We live in a world where everybody wants to look attractive, beautiful and something different from others. In order to do this, people do different things such as wearing designer clothes, visiting gyms and spas, going to beauty parlours among others.
Though everybody has the propensity to look alluring, some professions emphatically demand good looks. If you are in the fashion or entertainment industry, it becomes mandatory for you to maintain a good look for a maximum time. And, here is when the role of makeup artists becomes very crucial.
Regina Ama Dumah is a young dynamic lady with the desire to change the world around her and impact society with her passion. She is currently one of the most sought after Ghanaian makeup artists and the power behind the popular Reggies Makeovers brand.
A certified nurse, professional makeup artist and a photo model, Regina is a creative genius with a deep love for fashion. In spite of her busy schedule, she managed to make time to host me over the weekend for a chat on the fashion and beauty industry.
On the state of the makeup industry, she said: “in fact, over the last decade or two, the demand for expert makeup artists around the world have increased significantly. In the well-established entertainment industry, there is a huge potential for makeup artists with great benefits. In a country like India, where a wedding is more than just an occasion, there is always a scope for makeup artists.”
She also admitted that there are several opportunities for makeup artists in Ghana as a result of the increasing interest in lifestyle trends with more people taking a keen interest in their looks at all times.
“A lot has changed in recent times. Gone were the days when people would wear their best clothes only during festive seasons or to big events. Now it’s becoming a norm, the look good and feel good factor. People always want to look good, not only to special occasions but when they want to step out or even run some errands. As we all know, appearance does matter a lot and forms people’s perception about you so you always need to bring your game on when stepping out,” she added.
Regina is the last and only girl of three children of her middle-class family. She had a humble beginning and was lucky to have parents that prioritized education. After her elementary education at Cambridge Academy, she proceeded to the Tema Secondary School where she studied science.
She studied Software Engineering at IPMC before taking a Midwifery and Health Assistant course after her high school education. To enhance her people’s management skills, she enrolled at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) for a short course in Public Relations.
Your guess might be good as mine, what is happening to her nursing certificate? “Yes, I should be in the hospital by now but plans changed along the line. I left the medical field in December 2017 to pursue my dream as a makeup artist. A lot of factors pushed me to make that difficult decision but the passion to build my own brand was the most important one,” she said.
As expected, it was going to be difficult for her family to support her quitting her nursing career for something no one knew the prospects at the time. Regina revealed that the majority of her family members definitely didn’t support her decision and that was a difficult time for her.
She said: “which parent will be happy to see their daughter quit nursing to do makeup? You will only get one out of hundred parents allowing this. My brothers and dad were not happy at all but I had the support of my mum and that was what changed everything for me. It was tough from the beginning but with God and hard work, I am glad my parents and brothers are so proud of me now.”
Chronicling her journey, Regina said: “the whole fashion and makeup business started in my final year in nursing school. I tried makeup on a colleague one day and I saw how confident she became at school. I began investing in buying data and literally sleeping on YouTube to watch makeup tutorials.
According to her, she suddenly found so much interest in it that she missed classes a couple of times to stay at the hostel and try out some of the tips she had learnt from YouTube. She was getting there but needed to perfect her skills so she made a decision to use her feeding fee to polish up with a Ghanaian makeup artist in 2014 at a very critical time, three months to her license exams. Though very risky at the time, she has never regretted it.
Contrary to widely held perception, Regina revealed that makeup is a rewarding job if you are focused, determined and hardworking. “The industry is growing so fast with new trends every day. People are now seeing the business aspect of makeup and the fact that it enhances your beauty, boost your confidence level, makes you feel good about yourself and not necessarily the old notion people had that makeup is a scam,” she added.
According to her, her principle from day one has been to push the boundaries irrespective of the challenges she encounters. “The sky is big enough for everyone to fly and get to the clouds. In 2019, I won three awards – Fashion and Honors Awards Best Makeup Artist of the Year, Makeup Ghana Most Promising Bridal Makeup Artist of the Year and Xperience Womanity Award Africa for Beauty Enterprise, which gives me inspiration that there is light at the end of the tunnel and everything is possible so I need to work harder,” she emphasized.
Her advice to people planning to become makeup artists is to undergo effective makeup artist training to acquire relevant skills and attributes needed to be a successful makeup artist including creativity, colour knowledge and people skills.
