We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anhisha Cooper. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anhisha below.
Hi Anhisha, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Confidence wasn’t always my strong suit it was something I picked up while working in this industry. Confidence to me was always something I saw others had or felt like they were born with. I grew up being the odd one out, the last one to be chosen, the nerd, or the forget able. I started gaining confidence when I pursued competitive swimming which oddly led to me doing makeup for school spirit days or game days. Though I wasn’t good initially I felt confident in my craft. That hunger to do better is what caused me to be confident. Then I saw the progress and with the progress came the self-esteem boosts. Then from there was just even more hungry to keep doing what I felt confident in and that was my makeup. Some days were tougher than others but it took time.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Online I’m known as Candiiexo but most people know me as Anhisha. I have been in the makeup industry for 8 years now. This journey of doing makeup started with a cheap $1 L. A Color girl shimmers and palettes from the family dollar. I never really thought I would get into makeup or even thought of it as a career. I was always into art, did art classes in school and after school, and participated in art events. But then I stepped back. Had to grow up and see the world through a different lens. I went to college thinking I had to stick to the norm and what I was taught throughout my whole life. You go to school, graduate, go to college, get married, have a family, and then retire from a normal 9-5 either doctor, lawyer, or something with a Ph.D. But for me, that didn’t work out. I got to my last year of college, with 98% completion, and dropped out. Continued my 9-5 with Best Buy and just really didn’t know what I wanted out of life. So I left Colorado, moved to Miami, and well life was very different here. Every day I watched makeup tutorials on youtube and my passion for makeup grew. I got this voice in my head constantly saying “ I can do that,” then suddenly I was at the store buying the products to replicate the look and I could. My mom was the first to push me to do more and not just follow a tutorial. She pushed me to be creative and would pushed me to do more creative looks. Every day after work I would do makeup like clock work. Then I went to beauty school and was able to participate in events that really pushed my artistic skills. Then I just kept going even with all the things falling apart in my life I used make up as my therapy. Make up was my savior during many dark times.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Understanding products, what your makeup is going to cater to and your artistry style. Some people can do a killer eyeliner, or SFX makeup, and some people are only good at soft glam looks. But once you understand all the key fundamentals of what products work together and which ones don’t that will help you to build your kit for yourself or your clients. Some people love doing makeup on others and not themselves.
I recommend that anyone know why they wanna do makeup and see how they can improve. Even as a pro you have to continue to improve and evolve cause makeup and the beauty industry are always evolving
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
Creative block
It’s a slow progress but I think I’ll be back 100% before I realize it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/candiiexo
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@candiiexomakeup
Image Credits:
Credit RmoCandiieMakeup (Anhisha Cooper)
