Tara Thursday

Tara Fela-Durotoye one of the most established makeup artists in Nigeria, who has focused on the more business side of makeup spoke with CNN African Voices and i bring you some excerpts from the interview.

Before we go further, just incase you are on the other side of the planet and don’t know much about her I’ve listed some of her achievements below.

-Founder and CEO of House of Tara International

-House of Tara Makeup schools (all over Nigeria)

-H.I.P Beauty Range

-Inspired Perfume

-Tara Orekelewa Beauty Range

Excerpts from Interview

How she started

She says that what drives her business is that she thinks her business is a vehicle that God is using to change lives.

She says that while other people have horrible stories about their relationships with their step mum, hers was actually part of what shaped her decision to become a makeup artist because her step mum was beauty conscious.

She became a Christian while in secondary school and still has some of her friends from secondary school till now.

Her very first big job was done for the daughter of chief of Naval staff as at 1998, and that opened a lot of doors for her as most of the brides friends who were part of the train asked her to come make them as beautiful as she did their friend.

Her very first store was built while she was still on campus and when the sign went up she had tears in her eyes because all she could think at that point was ‘wow, I did it ‘

Becoming Recognized

Although Tara has since been an household name in Nigeria, it took more than 10 years for her to become globally recognized for what she’s doing for girls in Nigeria

Getting on Forbes list put a burden on her to touch more lives, so she’s started a mentorship programme fe or girls from all spheres of life.

She tells her mentees that they should not just be excited about knowing her personally but she encourages them to give sponsorship to other women. She reminds them “Nigeria needs you, Africa needs you”

She has always been a good public speaker and also gives motivational talks. She believes wealth started for her as a mindset; she believes that Nigeria is a fruitful ground.

She started the business with N15,000 but right now she pays over a 100 people salary, she says going into the beauty industry is about passion and doing something you enjoy.

She knows that House of Tara is going to become a global enterprise of African origin but she’s scared that she might not enjoy the moments on her journey.

But she hopes to smell the rain, look at the faces around her, enjoy the journey to her destination as opposed to just rushing through.

Photo credit ynaija.com