Meet Xander, a charismatic makeup artist who believes in helping their clients to feel beautiful in themselves. Empowered by Lady Gaga and Madonna when growing up, Xander fell in love with makeup and drag.
Q. Tell us about your journey to work in Beauty?
A. I have always been interested in the beauty industry. I have been practising makeup since I was 15 and I’ve always been obsessed with hair and fashion, however it wasn’t until I got my job at MECCA MAXIMA that I realised this is what I wanted to do for a living. I then started studying and pursuing makeup artistry as a career.
Q. Who are those around you that have empowered you during your career?
A. I feel empowered by artists like Lady Gaga and Madonna who have really helped shape my style and techniques to what they are today. My partner has also empowered me in so many ways, he is a drag queen and encouraged me to pursue doing drag for myself. He really helped show me what my true passions are.
Q.What would you say is your career highlight?
A. My career highlight so far would have to be doing a photo shoot for the brand KissKill. I was in drag showcasing their clothing and everyone was complimenting my makeup which I had done myself, and it just proved to me that this is what I’m meant to be doing in life.
Q. What does a typical day look like for you?
A. A typical day for me would be getting ready and sorted for work before heading off to my job at MECCA MAXIMA. I’ll usually help customers make decisions on purchasing makeup products and I’ll get varied requests and concerns during the day about makeup and skincare that I help educate them on.
Q. What challenges do you face and how do you overcome them?
A. You face a lot of challenges when working in the beauty industry, creativity is subjective and everyone has an opinion. My style in drag and makeup is a lot different to the usual demographic and l find you get a lot of people judging you because you aren’t like everyone else. This just fires me up though to keep doing what I love doing.
Q. What do you think your superpower is?
A. I think my superpower is being able to make everyone feel beautiful in themselves. I pride myself on my range with my makeup and my ability to adjust any product on any skin type, age and ethnicity.