Nafesah Ladonna Richardson decided to pursue a profession in makeup artistry four years ago after long having a passion for the art. Her clientele recently increased when the Miss Earth Guyana Organization contracted her for this year’s pageant.
A country girl, Ladonna hails from Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara and now lives at Wales, West Bank Demerara. Growing up in a home where her mother was taken up with work, she was practically raised by her grandmother and an older cousin. The latter was a bit of a fashionista and used makeup unlike the older folks in their extended family. Seeing her cousin applying her makeup was where Ladonna’s fascination stemmed from. She started experimenting and it was not too long before she could manage a simple makeup of her face.
“I was in love with makeup from a tender age. I was always putting something on my eyes. Some years later, when my cousin was getting married, she asked me to her makeup. I did her makeup, and everybody liked it. They wanted me to also makeup the faces of the flower girls and I declined saying they were too little and my aunt fondly [reprimanded] me saying I shouldn’t say that the girls are too little when I myself was always trying on makeup from a very small age. It was my sister-in-law who would after encourage me to do courses,” Ladonna said.
Prior to being a makeup artist, Ladonna worked at Fazia’s Collection but didn’t like the idea of having to work for someone else. She wanted to be her own boss doing something she loved. She later followed through with makeup classes from one of Guyana’s best, Renee Chester. This would lead to pursuing other courses where she learnt techniques in makeup and face painting from the likes of local masters in the art, Clinton Duncan and Steve Bravo as well as Trinidadian MUA Arlene Villarule Felix.
She does face painting at birthdays and at Easter sometimes at Joe Vieira Park, National Park and on the Seawall. The face painting, the young woman noted, allows her to get even more creative and the excitement that results from this is very satisfying.
Renee Chester, Ladonna said, had fueled her desire to learn makeup artistry some years prior to taking the courses. The artist shared that at one point she participated in the Miss Golden Grove Pageant which saw her finishing as the third runner-up from among 14 contestants. Renee had trained them in modelling. She had turned up with her suitcase filled with makeup. A young Ladonna was awed by the numerous shades of eye shadows and lipsticks.
She has had many challenges, but one of the common ones is having clients turn up with a photograph of a made-up model and request that their faces be done just the same. Ladonna noted while it is not difficult to do what is asked, they usually cannot pull off the same look when their facial structures, features and complexions differ. Nonetheless she tries her best to never disappoint her clients, and always try to provide a service better than is expected. “I like when my clients are comfortable in their own skin and know that they are beautiful then they don’t want to look like anyone else. I had a client, a bride… She said to me that she knows she is beautiful already and she just needed me to enhance her beauty for her special day.
“Makeup should be treated as an accessory and not as a coverup. However, there are persons who need makeup to feel confident about themselves and need that boost. Again, that is fine, and it should be used as an enhancement.”
The question of being paid by clients is also an issue, she said, as there have been clients who have in the past solicited her service and not had the required amount. “You may say you don’t have the full amount. I will still go ahead and do your makeup because when you go out there you are advertising me. Somebody might say to you that you look good and ask who did your makeup and with the mention of my name, there is another job opportunity. I don’t see this as a challenge. Instead I see this as a way of promoting my work, so I don’t mind.”
Asked whether the availability of the required makeup poses an issue, Ladonna explained that it isn’t as her sister-in-law who is based overseas, takes care to send what she needs. She would, from time to time, order from online. Her sister-in-law, she added, is one of her biggest supporters and was the one who saw that her niche was in makeup artistry. Instead of just encouraging her to pursue the art, her sister-in-law never hesitates to see that she has the required makeup brands. Making the list of her supporters are her husband and her friend, Yohlanda.
Some of her inspirations are Renee Chester, Clinton Duncan and Steve Bravo. For her, Renee’s work is neat and subtle while Clinton does great work for photoshoots and Steve does amazing body painting. Arlene Felix also makes this list.
One of her pet peeves is when a client turns up late and expects her to stop working on another client because they are running late. And she always remembers a particular client who was forever on her phone barely ever looking up or lifting her head so Ladonna could work as she needed to. Finally, Ladonna told the woman she might as well take one of the wipes and clean her face as she was not one bit satisfied at not getting to work to the best of her ability. This was what got through to the client and made her sit in a more workable position.
Being a makeup artist, she said, means being a friend and sometimes a psychologist as persons often share their personal stories. Many times, she listens as it seems that is what they need the most. Some women would share about staying in battered relationships, which she says she never encourages a woman to do adding that it is never okay to overlook a slap and staying after that at most times usually mean having to deal with worse than that. Ladonna went on to add that she is thankful for the supportive partner she has. The woman further said that this is an issue dear to her heart and she hopes that soon there will be more homes that women can go with their children when such situations arise.
Since taking to makeup artistry, the woman has travelled to various parts of Guyana including Linden and Corentyne, Berbice. She has also done the faces of the contestants of the Miss Ann’s Grove Pageant twice and is booked to do another in May.
As regards the Miss Earth Guyana pageant, Ladonna said, “I am so excited about this opportunity. So far, I’ve done two of their events; one being a photoshoot and the other the recent sashing ceremony. The ladies were very cooperative. While preparing one of the ladies for the sashing ceremony, there was one with already long lashes, who I decided to use a rather thin lash extension on. After seeing herself in the mirror she exclaimed that she looked like a doll which saw all of us laughing. It was a wonderful experience. I have two more events to work with the pageant team, including the coronation night.”
While Ladonna loves wearing makeup there are days when she visits the city wearing no makeup. Asked to choose only two things she would never leave the house without if she was going to wear makeup, the artist said it definitely be her eyelash extensions and having her brows filled in. She admonishes persons who wear makeup to take care of their face and to do facials at least once a month, not forgetting to moisturize their faces. Ladonna shared that after removing her makeup with wipes she uses coconut oil to remove remaining makeup; the coconut oil also serves as a moisturizer.
The MUA is hoping that in a decade’s time she would have her own salon and cosmetics store. She hopes too that by then she would be an internationally renowned makeup artist.
Some of her hobbies include singing (Soul, Oldies and Worship songs), dancing, and maypole plaiting.
Her favourite dishes include cook-up which she indicated she loves eating so much that she can have it without meat, and it doesn’t matter which beans are used. She also likes to have pepperpot, roti and curry
Ladonna will be offering her first set of makeup courses this coming week beginning on Monday. The classes will be held at Vreed-en-Hoop from 12 pm to 2 pm. The course comes at the affordable cost of $15,000.
She can be followed on Facebook at Ladonna Richardson and Makeup Glamour and on Instagram @MakeupbyLadonna.
