Nabakabya’s passion is to beautify people
Miriam Nabakabya is a makeup artist with Mimi’s Glam, a company that is already gaining ground in Kampala and its surroundings.
The company offers professional make-up services.
Composed and speaking in a low but confident tone, the born of Kayunga went to St.Catherine Primary School, Kawanda, Kanjuki Senior Secondary School and later Makerere University for a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences in 2015.
Covid-19 blues
Having got a job as a manager, everything went according to plan until 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic set in and Nabakabya had to leave the job.
However, as the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, Nabakabya thought outside the box.
“I decided to follow my passion, which is Makeup. I chose to become professional and went to school, Esta School of Beauty for six months and enhanced my skills in both makeup and hairstyling,” she says.
Nabakabya’s passion for makeup grew while she was still at campus.
“During my time at campus, I met a girl called Faith, who later became my friend. She had a good sense and taste for style. She all the time looked good with nice makeup, hairstyles, and of course accompanied by sweet dresses and at times panties. This got me to fall in love with fashion. So, I started reading much about the same and practice made people admire what I do.”
Having left her managerial job during the Covid-19 lockdown, Nabakabya got skills in makeup and hairstyling that would later come in handy.
“While still studying I got encouraged to pursue this career as many people used to appreciate my makeup trials. I therefore chose to post my work on an online platform called Jiji,” she says.
First steps
Having got the requisite skills, it was not time for her to go solo and to this, the Shs 1.2 million which was part of her savings came in handy as she began her makeup business.
She used the money to buy some of the makeup products for use.
Nabakabya says she made use of social media to help her sell the makeup business to as many people as possible.
“My clients cut across. Everyone and anyone can be my customer for as long as the service they seek lies within my skills and profession. I get most of my customer online,” she says.
She also vividly remembers her first customer.
“One day while at the beauty school, someone contacted me after seeing my work on Jiji. They said that they liked my work and wanted me to work on them, and just like that, I got my first client. I have never turned back,” she says.
Proud
Throughout our conversation, Nabakabya couldn’t hide her joy at how far she has gone with her makeup career, born out of Covid-19 blues.
“I am very proud with what I have achieved as a makeup artist. This is something that I do with passion. I take it as my profession now because it’s my source of survival.”
“Because of this profession, I am able to put something on the table and also reserve what to save for the future. I have made friends and connections. You can’t believe that I’m called for makeup by clients as far as Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania! And I’m convinced that the future still holds a lot for me, the sky is the limit.”
Challenges
Nabakabya says her career as a makeup artist hasn’t been a complete bed of roses as many would think.
“There are quite a number of challenges but majorly scammers and dishonest clients. Some clients tend to think they know what they want, yet they actually don’t know. Some Ugandans have not yet embraced makeup and they want to pay less yet the products we use are expensive. For example, there are some products that aren’t on the market here, and we have to just buy them by catalogue abroad,” she says.
Despite the challenges, she soldiers on.
Nabakabya also has a piece of advice for fellow youths.
“The youth must realize their strength. The world offers a lot but it’s better to stick where your passion lies. You can only get profit from something you respect as a job. Patience is key to every success. What grows fast dies fast. Be patient and success will be yours,” she says.
