Interview

My Smallest Job Gave Me Breakthrough – Joy Adenuga

Joy Adenuga 1Joy Adenuga, an exceptional professional makeup artist based in London specialises in commercial advertising, fashion and editorial makeup. Trained at the prestigious London School of Makeup, her works have been featured in international magazines including Vogue and she has worked with top international photographers. She talks about her life and passion in this interview with ORUKPE NELSON.

You were one of the speakers at the First Makeup in Nigeria Conference convened by Tara Fela Durutoye recently. Do you consider the event timely?

Yes, I think it is a very timely event. I had my reservations when I first heard about it but when I spoke in details with the Project Manager, Teni Adejuwon, and then Tara Fela Durutoye, I was convinced it was a brilliant idea as it was the first and could open a lot of doors in the industry. I was invited to the conference as one of the facilitators. I loved the concept when they briefed me on what it was all about. This has never been done before and as a Nigerian, I try to support as much as I can. I am more known for my kind of makeup. I still do brides but I do more of magazines.

Is makeup really a lucrative business? Is there a ready market for it in Nigeria?

With a lot of hard work and perseverance, yes, makeup is very lucrative and Nigeria is a ripe market for the business.

Do you think people like Tara can take the makeup business in Nigeria to the international scene and compete with brands like Iman and Mac?

Oh! most definitely. I got some of her products which I have been using in London. The quality is amazing.

With the high unemployment rate in Nigeria today, are there opportunities for the youth in this business?

This is why the conference is a brilliant idea. Anyone who has a passion for the beauty industry can come in, learn and hopefully have a direction in starting his/her business.

Could you tell us a bit about your background?

I got into makeup five years ago. I have always liked it but I was one of those people that didn’t think it was possible to have a career in it. Maybe it was because I relocated then. If I was here in Nigeria, I probably would be into it as it is everywhere now. But at that time, I didn’t think it was possible to have a career as a makeup artist. I was just doing the regular day job and took makeup more like a hobby. I loved looking at magazines, the pile of magazines in my house used to drive my husband crazy. I am based in London and live there with my family – my husband and two kids. I believe in not just going on Youtube or learning something in front of the mirror. I believe in going to school before starting any serious business. So I attended the London School of Makeup in Central London. I did a foundation course. Being in London, I don’t want to be referred to or regarded as the black makeup artist that does it only for black people. If I only wanted to work on black people, I wouldn’t have bothered going to a makeup school. I wanted to learn things like skin tones, skin correction and everything that has to do with makeup. I did that but I was not satisfied so I contacted some other top makeup artists within London, both white and black, for private classes. Then I started networking; that was where I had the most challenge, how to market myself. I joined Facebook, Twitter, and most recently Instagram. I used those media to market myself as much as possible.

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Obviously, you have to first work for free when you start out; that is unavoidable. This is because if you don’t have a portfolio or body of work, how will people get to know what you do? So I paid my dues by doing all the free work that I did. My passion is editorial makeup, which is the kind of makeup you see mostly on models on the pages of magazines.

What is your educational background?

I had a B.Sc in Accountancy and I worked in Globacom. I was a manager in Globacom Call Centre. My husband and I actually worked in Globacom together. That was where we met. My parents are from Delta State but I married a Yoruba man; he is not related to the popular Adenuga family. People ask that question a lot and I always need to clarify that.

Could you tell us some of the magazines that featured your work?

A lot of my beauty images have appeared in several luxury UK and global magazines such as Vogue, Factice Magazine, Elements Magazine and Faceon Magazine. I have also worked with US and UK celebrities like Tatyana Ali from Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Zarah Abraham from Coronation Street. I was also one of the few UK makeup artists specially selected to work on Beyonce’s crew – Chime for Change 2013. I have also worked on advertising campaigns with heavyweight global brands such as Dark and Lovely and Organic Root Stimulator. I am a beauty expert and freelance beauty contributor with top UK magazines – Black Beauty and Hair magazine and Pride magazine.

How did you get into editorial makeup?

It was actually by mistake because I love working on skin. Editorial Makeup is more like a different definition of beauty seen in the graphic industry. Editorial does not have to be all feathers and gem stones.

How supportive is your husband towards your business?

He is very supportive. He did have his reservations when I first started but with time, my passion for the industry won him over.

How do you mix your business as a makeup artist with family responsibilities?

That is basically my own challenge. If I was here in Nigeria, it would’ve been a lot easier. This is because it is easier to get someone from your extended family. But in London, it is a difficult thing. It is expensive to hire a nanny. The British government regulates everything that you do, including how you take care of your children. At the moment, we spend £850 every month on our two children. My son is a year and four months and my daughter is three years and 10 months. My challenge is trying to cope with their ages and because of that, I have had to turn down many offers. At the end of the day, my family always comes first. The problem of doing freelance and not working in an office environment on a daily basis is that you don’t know when the next job is coming. They can just call you that they need you to execute a job and the pay is good. So you have to quickly adjust your programme to accommodate your family responsibility.

