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Go Glamorous with ‘Glam-up by Sonalii’





Go Glamorous with ‘Glam-up by Sonalii’

Popular makeup artist Sonali Mishra believes in Bill Cosby’s famous quote: “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” Such was her passion for the art that she left a high-paying job to follow her dreams. And it took immense courage for her to take the plunge.

With an MBA degree in HR/Marketing, Sonali started her career as a manager in a national company. But she was not happy with her job and wanted to establish herself as a makeup artist, a passion she nurtured since long. Her dream finally came true with ‘Glam-up by Sonalii’, her brainchild where she currently works as a freelance makeup artist.

“After quitting my job, I went to Bangalore and did a makeup course. I worked there for almost six months and then shifted base to Bhubaneswar, my hometown. In this one and a half years time, I have done several assignments, the memorable ones being working with Arjuna Award winner and ace sprinter Dutee Chand, National Award-winning actress Prakruti Mishra and Puma. I have also worked for all the top bloggers of Bhubaneswar. When I started, I didn’t have a godfather and knew nothing about the market opportunities. So, it was a tough decision for me to switch my profession. But thanks to the unconditional support from my husband and in-laws, I could make it,” she said.

From her childhood, Sonali was passionate about beauty secrets and makeup. When she was only 7-8 years old, she tried her hands at making someone more beautiful with her little knowledge of makeup and loved the transformation. Unlike other girls, her shopping list didn’t include clothes; rather it was filled with makeup-related products. 

“Before joining the training institute, I had tried different types of makeup on my own face. But there, I got the opportunity to try out makeup on faces of different shades, shapes and hairstyles. That taught me how to highlight the features of different types of faces.” she informed.

Sonali further said, “Sometimes the makeup becomes so heavy that the person looks like someone else. This happens especially in the case of bridal makeup. There are a few makeup artists who are doing this. But they are not always wrong as most of the customers prefer this type of makeup these days. But there are clients who don’t want to look like someone else and prefer natural makeup. I have come across many such clients and they have loved my work.” Original skin tone should be enhanced, features highlighted, eye makeup emphasised and hairstyle good for better results, she added.

As of now, Sonali has no plans to open her own parlour and only wants to reach out to a maximum number of people through her work. She is now offering self-grooming classes of 1-2 days where women can learn the makeup skills in a professional way.

Sharing her tips for glowing skin and hair, she said, “When I started Glam-up by Sonalii on Instagram, I used to update posts on my daily routine which included regular exercises, yoga and health care. I received many queries about how to maintain glowing skin and hair. I recommend eating food rich in protein, exercising daily and good sleeping habits. Our skin and hair need protein to stay healthy. And when your skin is in a good condition, which is the base of any makeup, the looks will be flawless.”

Besides, cleaner scalp makes the hair healthy. So hair should be washed with sulphate free shampoo every alternative day. 

“Pure protein powder will not make you bulky but help you keep your skin and hair healthy. So if you are not getting enough protein from your daily diet, then you should go for a protein powder. I always prefer natural products like Haldi (Turmeric), Besan (Gram Flour) and Dahi (Curd) which are really good for the skin,” she informed.

Sonali takes inspiration from Iraqi-American makeup artist Huda Kattan and Indian artist Namrata Soni. She believes that choosing a career in makeup is not easy these days. “There is tough competition as everyone can learn basic makeup skills from social media pages. But if you are determined and have the right skills, you can make it big in the industry,” she added.

Author: Jyoti Prakash Sahoo

Hailing from the entertainment industry, Jyoti started his career as a cine journalist in 2017. He is an anchor, actor and creative writer too. Currently working as the Content Head of the Odia entertainment YouTube channel 'Mo TV', Jyoti also loves to write human interest and positive stories that can inspire the readers.

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