By Chandini Wig:
The decision to leave everything behind, and follow my passion didn’t happen in a day.
Sitting in front of my office desktop, hurrying to complete the day’s task, my mind would often wander to an alternate universe – “What if I was doing something I loved, life would be so much more exciting.” That’s when the voice of my boss asking me if the management note was ready, would transport me back to this mundane job that had become my life.
I was a Company Secretary (CS) by profession. My Accounts tutor suggested CS, while I was pursuing B.Com. Thinking maybe it’s a good idea to do this additionally, I enrolled for CS without really understanding what I was getting into. Imagine years of classes and tuitions, fat books to mug up, studies extending till wee hours of the morning, recurring exams, assignments, and long internships!
I had a good job, standard working hours, monthly salary credits to my account and a bright future in the field, but in spite of it all, I wasn’t happy and something was missing. Every day was turning into a struggle, to wake up and go to work, to follow the same routine and to do an ordinary job.
Ultimately, after working for more than a year, in May 2017, I took the call of quitting CS and joining the beauty industry.
Breaking all rules
How everyone reacted? It was a jar of mixed reactions. Being a typical fauji, my father had no idea whatsoever about the world of makeup and he was unhappy. “It isn’t going to be easy,” my sister remarked. I remember saying, “Nothing in life is easy. CS wasn’t easy, yet I did it. If this is something I really like and enjoy doing, I’ll put in all my efforts, no matter how difficult it will be.”
My mother, on the other hand, was quite supportive. I used to see my mother dressing up for Ladies Club when I was young – her impeccable chiffon sarees, blow-dried hair, and high heels. I would sit next to her while she would put on her makeup, admiring the way she would apply her lip liner first and then her lipstick. I used to be in awe of how beautiful it made her look.
I think that’s where the liking for makeup and everything related to it started. Having those memories etched in my mind, I enrolled for a professional makeup artistry course and by October 2017, I was a certified makeup artist, ready to take on the world with a set of new hopes and dreams.
To new beginnings
As a makeup artist in the making, I knew that I didn’t want to limit myself to doing makeovers only. For me, makeup was much more than that. I wanted to explore the confidence, change in attitude, positivity, smile, and the feeling of awe and shock in people when they looked at themselves. It’s important to ‘feel’ the beauty rather than ‘see’ it. I wanted to give back in some way, to reach out and help, but I had to figure out how.
One day I got a call to be a guest moderator for the SHEROES Beauty and Makeup Community. Instantly, the light bulb in my head lit up because this was exactly what I’d been waiting for – an opportunity to get up close and personal with women across all ages and to strike the right chord with them.
I spent two days on the SHEROES platform, engaging in real-time conversations on problems/queries related to beauty and makeup – acne to pigmentation, dark skin to skin whitening treatments, eyeliner application to full-fledged makeup routines. Most of the questions had an underlying pattern of low confidence and low self-esteem, hinting towards inferiority complexes.
But what I loved was women coming together to answer each other’s queries in spite of being complete strangers, sharing tips on beauty and fashion and expressing love and support over unfiltered photographs and outfits of the day.
I tried passing on what I’ve always believed in – Beauty can be superficial if it doesn’t have a soul. My aim has always been to make people fall in love with themselves and to give them confidence that makes them shine from within.
About Chandini Wig:
I’m a SHEROES community manager and a certified makeup artist. I love what I do and I work hard at what I do. I believe that with the right kind of conviction, you have the power to make your dreams come true – no matter how big or small they are.
