In this series called Becoming I interview six young people that have one thing in common. They all have a dream. From becoming a successful entrepreneur to changing the world. Six stories, six dreams.
In this second edition, I interview Basia Fourie. Basia is an inspiring special effect makeup artist. She is currently a university student, but Basia is very determined; in 10 years she will have her own make-up studio and will have her name on the end credits of every big movie.
Little girl, big dreams
Basia started doodling on her own skin when she was 13 years old. She knew she had to do something creative and that her dream was to become an artist. But she did not always have such clear goals for her future.
Basia tried to follow several career paths when she was still really young. “As a kid, I wanted to be 8 different things. I wanted to be a veterinary, an astronaut, a chef, and a few more things. So I followed that chef dream for a little bit because my dad cooks so well. I wanted to open up my own bakery, an organic farm, but then I realized, I can’t cook at all.”
She tried a couple more things, and eventually even went to space camp in Dubai to follow her dream of becoming an astronaut. But nothing ever lasted for long.
Discovering a new talent
As a kid, Basia used to have insomnia, which resulted in some late nights on the Internet. “I would be up the whole night watching YouTube videos. At some point, I stumbled on this picture of a girl doing a comic cartoon character makeup look. And I thought I can do this. So I picked up a permanent marker and did exactly that on my own face. The responses I got were very positive. I knew I found something that I was good at, and something I wanted to do for a living.”
Responses to Basia’s love for makeup have not always been so positive. Sadly, there were some people who did not believe in her dream of becoming the next big MUA. “The girls around me just to make fun of me for my makeup. That made me feel really frustrated. But I thought if I can’t do the makeup as other girls do it, then why don’t I do something different on my face?”
Creative block
Eventually, the hate got to her. “High school was not a fun time. I didn’t have that many friends, and everyone wanted me to focus more on school and leave the makeup behind.” This resulted in her not picking up a paintbrush for over 5 months. Basia felt stuck, and she was running into a creative block. “I used to be the person that cared a lot about what people think of me. I felt depressed not being able to express myself through art, but I just couldn’t.”
At the same time, she was also losing followers on her Instagram account because she was not doing new looks anymore. And that made her frustrated. “Then one day my dad sat me down and told me, let me draw on you and then you draw on me. And so my dad started painting, and he painted a sad girl face. I was like oh really, you’re gonna do that? So I painted a happy girl on his face. But I did it so realistically, that it ended up going on my Instagram. And that was the first post I did in six months.”
Basia’s dad made her realize why she was feeling stuck with arts. She was not doing what she loves to do. When she paints, she can be herself, and that is something very important.
Support system
As for most kids with a dream, you need people that support you. Basia luckily had very supportive parents who always helped her with following her passion. “After I found out I had a talent for doing makeup, I asked my mom for €50 so I could buy supplies. I told her to please trust me and let me use the money because I knew what I was doing. I came back from the store with some face paint and different colors and I told her, mom, I need you to give me a week free from school.”
“She was like what the f*ck is wrong with you, but I told her again to trust me and help me. She agreed to me going to school 1 day that week and the rest I could have free. During that week, I taught myself all the technical skills, learned about brushes, and different skin types. Without knowing it, I was compiling a portfolio with all the looks I did. After the week was over, I showed my mom the portfolio and she was convinced this was going to be my future.”
Beauty school
Basia’s parents wanted to send her to beauty school in LA and pay for her classes. That is how much they believe in her. But Basia refused. “I told them, realistically, if I’m going to beauty school now I’ll be in debt for the next 10 year and that’s not something I want.” And it is no secret that doing arts for a living can be quite challenging. She is aware of that too, “I knew I was gonna focus on arts, but as a side thing. Having that on the side, I can focus on my bachelor’s degree to make money, which I can later use to pursue my dreams.”
And that is where Basia’s 10-year plan comes into play. She thought about this thoroughly and is 100 percent certain it will work out. “After I’m done with my degree I will take a gap year and do a 6 months makeup class with NYX in the UK. After that, I want to work PR for them and hopefully move up to doing PR for Sephora. Doing this will gain me money that I will send to a bank account in Dubai with my mom. She is gonna transfer this into Dollars, and that I will use to set up base in the US. In 10 years I will have my own makeup studio, including my own special effects makeup line.”
Bright future
Basia realizes the path she paved for herself is not necessarily a fast track. It is gonna take a considerable amount of time to get where she wants to be, but to her, that is all worth it. “When you’re stuck, people just tend to blame everyone else, but themselves. You have to find a way around it. Work a side-job, think about your future in a little bit of a more creative way.”
That everything will work out the way she planned it, is for Basia a guarantee, “I believe in the law of attraction; whatever I ask for will come my way if I work hard for it. If anyone wants to step in my way telling me I’m not gonna make it, then they can leave.”
The bullies never got the better of her, and Basia continued to put all her energy into what she loves doing the most. “Anyone that comes into your life and wants to shit talk about you, or tell you that you can’t do it, they are just irrelevant people, and they’re jealous of you. You just have to keep working towards your dream, because nothing in life is given to you.”
Read part one of this series here.
