Entertainment News
Published: 1st March 2003
Vancouver Make Up Artist
INTERNATIONALLY-acclaimed makeup artist Shaifa is already
Vancouver's Top Make-Up Artist. Tinseltown is vowing to have her to do some
famous Hollywood stars, and they will fly in from Los Angeles just to
have Shaifa do their make up.
Shaifa is best known for her Bollywood Make Up style which
has landed her several contracts and featured famous local and international
actresses, and she is known as one of the Vancouver's leading Ethnic makeup
artist due to her understanding of Ethnic skin tones.
Her skill comes naturally, as an aspiring young artist who
many say has a magic touch. Shaifa has worked on numerous shows and sitcoms
as a freelance artist, and is currently working with Hollywood producers at
Vancouver north Hollywood studios.
Said Shaifa: "I've worked with Holt's for a long time, and
have no plans to move to Bollywood or Hollywood. With offers pouring in to
work movie sets, and local venues she is content.
Shaifa has been in the makeup industry for over 12 years,
and would like to try and do something different, it'll be interesting to
see how Hollywood actresses look in Bollywood style makeup and vice versa,
says Shaifa, now that Aishwarya Rai is working with L'Oreal in the USA.
Shaifa has worked with big names such as Dolce and
Gabbana, Elite Models, Armani, MIA, Morgan and Millennium Jeans Intl to name
a few. She currently works at Holt Renfrew, Vancouver's prestigious high end
clothing retailer. Recently attended the International Wedding Exhibition in
London for a three day event where a team of makeup artists and stylists
created the hair and makeup for the exhibition's much hyped catwalk show.
She also held demonstrations on makeup application and showed how to get the
latest Bollywood look along with the seasons bridal looks.
Shaifa grew up in Vancouver, Canada. After completing a
Bachelor of Commerce at the University of British Columbia, she worked eight
years with a major financial institution as an auditor. Shaifa became
interested in the fashion and business world while jet-setting on business
trips with her husband. Interest piqued, she returned to school and
professionally trained at the London school of Fashion and Design in
1997, and went to work with some of Europe's prestigious cosmetic houses
including Jo Malone.
Soon after she joined her husband, Moe Somani, Multi-Millionaire Asian
Business Tycoon. With Somani's global connections, and Shaifa's Fashion and
Design skills she helped launch Millennium Jeans
International in 1997, an overnight success story,
with 78 flagship stores and 32 specialty retail stores in 32 countries, and
with locations in the UK, USA, Canada, Europe, South America, Africa and
Asia.
With Millennium Jeans International at its peak in the new millennium,
Somani sold the entire clothing chain to a brand name competitor for
an undisclosed amount of cold cash. A source close to
the buyer was quoted as saying: “Purchase of Somani’s Millennium Jeans
Intl saved our company from bankruptcy. We’re delighted to have purchased
Millennium Jeans International. We never imagined anyone would have such an
effect on our brand.” (For the record, a source close to Somani, says he may
indeed have wielded more power than many politicians in Asia.)
After the sale of Millennium Jeans Intl, and with Shaifa as the leading
make up artist for Millennium Jeans
International, news of her cutting edge makeup skills and techniques spread
rapidly throughout Europe and Asia. She became a respected name in the
beauty industry in the late 90s, and was able to secure contracts with some
of the biggest names in the Make Up industry.
Said Shaifa: "When I first started in this industry there
wasn't a market for Ethnic skin. Many makeup artists didn't know the first
thing about how to apply makeup on Ethnic women and they didn't have a clue
about the right colours to use.
"As an Indian myself I always had trouble buying makeup to
suit my skin tone and I realized that other people had the same problem. So
I started working with various mixtures and colours and soon changed the way
ethnic women wore makeup, for example I got away from bright pinks, blues
and purples that many ethnic women were wearing.
"It didn't look good on them at all. So I started using
more autumn colours - different shades of brown and maroons which looked
good on their skin tones and a lot more modern."
Deepak Shawna
News Reporter
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