The ongoing global health crisis and resultant lockdowns have actually presented an opportunity for enthusiasts to pursue their hobby or passion in a professional way and master is by enhancing their knowledge and improving upon their skills.
Shamila Rao, a Pakistani expatriate, can be seen as an embodiment of how people pursue their interests and earn excellence no matter what odds or hurdles they face. Having four young daughters to take care of and performing the duties of a complete home-maker do not stop Shamila from pursuing her love for make-up in a professional way. She has made the most of staying at home by first training herself and then winning an online make-up challenge.
In a recent conversation with Community, Shamila, who has been living in Qatar with her family now for just over three years, spoke about her passion and how being in Doha helped her brush up the talent.
“I have always been obsessed with make-up. I am a make-up collector. I love to create different looks on myself and I also enjoyed doing makeovers for my family and friends. Being a mother to four beautiful children, I wanted them to grow up watching a passionate and happy mother doing what she loves the most.”
With the passage of time, Shamila started learning the skill in a professional way. “I took professional make-up classes and workshops by well-known make-up artists like Mario Dedivanovic and Samer Khouzami. I went to Manchester and took part in classes by Nancy Spencer. I also attended ‘Professional Henna Khaleeji Make-up’ course from Tajmeel – Qatar International Beauty Academy. I am lucky to have been in Doha where I get lots of good opportunity and meet wonderful people that help me improve my make-up knowledge.”
During the Covid-19 lockdown, the make-up enthusiast decided not to sit idle and started sharing whatever she has learnt with others. “Though it seemed almost impossible to me as my kids were at home all the time with no school, I decided to spare two hours every day to prepare some make-up tutorials and put them on social media handles. I kept shooting make-up videos and got amazing response.
“I also collaborated with different make-up artists and did a lot of live session sharing screen with them and sharing our knowledge with the interested people. It created an opportunity for the people, who were sitting at home doing nothing, to learn how to do make-up free of cost. I have a fair fan following on Instagram through which I connect with my followers. It is so satisfying to teach someone something you are good at. I have also started learning to edit my videos in a professional way after buying my DSLR. I have also recently started my YouTube channel.”
The make-up enthusiast grabbed an opportunity to take part in the online contest called ‘5 Minute Make-up Challenge’ and went on to win it by completing the task in four-and-a-half minutes. “I took up the challenge with Nadia Hussain, a Pakistani celebrity make-up artist, model and actor. I completed the task before the celebrity did it. I had amazing feeling after winning the competition as I am not a professional make-up artist but an enthusiast. First of all, it was very fascinating for me to share the screen with a huge celebrity.”
Shamila is all praise for being in Doha where she has found it very easy to pursue her passion. “First of all I am thankful to my husband who has always supported me in following my passion. I would say nothing is impossible in Doha. Everything is so easily available here. Life is much easier and people are much friendlier. Qatar is also a very good place to raise our kids.
“It was also amazing to see how the government and people responded to the pandemic and necessary safety measures. Now we are all safe here.”
IG: @shamilarao.official
YouTube: Shamila rao