TikTok special effects makeup artist Tinashe Mwaniki on her 10-year plan
Tinashe Mwaniki, 23-year-old self-taught special effects makeup artist, has spoken about her 10 year goal plan even as she continues going making a name for herself on TikTok with her artistry.
Tinashe studied Computer Science and Informatics, but found taking up a 9-5 job unattractive despite her parents supporting her artistry but sometimes lining up blue collar job interviews for her.
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“My parents right now are supportive of what I do actually, which I am grateful for because when I was starting out. Ok, I did Computer Science and Informatics in university – and they knew after that I would venture into IT and a 9-5 office job. So they lowkey they have been believing in me from then on to now,” Tinashe told Nairobi News.
“I feel like they’ve not had this one moment where they are like ‘what exactly are you doing?’ Like, of course they would be asking me but it’s not in a way of them not wanting me to do what I am doing. It’s like ‘ok, you want to be a make up artist, so? What’s the plan?’”
She went on: “I like my freelancing, when I can work, when I can, you know, like guide my time- have my own timetable. Being my own boss is fun. It’s challenging but its fun. 10 years from now, I feel like I would have already made my name a brand because I want to increase the opportunities for people in the makeup industry in Kenya.
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“I realized, with creative makeup, there are very few of us and I’ve realized that most want to learn (how to do creative makeup) but there are no such opportunities. People will just tell you to watch tutorials on YouTube or go to a beauty school… I just want to have a space where people can learn what I do and have facilities for the looks that I do, locally as well. I want to expand the makeup industry in Kenya, to be honest.”
Tinashe began doing makeup at the height of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. She ventured into glam creative looks for cosplay- turning one’s face into another character (usually fictional) using makeup. On her face, she has done cosplay looks including Spiderman, Iron Man, Neytiri from Avatar, Frankenstein and a skeleton face. She first gained fame on Instagram before blowing up on TikTok.
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