Though Sizi Thapa has no studio of her own, she is still one of the few established make-up artists in the country. She works as a freelancer and lives her days with versatility. Her 10-day make-up workshop, which to a make-up beginner was one of the most informative make-up experiences, concluded on July 4.
Growing up, Sizi did not always aspire to be a make-up artist. While she was fascinated by fashion talks, especially of her fashion enthusiast mother, she pursued Hospitality Management from Malaysia before working for a travel agency in Nepal. One sudden day, she started doing make-up for her colleagues at the travel agency. Her colleagues appreciated her work, and this marked a transition in her career. Pursuing her intrinsic interest then, she took off to Scandinavian Make-up Academy, Bangkok to become a certified make-up artist.
In retrospect, when she looks back, she thinks her career transition was partly fueled by her grooming in Hongkong. Born and raised in Hongkong, she was exposed to fashion trends and styles early on. Adding to that, she travelled a lot with her father, who was required to make frequent visits as a part of his job in the British Indian Army. Extensive international travels meant that she was acquainted with changing fashion trends, and she loved the diversity. Sizi consequently started her career in Myanmar in 2014.
Perhaps that is why Sizi, to this day, likes exploring. After more than two years in the business, she is nowhere close to specializing in any particular field within the make-up industry. She does it all. From ‘High Fashion’ for models in ramps, ‘Doll’ for photoshoots, special effects--of bruises and what not--for movie projects, to bridal make-up.
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Sizi’s days are highly unpredictable because she is always looking for exciting new projects. She could only tell of her upcoming projects, not her schedules. Talking about her plans three days on, she said she was supposed to meet Joshna Yogi, a model turned actress, and do a special effects make-up for the latter’s new movie project. The two had worked for a magazine make-up shoot last year. If you show Sizi a picture of someone off the internet, she can tell you what make-up techniques have been used and where. She immediately notices the facial features and can give recommendations to better your face. If that doesn’t make a make-up artist phenomenal, we don’t know what does.
Why did you organize the make-up training session?
I started teaching make-up because I wanted people to have a proper appreciation and understanding of make-up. If we think about it, these days, people go through different YouTube videos, but don’t realize that their skin color is different from the models in the video. I was asked to give training to few self-learners because they evidently lacked that understanding.
Have you considered making YouTube tutorials?
I wish that every aspiring make-up artists has this understanding, which is why I arranged this training class. On a personal level, I realized that if I did a model’s make-up the way I did my own, she is going to look less like herself and more like me. This is because all of us have different facial features. However, I can’t bring myself to make YouTube videos because I am a more passionate make-up artist than a public speaker.
What inspires you to do the things that you do?
I get inspired by the people and situations around me. For instance, when I see a punched face, I don’t think about how horrible the face is, but instead I think about how I could do a close-enough make-up. I even ask my doctor friends to send me pictures of bruises and dead people so that I can inspire from real life incidents. For instance, it helps me to know the color change in a dying body.
What suggestion would you give aspiring make-up artists in Nepal?
One thing that I have learnt in life is to never do free work for anyone, even when starting a career. My advice to my fellow make-up artists is to not disrespect your skills by giving free services. Goodwill earned that way doesn’t really last. People start picking on your previously “great” skills the moment you start charging them. Not only that, it is not a fair competition to other aspiring artists. Instead you could charge less in the initial phase.
