Make-up is an art: Tilat Khayer

Born and raised in Dhaka, Tilat Khayer comes from a highly creative family full of artists, filmmakers and actors. 

While she was growing up, her family members and friends often asked her to do their make-up and Tilat had done bridal makeover for friends -- even before receiving any sort of training.

She studied at Sunbeams School and Scholastica before leaving for London to pursue a Bachelor's and a Master's in Economics. 

After graduating with a distinction (First Class First), she started her career in finance.

She got professionally trained in 2008 at the Academy of Freelance Makeup -- an institution run by key make-up artists of London Fashion Week. 

Under their guidance, Tilat not only learnt the skills and correct techniques of make-up application but also got to know the intricate workings of the industry from some of the most successful professionals. 

When she moved to London to pursue her degree in Economics, she realised that her passion for make-up was very deep-rooted. 

"London offered so much creative inspiration for me. I would find myself glued to the make-up counters and staring at billboards admiring the make-up on models," she said. 

"I finally decided to take the plunge, follow my passion and become a make-up artist. I completed my professional training in make-up while holding my full-time job, and on completion of my training, I quit finance to join the UK fashion industry full-time," she shared with us.

Photo: Tilat Khayer

Since Tilat was a child, she was fascinated by fashion and make-up. "I have always been in awe of its magical power to transform a face. I see it as one of the most creative ways to express one's personality. In my journey so far as a make-up artist, I have seen it as a powerful tool to ignite a woman's innate confidence," she said. 

The talented artist's eponymous make-up line was launched in 2015. 

When working with her South Asian clients, she ended up spending a lot of time mixing different foundations to match their specific skin tones. 

It was then she came up with the idea of launching her own line of make-up designed primarily for her South Asian clientele. 

All the products in her range are created with the Asian skin tones in mind.

There were some challenges at the beginning of her career, but she overcame them with hard work. 

"Soon after I started my career in make-up, I realised that I needed to build up my portfolio. So, after work hours, I would grab any opportunity that I could find, to work on fashion shows, photoshoots and music videos which meant I ended up having very long hours of work and sometimes had to commute right across London to reach a studio." 

"That often meant no weekends for months at a stretch. I would be sleep deprived, tired and sometimes very hungry, but I did not care. As long as I was doing make-up, I was happy."

She thinks that like any other field, the make-up industry in Bangladesh also has a steep learning curve and the more adaptable emerging make-up artists are, the better they would be able to gel with the team. 

She said, "Be open to criticisms, they are worth their weight in gold! If you can learn from a mistake, then you have grown as a make-up artist. So do not get defensive if someone criticises your work. Find ways to do it better the next time round!"

A make-up tip for readers: One very easy way of defining your eyes is by applying mascara on your lashes. Mascara looks great on everyone and makes enough impact that you can skip other eye make-up. Work from the base of lashes to the tip, remembering to roll the brush – it is the easiest way to separate lashes and avoid clumps. Use a lash curler before applying mascara for a more dramatic effect.

For new make-up artists, another of her advice would be to get properly trained to learn the correct techniques of make-up application and then customising that to express their own personality through their work. 

"Study your client's personality and give her a makeover that complements that, as opposed to just plonking your own personal preference of make-up on her. She would not be too comfortable carrying your personality around," she added.

Personally, Tilat is more on the minimalistic side. She thinks it goes with her personality. 

She believes that make-up is a tool to enhance one's innate beauty that is already there and not use it to become someone else. 

She said, "For me, make-up is art. It is important to let your creative juices flow and not adhere to any strict routines of any kind. I do not believe that one needs to always follow the trend. Follow it only if you are comfortable with how it is portraying you to the outer world. At the end of the day, there is nothing more beautiful than a confident woman."  

Tilat Khayer's words of advice to make-up enthusiasts are to match the foundation to the skin tone. 

"When the base is right, the rest of the make-up automatically falls into place. Avoid a caked up look and remember to mix your moisturiser with your liquid foundation to get a more natural yet flawless look. Also, do go easy on the powder shimmer when creating a daytime look."