The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

SHE started out in the unlikely field of banking, but today Lucy Lu is on her way to becoming one of the Bahamas’ leading makeup artists.

Lucy Lu, who has become so popular in recent months that she now has her own fan base, has turned her name into a brand that is in high demand by Bahamian beauties.

With just over three years in the makeup game, Lucy Lu said she is amazed by the amount of people who support her brand and show her love.

“I don’t even know how it all happened, and everything basically happened within the last couple months. I couldn’t do the extra work while I was working at a ‘9-to-5’; I wasn’t flexible and I wasn’t allowed to promote myself like I wanted to. I guess leaving that aspect and being able to push myself helped in building my fan base. It is still kind of overwhelming to be able to go somewhere and people know me,” Lucy Lu told Tribune Woman.

Coming from the banking industry, Lucy Lu ventured off into the field of makeup artistry in 2011 when she received a job at MAC Cosmetics in downtown Nassau. Her goal was to develop a style different to other makeup artists.

“I remember when I used to practice on my friends and I really thought I knew what I was doing when I first started with this. But when I started working at MAC I realised that I was a hot mess. Working there has taught me to completely transform and fine-tune my work, and that was my major stepping stone. I am still learning every day. Just the other day I worked with a younger artist and I learned a lot, picking up new things here and there. I can’t say that I am the best, but compared to what I started from to now, it’s a big difference,” said Lucy Lu.

The young mother devoted three years to MAC Cosmetics before she left the company to work as an independent makeup artist and hairstylist.

“I just love being able to transform women and help them to see what they can do to enhance every little piece of beauty they have. Right now hair is more consistent for me because it’s my bread and butter. I can’t survive with just makeup alone, so I had to incorporate the hair as my basic income and makeup is supplemental. I am home-based, but I hope to open up a salon in the next two years,” said Lucy Lu.

One of the things she has learned in the past two months working for herself is that she can never lose focus, that it is important to “go hard” at all times.

“It is a win-lose situation, because you can’t come into it expecting things to fall into your lap. I have to constantly think of ways to keep myself out there, because in the makeup field there a lot of makeup artists, so you have to stand out and do different things. Once you love what you do, it’s rewarding,” said Lucy Lu.

Turning to the profession of makeup artist as afforded Lucy Lu many new and exciting opportunities, one of which was the chance to work behind the scenes at the recent Miss Bahamas World/Universe pageants. She has also worked on music videos and on television sets.

“With the Miss Bahamas pageant, they surprisingly contacted me through Facebook; it was an organiser on the board, Santina Smith. It was a really good experience because I love pageants and I always used to follow them from I was a little girl, so to be backstage and see what goes on in a pageant was fun and I loved it. I have also worked with music artists like Angelique Sabrina on a music video she did. Moreover, I did work for an Irish Lottery commercial where everything was exclusive, being treated like a celebrity,” she said.

Most recently, Lucy Lu has worked with the Bahamas Masqueraders Carnival Group, which she describes as a completely different experience than what she is used to.

“I am not really a soca person, but getting in there and seeing for myself what it is all about gave me a great appreciation for it. Makeup artistry has given me a lot of different experiences, and now I am just starting to book a lot of island weddings where they fly you in. It is really amazing, the things that I get to experience with this job,” she said.

Nevertheless, Lucy Lu said like with all jobs there are challenges, and with makeup she would say the number one difficulty is the potential of clashing personalities and tastes.

“You don’t always blend with different personalities, but I try to always remain neutral and that is still something I am dealing with. People have different tastes, which may not be your taste, so it’s like a process to get to the end goal of the desired look,” she said.

This year is almost done, but not until Lucy Lu beautifies a few faces for her upcoming “Pretty Me Up” mixer. The event will be held on November 22 at the MacFit360 Studios from 6.30pm to 9pm. Ladies will learn professional makeup techniques by Lucy Lu, including how to create perfect brows, how to highlight, contour and strip lashes.

Food, cocktails and gift bags will be available at the event.

“This is something I always wanted – everything about beauty. I am actually going to be doing a demo presentation that will be the main feature to give ladies pointers. They can come, enjoy the different vendors and entertainment. The main goal is to push the Lucy Lu brand and get it out there more. I have a lot of things planned for next year, but as for now I am just going to keep the ladies beautified,” said Lucy Lu.