One World News captures the inside story of Saloni Arora, a renowned makeup artist and her agency – Makeup Mafia.
Studies
Saloni Arora, did her graduation in Accessory Designing at NIFT, New Delhi, where she eventually realised her interest in make-up, hair styling and body-painting. Participating in the Wella India Cup Open 2008 made her win a position in fantasy make-up and hair category, and gave her enough platform and confidence to enter the fashion industry as a freelance make-up artist. She earned a diploma in hairstyling from the L’Oreal Academy and b:blunt Academy in Mumbai and also finished a diploma course in make-up artistry from Blossom Kochhar College of Arts and Design, Delhi. Further, she also trained at ‘Body Canvas’ in Mumbai for body painting.
Career
Starting off her career as a freelance make-up artist, she was lucky to work with quite good photographers in New Delhi. She further travelled to Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Goa, Jaipur, Bangalore and New Delhi for various fashion shows and brand photo shoots. Gradually, when her market was turned on, she gained Mumbai as her base. For her, gaining New Delhi and Mumbai as bases was really important. Settling herself in Mumbai, she worked with clients from television, editorial, bridal, film, stage & print media and also for the ones looking for body paintings.
While being in Mumbai and working as a freelancer for six years led to a good network and client base, she was confident enough to start her own company, ‘Makeup Mafia’.
As she says, “I have seen in the industry in India, that makeup and hair professions are only related to parlours and salons, wherein there is no ideology in the people to take it to the next level. So, I could see that there are a lot of people who want to become make-up artists and hair stylists, but there was hardly any help.
I decided to give the work to the talent and that is why I made my own agency. I also had a NGO to start in mind, in order to help people, so, I came up with this idea that I will teach some underprivileged students and provide them with employment.”
Work
Saloni has worked with Lisa Ray (Rado), Subroto Roy (Sahara), In the front row with Anupama Chopra, Guneet Monga (Indian Film Producer), John Abraham for Hockey India, Kangna Ranaut to name a few. Her elegance and style can be seen in famous brands such as Marie Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Rado, OCM, Bwitch by SatyaPaul, Puma, Domino’s etc. Working with these brands, she has learned that – Every phase teaches you something new. She likes to experiment with every type of skin tone through colours, and believes in make-up being a powerful tool for a woman to highlight and beautify her features.
“Make-up gives a woman confidence in the way she looks, letting her inner beauty shine”, she says. Her favourites are neon pinks among the bright colours she likes to use. Although, she would love to go further in the bridal segment and reach the masses as she thinks that weddings are somewhere emotional for a human’s life.
Agency
Ever since the opening of ‘Makeup Mafia’, Saloni has been operating on a wider scale. Her agency is operational across the country, providing make-up artists for all industries and purposes. Apart from this, they teach body painting also. The agency operates in all kinds of make-up, like fantasy makeup, theme-based makeup, bridal makeup and hair etc. The ideology is to serve the Indians and to get the respect and recognition from the masses for the make-up artists and hair stylists which are currently missing.
Now, ‘Makeup Mafia’ on its panel has 30-50 artists working across the country who are sent for various weddings and shoots, making it operational more than 900 hours in a month. It also acts as a make-up vendor at weddings. The agency has tie-ups with certain wedding planners who provide stalls for food and beverages. Similarly, ‘Makeup Mafia’ has their own stall for makeover sections to pamper their customers at weddings in which they give wholesome packages. We do destination weddings, fantasy makeup, neon makeup (which glows in the dark) and many more of these creative and innovative styles.
Personal Style
Her personal style statement is always evolving. She believes that the more you evolve and experiment, the more you grow. She likes to carry anything and everything. For her, everything suits everybody and it is just how they carry themselves. So far, her style statement is carrying something new every day. Being experimental is something everyone cannot practice.
“I am a human being and I am experimenting like hell. I get bored of the same look every day. I cannot stay with the same hairstyle for more than a month. Evolving in fashion is about exploring. Being a makeup artist and being someone in the fashion industry, I try something new every other day.”
As far as makeup is concerned, she likes to go for something which is quirky and bold. Usually, she goes for a simple liner and red lip shade so as to enhance one feature.
Future Plans
Lady Gaga is the most experimental and eccentric artist in the world for Saloni, she is her ultimate style icon. Her dream is to reach that platform where she, one day, styles for her. In her words, Gaga carries fashion and things which are unusual for anyone. She personally loves to experiment with fashion and wants to work with her. As a makeup artist, she imagines Lady Gaga sitting on her chair, and she, giving the craziest and wackiest look to her.
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