When you see a petite non-South Asian woman creating beautiful Hindu bridal looks, you wonder - how in the world did she learn all this?

I've been watching Anna Karapetyan perform her magic for well over a year now and have met her a few times. Let's just say that it has intrigued me enough to share her story.

TC: What is your ethnic background?

I was born in Armenia and now call Toronto my home.

TC: When did AK Makeup & Hair begin and how did you come by the Tamil wedding industry?

Anna: AK Makeup & Hair was launched just over 4 years ago. It started when I was helping a friend find a bridal artist for her wedding day, and we couldn't find someone that suits her style or budget (especially since social media was a different world at the time). I offered to do my friend's bridal hair and makeup as I had done it for her before for other occasions. I'm grateful that she trusted me to do it and she was very pleased with my work. It was after this that I realized how much I enjoyed this, and began to see makeup and hair artistry as a potential career instead of just a hobby. I first started doing it on a part time basis and shortly after dedicated myself to it full time.

I cater to clients from all cultures which is one of my favourite things about my job. I started to get referred to several Tamil brides who booked my services for their reception, and soon after I started getting multiple inquiries for Tamil bridal services (for wedding ceremonies). Realizing the big potential of working actively within the Tamil community, I embraced a friend's advice to learn the art of sari draping as well as Tamil bridal hair, and started to work on expanding my portfolio for Tamil bridal work (hair, makeup and dressing). This opened the doors for me to work with more Tamil brides for their wedding ceremonies and clients in the Tamil community altogether. Today, Tamil women comprise a huge percentage of my clientele.

https://instagram.com/p/9WxMF_wrea/?taken-by=akmakeup1

TC: How big is your team? Who is part of your team and what are their individual roles?

Anna: AK Makeup & Hair is currently only comprised of me, myself and I. I am the talent, the administrative and creative director, graphic designer, brand manager and social media specialist of my brand.

TC: Each person you beautify is unique. How do you make that happen?

Anna: I think it's important to get to know your clients and listen to them closely to understand them better. I also aim to enhance a woman's natural beauty and emphasize her most beautiful features, instead of applying makeup blindly, in systematic steps. On some faces, I might spend 70% of my time with the client on the eyes, and only 30% on the rest of the face. In other cases, I might spend 15% of my time on the eyes, and 85% on the rest of the face. It all depends on the person. This results in a unique approach to each face I work with. To me, customization is key and I always customize colors, textures and looks to make a woman's beauty be true to her.

TC: What's your first memory when you started AK Makeup & Hair?

Anna: My first memory is the daunting and expensive task that was to put together a professional kit. I'm grateful to my family for supporting me emotionally as well as financially when I decided to start this business.

TC: What do you find most challenging about this line of work?

Anna: The most challenging thing is to find a balance between work and your personal life. Unfortunately, the nature of this job requires me working long hours on the weekends, which is when I would spend time with my husband, family and friends. Consequently, I miss out on a lot of important events and valuable time with my loved ones, either because I'm working or because I'm too exhausted to breathe, let alone to leave my house.

https://instagram.com/p/9MNW7eQrQH/?taken-by=akmakeup1

TC: What's the best/worst thing to happen since you started working in this industry?

Anna: The best thing is witnessing the positive effect you can have on someone on one of the happiest and most important events of her life. The worst thing is accidentally double booking yourself and trying to find a solution, especially last-minute. (I've earned some grey hairs because of this!)

TC: What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Anna: Some may perceive makeup/hair artistry as just a "fun" job, something more like a hobby, where you get to make people pretty and get paid for it. In reality, it takes an incredible amount of patience, first and foremost, both with the craft and with people you work with to do this job. It also requires intense dedication and perseverance to practice this craft. Lastly, you need to understand how to run a business to be successful as a makeup/hair artist.

TC: Tell me about some of the people you've met while working.

Anna: I meet so many wonderful individuals in my line of work, particularly the women who sit in my chair and entrust me with their faces. I am lucky to have become friends with some amazing vendors who have been and continue to be extremely and selflessly supportive and are a great source of inspiration to me as women, entrepreneurs and artists.

TC: When your friends/family find out that you work in makeup and bridal artistry, what do they ask or say?

Anna: I think many friends and even some family don't understand the true nature of my work and just how much effort and work it entails. I'm sure many also don't understand the potential for income in this line of work, so I'm not surprised and do my best to not take offense when my job is not taken as seriously as a more traditional job in the corporate world would be. At the end of the day, I do this for me. :)

TC: If you weren't creating such beautiful artwork, what would you be doing instead, or what would your life be like?

Anna: I'd probably be living and working abroad, and traveling a lot more than I do now!

TC: What do you do when you aren't working on a client?

Anna: The administrative portion of my work is just as important and time-consuming as working with clients. However, in my spare time, I'm wholeheartedly happy being at home with my hubby eating delicious food, watching a good show/movie, or just reading. I'm a homebody.

TC: What would you tell someone who is thinking about pursuing this line of work?

Anna: It takes time to get things going, and a lot of dedication. There is a lot of competition out there, as it's an extremely saturated market. However, hard work does pay off. Pay attention to detail, learn to be a perfectionist and never stop growing as an artist. Lastly, a good personality can take you much further, and if you want to be successful in this business, make sure you enjoy working with people ;)

The TamilCulture team would like to congratulate Anna on her new addition to the family, #BabyAK! Be sure to look out for Anna's makeup workshops in the coming year!