IT’S the smiles on the faces of blushing brides that drives bridal makeup artist Jastina to delve deeper into modern Indian bridal makeup.
“The main thing I love about doing makeup is watching my clients smile with happiness, especially when the brides look into the mirror and feel beautiful after my makeup session is completed,” said 31-year-old Jastina.
She has a natural talent and skill for transforming a girl wearing a casual t-shirt and jeans into an elegant or ethereal blushing bride within hours. Armed with a makeup brush in her hand, she blends colours to create naturally radiant makeup, coupled with a classy or chic hairdo.
Keeping up with trends
Learning never stops for Jastina, who continues to gain new skills by taking up courses on Short Airbrush Makeup techniques, just to keep up with new trends and styles, although she has been teaching makeup classes to others.
Jastina has mastered a variety of beauty looks and hairstyles, from ‘Bollywood diva bride’ to ‘elegant traditional Indian bride’, but she has also invented her own signature style.
“My signature look is to enhance the natural beauty or features of a bride. My makeup style is simple, natural and yet elegant, at all times,” she said.
According to her, some brides prefer to enhance their natural beauty, while others love to fully glam up for their wedding day.
The most requested bridal look?
“My most requested look for bridal is the ‘let me look like myself’, or minimalist style. Currently, brides want to look simple and be themselves with fewer colours, but softer, with more pastels tones,” Jastina said.
“A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Every bride has their own vision or dream of how they want to look on their big day.
“As a bridal makeup artist, we go all out, to do our best to help our brides to look their best with their requested desired look,” she said.
“Choosing the right makeup for my brides has been an easy task, as I am known for my signature style of work, and our brides engage us for the custom styles we create,” she added.
Jastina experiments with colour palettes to create a custom look for each bride, to suit their face and features.
Not just a makeup artist, Jastine also does the hairstyle to complement the makeup and arranges flowers on the bride’s hair, which is a must for a traditional Indian bride on her wedding day.
Jastina loves to be creative with hairdos, incorporating flower decorations or arranging different types of blooms like jasmine or roses with jewellery or accessories.
Journey into makeup
Her journey began seven years ago, when she was assisting her mother Shanti Perumal, who is also a bridal makeup artist, by drawing mehndi (henna) on the bride’s hand.
Later, she shared her bridal makeup pictures on social media, and was overwhelmed with bookings for weddings.
“If it wasn’t for my mum, who started her own bridal makeup business 28 years ago and has managed it single-handedly over the years, I wouldnʼt have ventured along this path and found my passion in life,” said Jastina.
Jastina has plans for the future. She hopes her own beauty brand, JBeauty, will someday be popular among makeup artists.
Aside from this, Jastina, a former flight attendant, admits that she loves to travel.
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I want to witness all the wonders of the world, meet people from different parts, and grow with people in different countries! Simply put, I am a people-person,” added Jastina.
