In a demure manner, she commands so much respect and sits atop the Unveil Institute, which has gradually risen to become one of the top beauty outfits in Nigeria. The easy talking professional Make-up artiste, Bunmi Oyeniyi, pos- sesses an unobvious confidence and a likability factor which has helped her become successful in her craft over the past decade. When G&E’s Olapoju Kolapo visited her Ikeja office for a sit-down with, she shared her story of the past 10 years of being a beauty and make-up expert.
A career as a make-up Artist, was it what you’ve always wanted to do?
I’ve always been a fashion conscious person. Ob- viously, one would have thought that after my 5-6 years in school studying Estate Management, I’d go into Real Estate I think for me, I’ve always loved the fashion industry, I have to carve a niche for myself, so I decided to choose one aspect of it, which is the beauty aspect.
Why beauty?
When I chose it, I thought it would be a bit easier than others, but I was in for a shock, I would find out that it can be very tasking, challenging and te- dious. Basically, I’ve always loved makeup, I’ve al- ways loved fashion, clothes, so, it was only natural for me to find myself there.
Ten years in the business, how has the journey been?
t’s been fulfilling, that I would say first, and very challenging, very tasking. But on the long run, the
name has been built and it’s been great.
What’s been your staying power?
First and foremost recreating whatever you have, rebranding, being the best at what you do, and carving a niche for yourself. The fact that I’ve been encouraged by friends, family and also being a fighter, not relenting but just keep going.
How have you been able to stay relevant in spite of the humongous amount of makeup artistes on the streets?
I let the name speak for itself. You can’t beat the power of adverts, word of mouth and consistency. You need to be consistent at whatever you do.
What keeps your clients coming back?
Most times, I always try and build that relation- ship before the wedding day, and even on the wed- ding day. You know, it’s not just about the makeup alone, it’s a total package, because I wait behind to dress them up and see what they look like at
the end of the day. It’s not just about the money, but what I can offer and how I can put a smile on their face.
In the past ten years, there’s been a lot of im- provements in the industry you wish could be better now?
Let me speak for the M.U.A (Makeup Artistes). The first thing I would want to eradicate is the mediocres, those who haven’t trained, yet claim to be make-up artistes. The client who don’t re- ally know anything about makeup, all she wants is to look beautiful on her wedding day and so the client has every right to compare whatever price she’s getting from anywhere. I would also like us to come together as a family instead of being di- vided. We all do the same thing but in a different ways and there’s no fight anywhere.
Ten years after, is there anything you hope you can achieve?
It’s been fulfilling, that I would say first, and very challenging, very tasking. But on the long run, the name has been built and it’s been great.
What’s been your staying power?
First and foremost recreating whatever you have, rebranding, being the best at what you do, and carving a niche for yourself. The fact that I’ve been encouraged by friends, family and also being a fighter, not relenting but just keep going.
How have you been able to stay relevant in spite of the humongous amount of makeup artistes on the streets?
I let the name speak for itself. You can’t beat the power of adverts, word of mouth and consistency. You need to be consistent at whatever you do.
What keeps your clients coming back?
Most times, I always try and build that relation- ship before the wedding day, and even on the wed- ding day. You know, it’s not just about the makeup alone, it’s a total package, because I wait behind to dress them up and see what they look like at
the end of the day. It’s not just about the money, but what I can offer and how I can put a smile on their face.
In the past ten years, there’s been a lot of im- provements in the industry you wish could be better now?
Let me speak for the M.U.A (Makeup Artistes). The first thing I would want to eradicate is the mediocres, those who haven’t trained, yet claim to be make-up artistes. The client who don’t re- ally know anything about makeup, all she wants is to look beautiful on her wedding day and so the client has every right to compare whatever price she’s getting from anywhere. I would also like us to come together as a family instead of being di- vided. We all do the same thing but in a different ways and there’s no fight anywhere.
Ten years after, is there anything you hope you can achieve?
I would not say that I have one per say but I have
decided to concentrate more on the bridal industry, and for me I would have loved to have a place where you have wedding dresses, bridal shoes, aso-oke, you know, just like a one stop shop where I would be able to solve your prob- lems and you don’t need to be going from pillar to post.
Do you have plans to expand at sometime?
What I intend to do is to intensify on what we already have on ground, and keep rebranding.
How many stores do you have? Do you have plans to open more stores in other places?
I am planning on moving to the island and I want to take the school away from where it is to Ikeja. I must confess that I’m really encouraged by most of my colleagues in the industry, because most of us have our own product lines, like ‘House of Tara’, ‘Banke’ Meshida – Lawal with BMPro, and others. There should be more of that so that we don’t need to travel abroad to buy anything. Although, most of them are being manufactured abroad, but you know that it’s yours.
You are quite stylish. Where did you get your fashion savvy?
First and foremost, I love being slim. I feel that if you’re slim you can get away with a lot of things. Slim people can fit in everywhere. People don’t believe the fact that I have a ten year old son,because i get away with a lot of things. I have studied fashion and realised that some things consists of you being beautiful, regardless of how you are. I know everyone is beautiful and wonderfully made, but it depends on how you carry yourself.
Another thing is your hair, because no matter how big or beautiful you look, your hair gives you an instant lift and your skin. Thirdly your appearance, but if you’re bold and you believe too much in yourself, people will say ‘oh, you are so full of yourself ’. For me, all of that works.
When going for an event, how do you prepare?
That’s the biggest task of all. I have to have several clothes ready for it. That’s why I tend to shy away from events. People say I don’t want to come, but I run because it’s a huge task. The fact that you have to look beautiful, you have to smile even though you’re not happy can be quite tasking. In as much as I love looking good, I believe in dresses that make me comfortable.
If you weren’t in this line of business, what would you be doing?
I used to love cooking, I used to have a restaurant at ikeja, where I sold rare dishes that you wouldn’t easily find around, like Ofada rice, Ifokore. But it became too stressful because I had to combine the beauty school and the
food business.
Where do you see yourself in another decade?
My products in every household; I want to leave a name to reckon with, both home and abroad. In stores like Selfridges, House of Frazer, where you could get all ‘Unveil’ products, anything from pencil to lipstick; I see that I am go- ing places, and it’s about keeping up with what you are doing.