For someone who has a passion for makeup and desires to make a career of it, what’s your advice on how she can start?

He/She needs to do a course. I have never been a big fan of not going to a school to learn. I did it and that is what I will advise another person to do. I am not saying they should do a five-year course on makeup, but it is important you earn and get a foundation. Makeup is not just about blue eye shadow and red lips. You are going to work on different people with different skin tones. When I talk about an aspect in editorial makeup like contouring, you cannot do two people the same way. I see a lot of people in Nigeria make that mistake and I said when I come to Nigeria, I would mention that. This is one of the things they will teach you in school. So if you are dependent on youtube or Instagram to teach you makeup, then, you will have it all wrong and one day, you will make a costly mistake. I don’t know how it is in Nigeria, but if you make a mistake in London on a contract, they will sue you. A good foundation is absolutely necessary. Also, getting the right tools is also important. That does not mean you have to break the bank in buying makeup products. You don’t have to go and buy Chanel; Tara products are equally good and reasonable. These products are manufactured by makeup artists here in Nigeria, so they know which one works for you. You have to buy foundation for so many people with different skin tones but all these are investments. You are investing but your returns will definitely come. You need to also research and find out where your passion lies.

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Can you give an instance when you had a moment that probably changed a lot of things for you in your career either positively or negatively?

That would be when I met a particular person when I was just starting out. There was this lady that put up an advert and that particular day, I was not free but for some strange reasons, something kept pushing me to go for that job. The job would not pay well but it was for a magazine and I had not worked for a magazine then. So it was an opportunity for me to appear in a magazine but at that time, it didn’t look like something that was even big and it was not even fetching me any money. But thank God I went for that job. Courtesy of that job, I met the Black Hair magazine, one of the popular magazines in London. From that one job, I met the editors of the three major black magazines in the UK – Black Beauty and Hair magazine, Pride Magazine and Black Hair magazine. I now work with all three. My work is in every single, one of them in every issue. So if I hadn’t made that decision to do that small job, I would probably still be struggling to try to get to know these people. But courtesy of that one job, all of a sudden, these magazines are calling me day after day for jobs. So I think that day was my moment of breakthrough.

As a makeup artist, what are the three things you cannot do without?

My brushes are one; my foundation is also important because with foundation, you can even make a nude lip with your skin tone. Once you add a lip gloss on it, you have made a nude lip. And lastly, my makeup flash palette.

In your career, what has been your most embarrassing moment?

When I first started out, I had quite a lot of those. I went out one day without my brushes. I forgot the bag that carried all my brushes on the train. Luckily, someone found the brushes, went through them, found my card and called me. I could not believe it. But on that job, I had to use my hand to create the entire look. Thank God, it was just one person that I had to do makeup on. And funny enough, the whole job came out looking fine. The people around me were even congratulating me that I just used my hands to create the look and I was feeling like a guru but in my mind, I was shaking.

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What is the beauty routine for a flawless skin?

Always take off your makeup as soon as you get home. I use a wipe to take off everything. Depending on how tired I am, I may still wash my face, although it is not good to take off too much moisture from the face. I also always advise people to go and see a dermatologist to make sure your skin is fine. In most big shopping malls, they give you a free analysis of your skin. This is because you should never buy a foundation if you have not tried it on. People just go to the Internet to research why they are having skin problems without first seeing a dermatologist. And that is wrong, see one first and get a good analysis of your skin type before you use any product.

If we take a peep into your wardrobe, what are we likely to see?

I am a flat shoes person. I am always in pain when I wear high heels. I am more comfortable wearing wedges. I am not a very fashionable person. I wear black colours a lot. As a makeup artist, you are not really there for yourself but for your clients. You are not there to be fashionable. I don’t know a lot of makeup artists that are into fashion anywhere in the world, but most of them spend money elsewhere. I love jewellery so I spend more money on them because I know I am going to be wearing black.

And perfumes?

I love Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel. It’s my favourite and I have been wearing it from my wedding day till now.

How do you relax?

I don’t really relax except when the kids are out, and then I can have my free time to relax. I love reading especially when I have to be on the road for a season. I live slightly outside London to avoid the hustle and bustle.

Who is your favourite makeup artist?

My favourite person is Pat McGrath. She is a Jamaican makeup artist. Till date, she is the most influential makeup artist in the world. Vogue called her the most influential makeup artist in the world.

What is your life philosophy?

It’s more of a Bible quote which says, ‘Do to others what you will like them to do to you’. I’m a strong believer in karma. In this makeup business, you will get to see a lot of people trying to cheat on you. Just be nice to people to get the same result from them as well.

If you were not doing makeup, what else would you be doing?

I will probably be teaching children. I love working with children a lot.

What do you hope to achieve in the makeup world in the next five years?

To be a global brand by God’s grace.