself, and therefore the way one presents oneself to others,” she explains. Bharathi, the cosmetologist of the beauty school, talks elaborately about the basic rules of makeup. “The art of makeup is blending; failing to merge one colour into another will cause the makeup to look like a paint-by-numbers painting,” she says, further cautioning about misuse of bright colours.
“Bright colours can look great, but they draw attention to the features they’re applied to and run the risk of looking like they’re just sitting on top of the face, rather than being part of it. They can also make the rest of the face look weak.”
Speaking about some strict no-nos, she says not adapting makeup to one’s age and style, incorrect foundation choice, not waxing facial hair or tweezing the brows, not curling the lashes or choice of wrong tones can spell disaster. The BDPS is partnering with the Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) to impart training to the unemployed youth fashion technology, beautician and other courses. Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) is a development initiative of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, aimed at training and providing guaranteed jobs to 1.5 lakh youth.
Remember the 2003 Bollywood flick Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon (I want to become Madhuri Dixit)? A film directed by Chandan Arora and produced by Ram Gopal Varma, it was the tale a poor, uneducated but starry-eyed Chutki (Antara Mali) who is a huge fan of Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit to the extent that she aspires to become the new Madhuri Dixit by attempting to join the Bollywood.
“These courses are aimed at encouraging our many chutkis to dream big and realise them through these training programmes,” says Bharathi.