Rashmi Shastri – The Life Beneath Makeup

Rashmi Shastri “Ever since my childhood, I was a tomboy. Kajal and lip balm was the only makeup I owned. If someone back then would’ve told me that I’d become a hair & make-up artist one day, I would’ve straight up laughed on their face. And well, here I am 10 years later – all set to start my own hair and make-up training institute very soon!

It was my mid sem break, and just like any other college kid, I was trying my hand in various fields. And during one of those internships, a colleague suggested that I try modeling. Just the thought of being in front of the camera intrigued me! So, I gave it a shot. The experience was stupendous! It wasn’t just the photos & memories that I took back, but some wonderful friendships that I made on set.

A few days later, one of those friends called me and asked ‘Hey, there is another shoot happening tomorrow, would you like to hangout?’ I agreed. Little did I know, that day was going to change my entire life. I went on set & discovered that my friend  fell sick. He was a make-up artist, someone had to fill his shoes. So, he asked me if I’d do it.

I had no prior experience with hair & make-up. But, I used to paint and knew my way with color palettes, so I agreed. The shoot turned out great! He was so impressed, ‘You should do this for a living’ he said. And to my surprise, I loved working on it too. So, I decided to pursue it further. I got to begin my journey with top fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan and Harper’s bazaar.

And at 21, I was heading a team of hair and make-up professionals in Jabong. Then, I got an opportunity to work with Coca-Cola. They flew me down to Bombay for a 4-day project; it’s been 6 years now & I haven’t left Bombay! I have days when my call time is at 4 am and I eat the first meal of my day at 7 pm; despite the hectic schedule, I absolutely love my job! But, it breaks my heart to see that hair & make-up professionals in India are still not given the recognition & resources they deserve. It’s high time now, the professionals that deck up everyone get their spotlight makeover too.”