By Christy Anyanwu
She’s one of the foremost personalities in the Nigerian beauty circles. She is a household name for women because of her brand of make-up.
In fact, her clientele includes women of class and substance, ranging from wives of presidents to governors, celebrities, royalty and socialites, among others.
Banke Meshida Lawal is a Nigerian make-up artist and the founder and CEO of BMPro Makeup Group, a make-up and cosmetology firm in Nigeria.
She won the award for Brand of the Year at the 2009 Eloy Awards, as well as the Nigerian Event Awards (2012) for Best Make-up Artist, and the Make-up Artist of the Year at the FAB Awards (2010).
Chatting with Sunday Sun recently, she spoke about a lot of things her fans should know about her, and advice to women on make-up in the New Year.
If there’s reincarnation, would you still want to be a make-up person, would you do this again?
Yes, I would. Because I feel fulfilled every time I sit down and I think back and look at my life. I’m happy with where we are and the future is full of hope. So, I would do this again, over and over again.
What advice do you have for people who want to be successful in this kind of business, like upcoming make-up artists, what advice do you have for them?
Everything that one decides to do, you must put in the work. The make-up, people may tend to think it’s all glamorous and it’s all fun, It’s not. I mean, it does have its good sides, but you have to put a lot of effort into it. Patience and hard work are virtues that one must possess to succeed in anything that one decides to do. And make-up artistry is no different. And then also continually improving on your skill-set and being mindful of the relationship one has with clients. You know, a good relationship must be nurtured, it must be well protected, I would say. And my advice for upcoming people is to stay consistent in whatever one decides to lay their hands on. Don’t jump from one thing to another. Pick your hustle and be consistent with it.
What really brought you out? What gave you that popularity and at what stage did your name become a household name?
I would say that the sort of clientele that I’ve always worked with from inception. That played a major part in the success of the brand today, and our consistency. Of course, when I started, it was just me and as the brand grew I trained people who I was able to project my ideas through and also build a community. With our clients, we built a community where they don’t expect any less, and BMPro has been able to consistently deliver excellent service. I mean, we’ve been in this space for over two decades and we continue to be a major player. It has to do with the quality service that clients get from us and that has been constant. And, of course, we’ve been blessed with a great clientele, a great client circle who continue to support and patronize us. So, yeah, those are some of the things that have helped the brand.
You do make-up for First Ladies, like Mrs Patience Jonathan, among others. What is it like doing make-up for such people in that high cadre, because you have lots of them, how is it like working for them?
Like I said, I pay a lot of attention to quality and excellent service. Our make-up has a signature in that it gives a polished, clean, beautiful look. Beauty, that’s an underlying factor. Well, there is make-up that will give you a garish or an overtly done look. BMPro make-up is subtle, clean and beautiful. We’re not caught up with trends, we’re not caught up with wanting to change the way the person looks. So, it’s always going to be the person’s face, but even more beautiful and polished and clean. That’s a strong signature and it shows in every client’s face that we touch, irrespective of what their status is in the society.
So, what does it feel like working for First Ladies?
We just want to deliver excellent service and, thankfully, we’ve had people who have recognised this and who have stuck with the brand.
Still on make-up for First Ladies, could you relate a little of the experience doing their make-up?
It was tasking. Even observing all those protocols is a whole different experience. But I thrived despite everything that one had to face in those circles. Of course, I was there to do a job and I did it and it was well appreciated and that was that.
In all this, what lessons have you learnt about life?
I mean, life can be what you make it to be. Your life is what you make it. You can either thrive in a situation or you can stay crying and moping around about it. And life is not always going to be crucial. It takes having the ability to accept things that you can’t change. And the wisdom to know the difference; I don’t know if you know that saying. But life will not always be rosy. Things will not always go your way. What matters is you being able to adapt to every situation and make the most and the best out of it. Life also has phases. You need to be able to evolve and still stand strong and firm.
Growing up on the University of Ife campus as a lecturer’s daughter, family and friends would have expected you to toe the academic line, instead of entrepreneurship, how did this business come about?
I think when I was growing up, the only thing that I can remember was that I was a a potion mixer. I would mix all sorts of potions, powders, liquids, creams, oils and create things that I would smear on my dolls. I’ve just always been very inquisitive and creative in that manner. So, me being here today, creating a skincare line, creating a make-up line, mixing pigments, interacting with people, I think if you look back at the way I grew up, there’s a similarity in what I do now. I grew up on campus. It was a very serene and tranquil life. I’m very thankful for that sort of beginning because I thrive in quiet moments. For example, when I’m working, I’m listening to music. I like tranquility, I like calmness and perhaps life on campus was similar to that. I sort of create the mood and I still replicate the mood when I’m working: very calming and very enjoyable. To have a BMPro make-up experience is a very calming session as well. I think because I’ve experienced that sort of life growing up, it’s easy for me to continue to create that for my clients and have them also enjoy it. My dad was a lecturer. My mum was a radiographer. My mum has always been an entrepreneur. She worked in health services and then she opened her own practice. Entrepreneurship has always been in my family. I sort of toe that line as well. The academic traits that my dad has, I have them as well. I’m a good teacher. I’m a patient one and I think everything that my parents did, I’ve sort of taken bits and pieces of it as well. I’m still sort of an academic because I train my staff, I train my students. I’m a good teacher, if I may say so myself.
When you’re not doing make-up, when you’re not doing beauty stuff, what keeps you busy?
I love music. I listen to music a lot. I›m creating all sorts of things. It could be food, it could be reading. Everything I do is centred around beauty.
If I’m not doing make-up, I’m still creating beauty somehow. It could be clothes, it could be skin care, anything.
We are already in the year 2025, what do we expect from your brand?
Yes, it’s exciting times for us in BMPro. The plans that I have for 2025 are wonderful. I can’t wait for you to see them unfold. We’re coming up with lots of new ideas in the pipeline and, of course, the first set of people that will enjoy all of these are our clients. They do enjoy them already. We’re going to add more to what we do at BMPro. I won’t say more than that. It’s for you to just stay close to us and watch what we do. We’re not just going to maintain the status quo in 2025. We’re going to improve the beauty space, improve on beauty services, and come up with new and innovative things in the beauty industry.