KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — For beauty fanatics, the rise of beauty vloggers simply cannot be ignored.
But for those seeking to carve a name in the ultra-competitive industry, it takes more than just a knack for contouring and highlighting.
Makeup artist Noriana Mohamad Nazuir, better known as Noriana The Face Designer to her 67.1k followers on Instagram, said being good at applying makeup is just one of the many skills required to be a successful beauty influencer.
“We live in a multi-talented world today — if you have just one talent, let’s say it’s doing makeup, but you don’t speak well, don’t have the looks and don’t try hard enough, you won’t go that far, unfortunately,” she said.
“You have to brand yourself as well because unlike makeup artists in developed markets, we are not represented by an agency.”
Malay Mail met Noriana at a dUCk Cosmetics collaboration with the Xiaomi Mi A2 where the bubbly beauty personality gave a makeup tutorial to demonstrate the new smartphone’s selfie abilities.
Noriana, who has been working as a professional makeup artist since 2014, has worked with a long list of well-known makeup brands including YSL Beauty, Urban Decay and Fenty Beauty — her recent makeup tutorial for Rihanna’s beauty line garnered over 2.4 million views.
On top of beauty tutorials, bridal makeup and editorial shoots, the 31-year-old is dUCk Cosmetics' in-house beauty expert and Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna’s makeup artist.
“I was Yuna’s junior in law school in UITM — she’s a person who supports her friends a lot,” said Noriana.
Asked what the pinnacle of a makeup artist’s career in today’s social media-driven world is, Noriana named three things: Working with a major brand, having your own beauty line and a strong following.
“You need the following to push your work out there and create awareness but these days, it’s not enough to just be a makeup artist — you must have social media presence.
“Working with dUCk is a milestone for me and I love that I’m creating products, research and development (R&D) and conceptualising all the images you see in the store.
“It all depends on why you got into makeup – for me, it’s all about being artistic and not all about business, it’s a different goal. My goal is to be internationally recognised,” she said.
Known for her natural makeup looks that enhance a person’s features while embracing their imperfections, the self-taught makeup artist confessed that her beauty skills were once below par.
“I sucked at wearing eye makeup and I always end up looking like a goth. I got better with practice and experimenting with a lot of people,” she said.
Those wanting to ditch their day jobs to pursue a fulltime career as a beauty vlogger should first try it out as a side project or hobby, advised Noriana.
“Once you get known and think your income is enough then only quit your job but to be different, you really need to be comfortable with yourself and have an identity,” she said.
The sought-after makeup artist also said to last in the industry, it is important to have good work ethics.
“When working with people, your attitude has to be on point because the vibe is very important.
“Tardiness is not cool as well because you have to respect people’s time,” she cautioned.
