@makeupozy Reflects on her Journey as a Black Makeup Artist and Content Creator
Photo courtesy of Ozy
Ozioma Anele, or more popularly known as @makeupozy on Instagram is a makeup artist and beauty influencer. She can be easily recognized by her very soft glam or dramatic graphic liner looks. She has been able to amass over 13,000 followers on her Instagram, while maintaining a full time job. By the age of 6, Ozy knew she loved creating makeup looks and now, many years later, she is creating editorial looks for the everyday makeup wearer.
Q: When did you start creating content?
A: Ah good question! My content lifespan was quite inconsistent. I would post and then take a break and repeat. I started creating content in 2016. Then, I was more of a makeup artist so I was posting mostly pictures of my clients, and on the side I was managing a makeup account. I basically took the page from zero to 200,000 followers. At that time I could say I was a social media guru. I had brands reaching out to me for promotions and because I had such a huge platform, I was getting a lot of money from that. I think in October 2018, I converted my page to a personal content creation Instagram. I remember then my dad got me a camera; I used it to get shots of makeup. From November 2016, I was really just pushing content out until March 2019, and that’s when the quality of my makeup got better, and a lot of brands started reaching out to me. I was making a lot of friends on Instagram, and then boom. So yes, 2019 was the peak of my career in content creation and influencing.
Q: You mentioned that you had clients you did makeup for. Are you a self-taught makeup artist?
A: I would say partially. Pretty much all I learned in makeup school doesn’t apply to me now. My dad enrolled me into makeup school when I was 16. And from there, I just started building up my skills. I took it upon myself to keep learning and developing my skills. I used to watch a lot of YouTube videos. I would watch a lot of makeup artists. I was watching a lot of Jackie [Aina] and other big content creators.
Q: How did you get into makeup? How did you know this was something you wanted to learn more about?
A: It was official at age 12. But, when I was six years old, I would get excited for my birthdays because my mum would do my makeup, fill in my eyebrows for me and put lip glosses on for me. And then when I turned 10, I would watch the Style Network on TV, and there was a show called Jerseylicious that really made me fall in love with makeup. During the commercial break they had a makeup artist demonstrate how to put on bronzer and blush, and so I was constantly learning.
Q: When you were a teenager what was your makeup routine like?
A: My makeup was never basic. I used to do a full makeup look. So foundation, highlight, contour, blush, no lashes though. It was just me and my eyeliner, and my eyebrows were quite thin and defined. People would ask me how I had the time to do a full beat, and you know I'm a makeup artist; I have to let people know I’m good at what I do.
Q: What are your top five favorite beauty products?
A: Currently, I would say the Sacha Buttercup Setting Powder, XX Revolution concealer, Makeup Revolution Pout Bomb, Morphe Trendsetter, and Mac Studio Fix Powder.
Q: Those sound like such good products! What is one product you can’t do without?
A: I can't do without Got2b Glue for my eyebrows because that's like the only thing that holds my brows in place.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you?
A: I have to have my coffee. I either have a coffee or a shake in the morning right before work. I try to go through my emails and kind of prioritize the tasks that I have to do for the day, and then I attend meetings.
Q: When do you create content? How many times a week would you say you create content?
A: It used to be four times a week, but now it's three times a week. It works better for me, and fits into my routine.
Q: Do you film after work?
A: I wake up by either 6 or 7 a.m. I try to do my house chores and get ready. So, between 7:30 and 9:15 a.m., I create my content. I record two or three videos a day before work.
Q: How would you describe your makeup style?
A: My makeup style is in between glam and editorial. It's your unconventional type of makeup but more wearable. That’s what my brand is all about. In 2020, I was so focused on trying to find out how to stand out from my peers, and I started seeing a lot of editorial/ high fashion makeup, and I fell in love with it, and that’s how it started.
Q: What would you say is your favorite beauty brand and why?
A: I would say, right now my favorite brand is Makeup Revolution. They produce a lot of affordable makeup, and they are good quality. They also have a lot of launches, and I think it’s a great way to reach out to different audiences, and they try to cater to different skin tones and races.
Q: How do you manage to balance your nine-to-five job with your career as a beauty influencer?
A: I think the first thing about balancing is where to draw the line because between just content creation and my job, I also have my personal life, so it's just how you find a balance. I don't think I'm an expert, so right now my job is more important than content creation, but at the same time what helps me a lot is how I kind of perceive content creation as more of a hobby. And like I said, I film once a week and then the rest of the week is just work, work, work, so once I do so, I have enough content for two weeks. If i decided to take a break today, I know I still have a lot of content to post.
Q: You mentioned that content creating is a hobby. Do you think it's something you'd ever want to do full time if you had the choice?
A: No. I don’t think I would be a content creator full time. I prefer to get a steady income with an actual job. Whether the business is making profit or not. You don't have to worry about sponsorships. I feel like if I'm ever going to quit my nine-to-five, it's probably because I am venturing into the makeup business, not content creation.
Q: Last year, there was the whole Black Lives Matter movement. And, I know that a lot of beauty brands tried to reach out to a lot of beauty content creators to promote Black beauty content creators. What is it like being a Black woman in the beauty industry and posting online?
A: What's it like to be Black woman on social media? Even if you're a singer, or whatever, we all kind of get the same treatment. Honestly, I'm very grateful for a few friends that I have on social media who don't just do it for performance reasons. But, I can't ignore the fact that social media, especially the apps that we use, is not very supportive when it comes to Black content creators. I don’t like to put my mind to it because I get a little sad. And to be honest, I love my skin. I love being African. I love the fact that I'm Nigerian and Igbo. I'm not going to downplay myself because I’m on a global stage. It is what it is. I'm African, and if you're White and following me, you should be prepared to see that. They can never understand what it feels like to be Black, and to go into a CVS or Walmart and not see your shade in your foundation range, to not get a blush, to get the perfect bronzer. When a brand is releasing a collection, and you don’t know if the products will fit you, they don’t understand that. I like to be that person who's as vocal as possible.
Q: What are some changes you'd like to see in the beauty industry?
A: I would really love to see smaller creators getting more sponsorships from brands. I feel like even if you have 500 followers you have a value. I also feel like we shouldn’t normalize gifting in exchange for content. So yes, if I was going to change anything, it’s getting smaller creators their checks, and I would give Black people the same treatment as White creators. You see a lot of Black people getting gifted, but when it comes to White people, they aren’t only getting gifted, they are getting paid. I would also love it if people normalize giving credits to content creators. It’s a problem we're struggling with here in Nigeria. In conclusion, I would love it if the industry could be something that people can really benefit from. I want it to be something that people take seriously as an occupation. I think when people normalize content creating, we will all see the essence of getting paid for being a content creator.
Written by Rahama Sadiq
