For many women, make up is an important feature in their everyday routine. Research shows there are two primary reasons why women wear makeup: Camouflage; women who are anxious and insecure tend to use makeup to appear less noticeable. And women who want to be noticeably more attractive tend to use makeup to be more confident, sociable, and assertive. Makeup is mainly used to change or enhance the way we look and hide our imperfections.
25-year-old Anitha Maombi is both a visual painter and makeup artist in Kigali. Her dream, she says, is to make her mark in the world of beauty. She joined the field three years ago and has since grown deeply attached to the profession.
Maombi says she fell in love with makeup through tutorials on YouTube. She started doing makeup for fun among her friends and later, started receiving calls from people who wanted a casual or elegant look for different occasions.
Anitha Maombi
"I remember going to the market to buy my first makeup kit. I started practicing it at home and with my friends, but everyone would tell me that I had a great touch. I, however, started doing it mostly because my friends and family insisted that I could make a living out of it,” she shares.
Maombi says that her love for makeup grows every day. "After graduating at Ecole d’art de Nyundo, I thought of different types of art I could do. I found the art of doing makeup very interesting. It involves creativity and mixing different colours. Makeup is also a form of expression.
"Even a small amount of makeup can boost a woman’s confidence and improve her look. It enhances natural beauty, and that to me is an energy we all own that comes from the soul, radiated through the skin and the face,” she adds.
Asked about her specialty, Maombi explains that she always uses high quality makeup that won’t harm her client’s skin. She says that she always cleans the client’s face before applying makeup and also considers their type of skin which helps her understand the amount and type of shades to use for a successful result.
Some of Maombi’s work
She provides advice on simple skin care routines that one can practice in order to protect their skin.
"Using makeup that doesn’t match your skin type can clearly damage your skin, but there are also so many ways, especially for makeup lovers, to protect their skin. It is important to note that you must wash your face with clean water and soap before going to bed and also practice other different skin care routines that work for your skin,” she highlights.
Maombi says that cosmetics is a fast-rising field nowadays as people have become more aware of the wonders of makeup on the beauty of a woman, adding that makeup is not only for women but men too. She notes that there are various types of makeup to wear considering a particular event or role.
"For example, the makeup you apply for a wedding is not the same as the one you wear for work,” she says.
The makeup artist also reveals that doing makeup professionally was a way for her to tackle life’s challenges, especially what she faced as a young girl at the time.
"I make a living out of doing makeup even though sometimes meeting new clients is difficult. As a girl, I no longer wait for my parents to pay for everything, instead, I help them. Another benefit is that I am my own boss, that makes me work harder and more passionately,” she notes.
Challenges and future plans
One of the challenges she has encountered in her career is that some people are not aware of the importance of makeup, and this makes them think it is of no use.
Another challenge is that some makeup kits on the local market are of poor quality and so shipping quality products from abroad takes a longer time to reach.
She plans to open up a makeup studio that will sell different kits, and offer different services including nail designs. She also plans to create job opportunities for the youth and training for those who want it.
Maombi is currently a final year student doing industrial art and design at East African University Rwanda.