Today we’d like to introduce you to Artee Kumar and Anita Barua.
Hi Artee and Anita, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Makeup was always a passion of mine and a way for me to express my creative side, but when I got married in 2002, I had a big fat Indian wedding and found there were no Makeup artists that specialized in Indian Weddings so I did my own makeup. Shortly after my best friend asked me to do her hair, makeup, and dressing for her wedding. From there it was all word of mouth. Then my friend at the time (now my sister-in-law – married to my brother) wanted to partner up and we founded Blush and Glow LLC in 2005.
We both worked our full-time corporate jobs and did Indian bridal hair and makeup on the weekends. We worked seven days a week. It was truly just to fulfill our creative side. We enjoyed it and got better and more well-known in the community as the years went by. It was a lot of trial and error, but today we can say we have mastered the art of getting an Indian bride ready from start to finish and bring calmness to all the stress that comes on the wedding morning. In 2014, we both quit our day jobs to focus on growing our company, and in 2015, we launched Blush and Glow Cosmetics, a full line of professional cosmetics. In December 2016, we held our first group makeup class called “Makeup and Merlot” since then we have taught 52 sold out classes. The hands-on class teaches a full makeup look from start to finish. We now travel the world getting brides ready for their weddings.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being in the service industry can be hard. Dealing with different personalities can be hard, but we have an established style in our work, and we are known for it, so it makes it a lot easier now. We were 24/25 yo when we first started and new but now, having more experience its always smooth.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We were one of the first South Asian on-location hair and makeup artist teams that specialized in South Asian brides. Back in 2002, when Artee started, there were not any artists in Houston that have this niche. Knowing that we started this business as a passion and just kept going is what makes us very proud. We never knew it would lead to being known in our community and developing a line of cosmetics to having sold-out classes. We truly are honored to be doing what we love. We are very dedicated to our brides and give them our all to make sure they feel and look their best.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Artee – very outgoing and loved the attention. Anita – She trained in Indian classical dance. That’s where her love of makeup begins as she had to wear lots of it on stage.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@blushandglowcosmetics.com
- Website: www.blushandglowcosmetics.com
- Instagram: @blushandglow & @blushandglowcosmetics
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/blushandglowllc
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/blushandglow
Image Credits:
Bella Lumi Lomesh Patel Photography
