Meet the make-up man

Bornwise Mtonzi Lifestyle Reporter
“While others were saying I want to be a pilot, nurse, doctor, teacher, you name any profession, for me it was like when I grow up I want to be a beautician.”

These are the words of 19-year-old Trust Takudzwa “Scotty” Sikoti, a young, male make-up artist.

For him there is no gender role confusion and he is not apologetic about his career choice as he believes that it is easy to do any job with pride and joy as long as it is your passion.

By his own definition, to make up is to enhance, correct, cover blemishes whose exposure mar the whole picture like black spots and uneven skin and that is what Scotty is good at.

In an interview with The Saturday Herald Lifestyle, the creative young man said his career option was never up for discussion and he feels lucky to be one person who has followed his dreams to find fulfilment.

“Growing up I knew that I wanted to be a beautician and up to date it never changed,” he said

Scotty trained at Vault Cosmetics, a fairly new brand that has taken the market by storm. “Ndichambonovaultewa (I am going to be vaulted)” has become a stock phrase for Harare women going to get a special look for some occasion.

“To show how good and passionate I was about this it only took me three days to learn and I was given a job at Vault Cosmetics,” said Scotty.

“It’s been one year now since I started to do make-up on people, and this is and will always be my passion. I used to comment on those who dressed badly, correcting them and telling them what to wear,”

Scotty said that he started doing makeup on himself when he was a young boy and he likes to see people looking good.

He added that he started doing nails before he graduated and he believes he is the first male makeup artists to gain fame in Zimbabwe and Zambia as well.

Apart from making people look good he said he can also do the opposite.

“Ndonakisa vanhu zvese nekuvashatisa, (I can make people look beautiful as well as ugly),” he said.

He said he is the first man to do Zombie makeup on the ladies and it has gained him much recognition.

Talking about his inspiration, the young dread-locked artist said he thanks God for this wonderful profession that he gave him and he doesn’t know what really inspired him to do this.

“Truly speaking I don’t even know what really inspired me. I just liked to see people looking good. I could criticise those who dressed badly and I could help my mom to do her make-up, it has been in my blood,” he said.

The make-up artist said he owes much of his work to Jackie Mgido, a Hollywood make-up artist from America and owner of Vault Cosmetics (to whom he was introduced by a friend), who trained him to be what he is today.

The young man has done makeup and still does on most of the celebrities in Zimbabwe who include the Queen of Swag Pokello, Cindy, Miss V Candy, Mac Mandisoul, Hollywood Lee, Amara Brown, Cynthia Mare, Stunner, among other notables.

“Point to note is that for men it is only those who appear on TV who do make-up.”

His work does not end on these celebrities only but the young man has worked with big companies like SK, TIR fashion, Club E TV show among others as well as Zimbabwe Music Awards.

However, he said the industry comes with its challenges as it is difficult for our society to accept that a man can venture into the make-up business.

This, however, did not deter the energetic Scotty who said he doesn’t mind what people may think.

“I would like to encourage the youth to do what they really want in life and should not be put down by what people think. If you are passionate about something never back down, just find your own purpose and go for it,” he said.

To pursue his passion Scotty said he has started his own cosmetic studio, Make up by Taku, which he hopes will go international one day.

“I love what I do, it feels amazing and most of all I’m the youngest and the best in what I do and I thank God the industry is giving me something that other youth of my age are not getting,” he said.

Scotty added that it is only uneducated people who think men cannot be make-up artists and associate it with their negative thinking.

“Because I’m a make-up artist people start to associate me with people of a different sex orientation. They think I’m gay of which I’m not. I’m just a person who enjoys beauty therapy and it doesn’t define what I’m inside.”

Scotty said that people don’t just understand this industry and there is nothing wrong with it.

“I think it is those who are uneducated who think the make-up industry is for ladies only, it is now a thing of the past to have such thinking as women are following careers in fields that were once said to be men’s jobs and no one thinks those women are gay. So I see no problem in man doing the same,” he said.