Jasneet Kaur - Always Be Yourself (Makeup Artist From India)

Just practise whatever you love and compete only with yourself. And most importantly- BE YOURSELF!

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I am a 20-year-old from a well-off family based in Panipat, Haryana. I just graduated from Amity University. I come from a business background and that’s what I pursued in college too. I have always been that pampered younger child in the house who is spoilt but is also reminded of where she and her family come from and how things don’t really come to you in life and you need to put in the work to get it.

I was an above-average, not-famous student in school who only dreamt of getting good marks in 12th and getting into a good college. I never had any career goals back then. Never wanted to do jobs or anything. Took life way too lightly and lacked confidence too. 

Right after school ended, I started putting on makeup for fun. Didn’t have good makeup, and was never really completely into it or dressing myself up. But did it for fun and started posting pictures of me wearing makeup on my Instagram. I was always scared that I am being judged but I am thankful for my family and friends who kept motivating me.

2. When did you first decide that you wanted to create content and how did you start?

So I was only posting pictures of me in makeup for like a year. And then covid hit. I was at home and addicted to TikTok like everyone else. That’s when I was consuming so much content, I thought I should start making tutorials too. And that’s when I started making 1 min videos. They were not really a hit but if I look back I was putting in a lot of work. Doing around 2-3 looks a day, batch filming, making the most out of lockdown. Then reels came and opened a new horizon for creators. Since then I realised this is what makes me happy and was a great hobby.

So doing that for a year made me realise this is what I wanna do. I got a lot of love and appreciation from the audience and how my work somehow made them happy. So I knew this is what I wanna do.

3. Is content creation a financially sustainable career?

It is for sure a financially sustainable career. I like to compare it to my father and other people in any business. So to set up any business you need to struggle a bit for some time could be 1 week, 1 month, 1 year or even more. So even if it might not feel stable as of now, it would be in the future. Our parents don’t stop working when they have a bad day at work, so that’s how I feel about it. There are so many content creators who have now created businesses from the money they make only from content creation.

4. Who is your favourite creator and why?

There are way too many people who I admire and respect in the community so I can’t mention one as of now. So to mention a favourite, I’ll mention myself because when I am down and demotivated I look at my old work and see all the love I got on it. It motivates me to come back stronger and make myself better every day.

5. How and where do you find inspiration to churn out content?

It’s mostly from Instagram and Pinterest. Watching other creators, consuming content and observing things around me help me a lot. And one of the most important things is music. Music from my childhood, beat drops and transitions make me so excited and happy, so creating content around music is something that I look forward to.

6. What does your typical day look like?

I just got done with college like a month ago so I wanted to take a break and stay at home, spend time with my family and work on my content and my body. So I try to wake up at a decent time and read a Lil. Do some house chores, and help my mother a little with work. Then I spend around 2-4 hours doing my makeup and creating content. In the evening I go for a walk to clear my head and come back and spend some time with my family watching some dramas and that’s about it.

7. Which is your favourite book and why?

I am not the right person to ask about my favourite book because I am still developing a habit to read books. I am currently reading The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. It’s about manifestation and I am a firm believer in it & I guess most people have read it. 

8. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring creators?  

Don’t run behind numbers, I know they may motivate you but they also can potentially put you in a vicious cycle. Don’t depend your mood on it. They are all temporary, only your hard work and skills are permanent. Don’t lose them over something so temporary. Just practise whatever you love and compete only with yourself. And most importantly- BE YOURSELF!

- Jasneet Kaur (Instagram)

- Interviewed by Priya Dhingra