Make-up artist tutorial: book presentation by Yana Sultanova (Tashkunas)

An outstanding master has released a unique product for her colleagues that can take their business to a new level

“Beauty & Business” is not your usual makeup book, which abounds in shops where makeup techniques are given, sometimes something from the history of the beauty industry, or about artistic techniques. The book by Yana Sultanova is rather a guide for professionals and beginners in this field, which will help you find your own path and direction, create your own brand, make a unique portfolio, and find your own style, become recognizable. Without life hacks in the make-up, of course, it also could not do. We caught up with the author of Beauty & Business to learn about her beauty philosophy and what a successful makeup career looks like.

— Yana, your colleagues, who have had time to get acquainted with the book, call it unique – it covers the pressing issues of the industry so broadly. There is a lot of literature on how to become a makeup artist, and no word on what to do next. Your book is a real guide to action and creating your own strong brand. And who helped you build your own?

I was lucky, I had an excellent mentor in this matter, my mother. She worked as a hair stylist, and as a child I spent a lot of time in beauty salons, watched how the masters work, took an interest, tried to use cosmetics. Mom always encouraged it. Then, I took basic courses and at first I worked in salons, but my career as a makeup artist does not end at salons! Then a rather difficult path began, which I already overcame by myself, through trial and error. If then someone gave me such a book, I would have been able to avoid many mistakes, and come to success faster. I encountered a lack of information about our profession when I was looking for ways to develop.

And found! You have worked with global brands. For example, they managed the sales of Bobbi Brown, and brought him to the leaders of his segment. Do you think that for a professional makeup artist, experience in large cosmetic companies is required?

Not required, of course, but highly recommended. This enriches the experience, you definitely begin to feel the trends better, and also, sometimes this is a great chance to look at how to sell your services and products. However, with Bobbi Brown, it turned out rather the opposite. I originally came there as a junior makeup artist, worked in boutiques. We held training sessions for clients – they showed how our cosmetics work, how to apply makeup on your own, what is better to use to achieve a particular effect. So we took the philosophy of Bobbi Brown and brought it to the masses. And when a person knows more about the product, knows how to use it competently, he is more motivated to buy it, and not some unfamiliar product. Accordingly, the better the make-up artist will conduct the lesson, the more he will be able to sell. As a result, I managed to overfulfill the sales plan, therefore, very soon I became the deputy manager of the boutique and dictated the sales strategy myself, popularizing and developing the brand. Under my leadership, the brand brought the company an average of 5 million rubles a month.

The next big company on your track record was Make Up For Ever. As a makeup artist for this team, you worked on the cover of Fashion collection magazine, participated in Vogue fashion night out and Cosmopolitan beauty day awards events. Perhaps these are the loudest names in the Russian world of the beauty industry. Which shoot do you remember best?

There were so many…Client days at Rive Gauche, Golden Apple, Sephora; Make up days, Look book for Charuel clothing brand. I remember working with Ulyana Batasheva, the creator of the sports equipment brand Underbyme, a professional athlete in modern pentathlon, a participant in the Tokyo Olympics. We worked on a shoot for her brand. A project with the singer Risha Kova, we worked on her transformation into Angelina Jolie – that was another task! Another of the most memorable projects is the exhibition of Ilmira Bolotyan at MMOMA. It was called “Intangible Labor”. I then realized for the first time that makeup can be combined even with high art. By the way, working on this project inspired me to create something of my own, and, probably, at that moment I decided to have my own exhibition. It will be held in Kazakhstan in April of this year, in honor of the release of the book.

– What can be seen on it?

– Something like an illustrated path that I went through in the beauty business. At this exhibition, I want to pay tribute to makeup artists-consultants of brands. In general, I believe that the world of the beauty industry rests on people in black who are in stores of various chains and educate people on the topic of cosmetic novelties. I would also like to present photos from the projects I have worked on and illustrations from the book. Art, literature, make-up philosophy – everything will be there.

By the way, about philosophy. You conducted master classes from the Academy of Natural Beauty – taught women to reveal their power through makeup. How exactly did you do it, maybe share a couple of secrets with our readers?

I do not use template methods in my work, I believe that it is important to convey the essence of a person with the help of makeup. Because makeup elements can tell a whole story. It is important to dig deeper, how a person positions himself, what style he likes, what a holistic image he wants to represent. Therefore, before starting makeup, I always ask questions, try to get to know a person better, ask me to visually show the images that “respond” to him. It’s like with clothes, you can buy the most beautiful coat, but this does not mean that you will like it and feel comfortable in it, and this is the main thing. Grooming and makeup is a necessary manifestation of love and care for yourself. Women always ask only one question – what suits me? Yes, there are techniques that can create a harmonious make-up, but it is important to emphasize your individuality, not to chase trends, not to remake your face, but only to decorate. If everyone says that red shadows do not suit you, but you feel comfortable in them, then you need to listen to yourself. Only you decide what suits you and only you carry your image to the masses.

– After a long and fruitful work for the benefit of the development of large cosmetic companies, you came to create your own brand Three Asters (Three Asters), whose products are now sold in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. But why isn’t it cosmetic?

This is not decorative cosmetics. However, the products of my brand have the most direct relation to beauty – I also talk about this in my book. I have massage scented candles, incense, diffusers, lip balms – everything you need in order to preserve the natural beauty – both body and soul.

– You…