BY AGATHA CHUMA RUVIMBO “Ruege” Mtoko is a Harare-based make-up artist who desires to enhance women’s beauty by bringing out the magnificent look using brushes.
Most people nowadays view make-up as adding fake beauty on women, but in fact, it covers spots, enhances and corrects women’s beauty, and to some adds confidence.
Make-up is no longer done by women only, men are also now into the trade with the likes of Wasu, a Zimbabwean male make-up guru who does Mai Titi’s make-up part of the growing industry.
Ruege, who has a background in accounting, said her desire to improve women’s beauty inspired her to become a make-up artist.
“It’s even funny how I started the make-up business considering that I have a background in accounting, two totally different carriers,” she said.
“To me, make-up is an art. It’s the finishing touch to everything. It allows me to help women enhance their features and build the confidence they need to face this world by giving them beauty tips for everyday routine and making them feel like royalty on their wedding day.
“Well, my inspiration is way established in the industry. It’s a male make-up artist who goes by the name Make-up by Ariel. He’s an American make-up artist they call the world’s best make-up artist. He does make-up for the Kardashians and a number of prominent celebrities.”
Mtoko has been passionate about art ever since Grade Five and her teacher used to comment that she had blessed hands because she never struggled with diagrams.
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“One day in 2018, my elder sister was watching YouTube tutorials on how to do eyebrows and I did hers. It was a mess to start with. The following year I was doing my own eyebrows and people were complimenting me. My desire for make-up then grew and I started offering people free makeup just to experiment. I can boldly say I’m a self-taught make-up artist,” Mtoko said.
Her passion lies in skincare and fashion and her dream is to have her own make-up brand through which she hopes to pass her wisdom to the world. She also hopes to create a beauty school as well as make-up and skincare products. Although she does not have any awards yet, she hopes to get one in future.
“I hope in the next five years I would have built a name for myself, working with big clients and to have established a few branches in Zimbabwe. Society has looked at this field as ineffective but if I were to tell you that people spend more money on beauty than on education and how the likes of Huda Katen have become millionaires through the beauty industry.
“Make-up continues to exponentially increase as people around the world are becoming more conscious about their looks. This profession has a high demand and one can actually make a living out of it. But one’s got to be passionate,” she explained.
For the fervent young lady whose business is based in Harare’s central business district, developing one’s skills, making professional connections and finding some really exciting jobs are some of the challenges she has faced so far.
“No one’s going to do the work or promote the business for you, so you have to work hard in order to get things off the ground and moving. Building a reputation takes time and effort.
“You also encounter some clients who are incredibly enthusiastic about make-up. It can be frustrating if they tell you how to do your job by using incorrect or unsafe methods, but then you’ve to keep your cool and still do it,” she added.
- Follow Agatha on Twitter@AgathaChuma
