Vendajules – Professional Make-up Artist Making Great Strides

Born Ada Atayobor but popularly referred to as Vendajules has been a household name in the make-up artistry duty in Ghana, across Africa and globally as well.

First daughter in a family of five who hails from Imo State in Nigeria but currently stays and trades all her business duties in Ghana has changed the negative perception about the make-up industry over the period.

She has used her make-up works to shape lives positively, had the opportunity to work with top influencers like Alexandrina, Nancy Blaq, Divine Cassey, Face Mechanic in addition to working on fashion shows, bridal campaigns, among others.

The New Publisher (NP) caught up with Vendajules (VENDA) last Sunday to share in her success story.

NP: How does it feel having a successful business like make-up artistry in addition to all the positive things you do

VENDA: I didn’t even know there was something called a makeup artistry business; I did make up for the love of it. Makeup was just something I loved to do. I even used to steal my mother’s makeup bag back then and go into hiding, where I would do my makeup and put on some red lipstick or experiment with color combinations.

I just saw makeup as a fun thing, and when I came to Ghana to school in 2010, I used to do makeup for my friends and have fun with it. Until one day, a friend of mine told me that I could do makeup as a business, where I would do makeup for someone and get paid. And I was like, I’m not sure anybody will want to pay me for doing their makeup, but this piqued my interest. I started researching it online, and I found some makeup artists in Ghana, and I was like, wow, you can do makeup and get paid. And this fanned my interest in knowing more about the makeup artistry business as I already had the skill.

NP: What exactly do you do as a makeup artist and how has the journey been like

VENDA: A makeup artist is a person who enhances the beauty of another person, and they do that by applying makeup on clients, be it, men or women.  And I became a professional makeup artist in 2014, where I got paid to do makeup for people.

In 2017, I officially registered my company in Ghana. And I was already a freelance makeup artist before I had the opportunity to learn makeup from some places I found here in Ghana, and I first learnt with Zaron cosmetics when they had two-week training in Ghana. I also joined Nancy Blacks two days’ makeup class with black radiance. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to train with notable Nigerian makeup artists in Nigeria such as JhulesB beauty, GlambyOmoye, flawless faces by Jane, Doranne beauty, Bibyonce and many more. I opted to go for training because I had never had any prior training before I started doing makeup, I just learnt it on my own, and I felt I needed a professional touch to know more and brand myself properly. I still do a lot of training and take online classes to keep abreast with the latest tips and tricks in my industry to always be on top. I never stop learning because one can never be better if one doesn’t learn.

NP: Tell us about your entrepreneurship side and your breakthrough moment in the makeup industry.

VENDA: I studied accounting in school, and there was a particular course that I was so interested in back in school, and that was entrepreneurship. And in that course, I learnt so much that impacted my life in many ways back in school. And, when I finished school, I told myself that I was going to be an entrepreneur who was going to do a lot of things. So when I started being a makeup artist in Ghana, I used the knowledge that I gained from my favorite course back in school to grow my company gradually. I got my brand name Vendajules from the combination of my father’s and mother’s names.

In my entrepreneurship journey, I have also had the opportunity to create other businesses, such as Vendajules hairs, Vendajules express, Vendajules empire where we sell products; also, more will be coming in 2022. So watch out for us, as we will be taking over in 2022 by God’s grace.

I cannot really pinpoint my breakthrough moment because when I started, I made sure I did makeup every day; if it wasn’t on myself, it would be on a client or a model. I just kept pushing myself, and that contributed to my growth significantly.

Although I have had the opportunity to work with many celebrities, I don’t think I have had my breakthrough moment yet; I am still waiting for it.

Even though, now I have gained a massive amount of visibility on social media, with referrals coming in daily, getting lovely messages, and excellent reviews from clients. I believe I became a highly sought-after makeup artist because of how I treat my clients, how I relate with them, and most importantly, my makeup skills and the way I apply makeup. Being known in the makeup industry was not a day’s job. It was built over time, as I made sure I made a moment out of each visit to my client. My success in the makeup industry resulted from me making the most of the opportunities that the universe offered me and moving according to my own pace.

NP: Tell us about your awards and recognition

VENDA: I’ve had several nominations – such is the African Business award in 2016, Ghana makeup artist for the fashion and lifestyle award, which I won in 2020.  Ghana Style awards, which I won the style makeup artist of the year in 2021, Ghana Media and entrepreneurship awards, which I won makeup artists of the year in 2021.

Just yesterday, I won for myself makeup artist of the year at the Ghana Beauty Awards 2021.

NP: Your plans for the Vendajules brand

VENDA: We want Vendajules to be global. We want to raise makeup artists in different countries and have people representing us in so many countries. We want the brand to grow into a big name that everyone can rely on at any point in time, and we are already on our way towards achieving this.