The Dazzling Make-Up Inside Her

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Fashion & Beauty

Sunday, 10 October 2010 06:55

By D Francis

Make-up artist... Caribbean folk dancer and principal dancer at the Antigua Dance Academy... designer... face painter... former teacher. All of these "make up" young, talented Meserete Straker. She spoke to Caribarena.com recently about loving every bit of her multiple roles.

It was her performances on stage with the Academy that made her realize her interest in make-up. "I love art," she said, "and Veronica Yearwood, the famous Tizzy and Kai Davis - all of them worked together on doing our make-up in a creative way, and there it started.”

As her knowledge grew, she started applying make-up for friends and family. Through DVD’s, magazines, and gathering tips from counterparts using the latest techniques, she and started “Beautiful Expressions".

Her first big moment came when she did the make-up for a satisfied bride; she said the feeling was overwhelming.

“People got to hear about me by as we would say word of mouth," Straker recalled. "And my hairdresser too spread the word. Most of the brides I’ve done, they are women who hardly wear make-up, and insist on looking as natural as possible, so you have to know about the colours and blends to get that natural edge.”

She loves the rewarding feeling when she hands them the mirror and they react. "The feeling is awesome, to see that smile and how pleased they were. You just have to enhance their beauty and they would love it," she said.

"I did my last bride in the summer, and she was very particular about looking natural. When she saw the finished product, the wide smile, the joy that came over her... and she began to pose and pose. She was very pleased and that was really pleasing to me.”

She shared a few tips for achieving this natural look. "Use browns instead of blacks," she advised. "You can use a soft black to it, but browns bring out the natural look.” She prefers loose powder, and said special attention should be paid to the T-zone area to add that soft, smooth, fresh look. The make-up rule comprises - base, contour, and highlight.

Heavy colour in the day is a big no no, but in the night you can jazz it up, depending on the occasion.

She said as long as a make-up artist knows her basics and learns how to blend, she will be fine, since this is the key to a beautiful finish.

Another form of make-up, a more fun aspect, is face painting. It was her love for this that led Straker to open a small but thriving business called Fun Faces, catering mostly to children’s party events.

“I started doing jobs for the first time this year, and the kids loved the various designs I paint on their faces - the Batman, butterfly, cat designs, princess faces... they sit in anticipation to see how it comes out," she said. "The paints are water-based, so it’s safe on kids. I did a few parties and had a nice little set-up at Children’s Carnival. I enjoyed ever minute if it.”

Straker hopes to further her knowledge through professionally training from a reputable institution to expand her skills into make-up for the film industry and impart her knowledge to others interested in the field.

Her love of dancing is explained next. Straker started dancing since she was around six; she is now 27.

“My dad, who was a master drummer with the Little Dancers Little School of Dance took us - my sister and I - to dance class and it started from there," she recalled. Her enduring love for dance led her to start Caribbean Spice, a folk dance workout at Silston’s Library on Mondays and Wednesdays. "It’s for people who want to have fun while getting fit, and also teaches you how to be disciplined, to get people up and active and start loving themselves for them," she said. "I use a lot of the Caribbean folk rhythm to really bring out the true essence of the session, with master drummer Zuberi Matthew."


She added, "When you can move your waist, your hands, and your feet at the same time, that’s a discipline right there, and you are having fun while losing weight - that’s a great feeling. One of the girls told me she has lost about four inches from her waist since she started, and that’s a good start.”

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