Lydia Stanley, a trained civil engineer who is now a special effect makeup artist, has opened up about her art and her journey to creativity.
Lydia, who does face-enhancing makeup and special effects makeup said she decided to learn makeup in 2014. However, there was only one makeup school in Kaduna where she lives and the fee was expensive.
As she couldn't afford the fee, she went online to watch videos and learn. She then saved up money, bought her makeup supplies, and started practicing what she watched online. "I'm basically self-taught," she said. She added: "I'm a very good example of practice makes perfect." Lydia explained in episode 2 of First Class Material that she began doing makeup professionally in 2016 but soon got bored with regular makeup, so she decided to branch out to special effects makeup.
She uses her special effects makeup skills as an advocacy tool to speak about things happening in her community, especially social justice issues. with makeup, she has shown the effects of domestic violence on women and also sexual abuse on girls. As a vlogger, she also addresses these social justice issues on her channel. Linda's work as an artist is not one-dimensional. She doesn't limit herself to makeup alone but explores other means like content creation and vlogging to share her creativity with the world.
She said she allows herself to push her imagination when creating and she is inspired by everything around her. She said: "Makeup, to me, is an expression of your innermost artistic self." Addressing others who wish to be like her, Lydia said: "One thing that is important is your hunger to evolve. As a makeup artist, you can't be OK sitting in one place and doing what you did that was so good in 2014 in 2020."Never stop practising. Always to try to add new things to yourself," she added.
First-Class Material is a documentary series that places the spotlight on outstanding Nigerians. It is brought to you by Linda Ikeji TV and sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria. Watch episode 2 of First Class Material season 2 below.