The Chief Executive Officer, Revysbeauty, Orevaoghene Obieroma is one of the wave-making make-up artists in town. She is enjoying lots of patronage from clients, many of whom are top celebrities, society women and party rockers. Her services are largely enjoyed by brides as they love to have her prepare them for the glam look on their wedding occasions. Obieroma is the creative director of the popular Revysbeauty. In this interview she talked about her brand and the many challenges she faced while growing her career in the industry.
What actually inspired you to choose makeup as a career path?
Honestly, I never thought I would be a make-up artist. Makeup generally is something I have passion for. And with the fact that there are no jobs in the country, I have to create one for myself. I found myself on this path and am loving every bit of it, trust me it’s very lucrative.
How long have you been in the make-up business line and how have you been coping?
It has been five years and I have been surviving by keeping up with the make-up trends. Makeup has evolved over the years. What we did last year is not what we are doing this year. So, you just have to follow the trends and keep evolving, keep improving on your craft as well as remain updated about what’s going on in the make-up industry.
How have you been able to create a niche for yourself in this highly competitive industry?
First and foremost, improving my craft has been very helpful. My niche for my make-up is in the area of bridal makeup and party guest services. My make-up style is very soft and calm. And I feel like that’s what is most suitable for brides. That’s what they like. My niche is to create soft glam that any bride would want to rock on their wedding day. I tend to shy away from loud make-up and I intend to create a soft make-up style that my brides can relate to.
How have you been able to reach out and work with other brands?
Aside from being a bridal make-up artist, I’m a content creator. I create a lot of content with models for brands like Merak Cosmetics, Slyvimak, Ms Metics, Omaricode, Zaron Cosmetics and some others brands that I have worked with. They probably have gone through my page, and have seen that I’m a content creator and that’s how they were drawn to my page.
Which of the top celebrities have you worked with and what’s your experience working with them?
I have actually worked with lots of celebrities. To mention a few, I have worked with brands Like Swanky Jerry who is a fashion god, Mercy Eke, Nengi, Lilian Afe, Beauty Tukura, I have also worked with some of the Real Housewives of Lagos, Like Chioma, Caroline and Mariam. and others, many I can’t even remember. Honestly, working with celebrities is a blessing, but very stressful. They give an appointment on a set at a time and when you get there, you wait and end up spending the whole of your day with them, which can be quite adventurous because I learn a lot.
What’s your journey into makeup business like and who are your mentors in the industry?
Honestly, my make-up journey has not been easy. When I first started, I got discouraged by low engagement. You know you have to post your content on instagram as the platform is our major platform to showcase our creative work. So Instagram’s reach was very low. I hardly get booked by clients. I can remember a day when Chisom of Beautified, one of my colleagues, reached out to me having noticed how greatly I am doing in the industry. She said I shouldn’t mind if I don’t get recognition from clients. She said I should remain focused and keep doing my thing and I’m so glad I held on to her words. The make-up journey was really tough on me until I got my major break after COVID-19. It was after the pandemic that I started getting clients and here we are now. Other people who guided me and influenced my profession are the likes of Layefa Beauty, Jennifer of Talk Glam Cosmetics, and Bola of BolaBlaque Beauty Store. So these are the people that really inspired me and made sure I got it right.
If not make-up what would you have done?
If not makeup, I probably would have one random 9am to 5 pm job. Before I started make-up, I was working with Jumia as a customer service representative. I would have still been there and probably grown up the ladder.
Aside from make-up, do you have any plans to venture into another thing?
Aside from make-up, I would like to work with international brands for product production. I would also want to have a very big make-up academy where I love to train a lot of students from all over the world. I would like to have my own brand and products in the near future.
What is your fulfilling moment on the job?
When I get gifts from my clients for a job well done, because it’s not what you get on a daily basis. When a client gives you a gift, it means she genuinely appreciates your service.
What do you think are the challenges young and emerging make-up artists face?
I think brands get discouraged by low followers. Clients go to your page and love what you do but get discouraged about the number of followers therein. To be honest, that’s actually a real-life scenario. And secondly, when brands are not willing to collaborate with upcoming make-up artists. When we want to create content, we reach out to photographers, and we reach out to hairstylists. So, for someone that has like 1k followers reaching out to a photographer to make content and get a negative response because of the fact that the said person’s instagram, has low followers on Instagram. Thirdly, there is beef in the industry where you don’t want to see your make-up artist grow and it’s bad.
So what advice can you give to a startup entrepreneur?
I would say, keep being yourself, keep doing you, keep showing up till you get that big break. Trust me you may feel people are not watching, but they are. So keep pushing and with God all things are possible.
