Makeup nowadays has become a necessity for many people as one way of boosting their confidence and making themselves look presentable. 

And there seems to be one makeup style that is currently capturing the hearts of many women and even men in the world—the Thai look. 

To help Filipino makeup artists catch up with the trend, one dauntless Filipina makeup artist took the initiative of organizing a Thai makeup workshop all by herself. 

Her name—Chie Gonzales. 

The catalyst  

Many aspiring makeup artists in the country often struggle to get a steady job in the industry due to various factors, and one of them is the lack of access to proper training. 

Such a recurring problem deprives many of our talented Filipino makeup artists of the chance to learn and master different makeup techniques.  

This pushed 39-year-old Chie to organize an international workshop to help other people get access to formal makeup training. 

“Magagaling naman ‘yung mga Pilipino [sa pagmi-makeup] pero konti lang ang nakakapag-aral sa’tin,” Chie said. 

When asked why she chose a workshop on Thai makeup, she said that it is because of its current prominence among many people, especially millennials.  

“Sobrang uso kase ng Thai makeup ngayon. Since nga gusto ko rin mag-aral [ng Thai makeup], naisip ko na dalhin ko na lang siya rito at i-share na rin sa iba na gustong matuto rin,” she shared.  

Learning the Thai Look 

Despite having no prior knowledge of event organizing, Chie did not hesitate to push through the workshop event. 

As a lone, first-time event organizer, one of the main challenges she faced was to make sure that there were people who would attend the workshop.

“Since this is my first time event, parang ang challenge e may mga makeup artists ba na magtitiwala sa’ken na mag-organize ng event,” she said. 

It was the gnawing self-doubt that Chie had to battle alone in the process of arranging the workshop. 

But with extreme eagerness and dedication to somehow uplift the makeup industry, she never let her doubts overpower her. 

She pulled out all the stops to arrange everything for weeks to ensure the success of the workshop with the help of her colleagues and many generous sponsors. 

As a fruit of her labor, the event was successfully launched at the Casa Ibarra in Pasay City last September, with over 35 participants attending the workshop despite the adverse weather conditions. 

“Nakakatuwa kase we have attendees from Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bataan, Batangas, Cavite and to think na that day e sobrang lakas ng ulan, pumunta pa rin silang lahat,” Chie shared. 

The workshop is a one-day event kicking off with a Thai makeup demonstration, followed by a hands-on training activity for each attendee.  

The workshop master 

If there is one person that Chie was very grateful for, it is Babara Beer.

Babara Beer is an expert makeup artist in Thailand who served as the official instructor of the workshop. 

When Chie invited him to share his skills with many Filipino makeup artists through a workshop, Babara generously took the offer and wholeheartedly supported the initiative. 

“Nakakatuwa kase ‘yung ginawang stories, reels [about the event], ni-repost lahat ‘yun ni Babara Beer for several days,” she said. 

Chie said that the workshop would not have been very successful without the generous support and kindness of the Thai makeup artist. 

Workshop part two

Chie is thinking of making a second round of the makeup workshop next year with Barbara Bear after the resounding success of her first-ever event as an organizer.

“During the event, we asked Babara Bear if he is willing to do another round of workshop and nag-agree siya, so hopefully magawa ko ulit siya [with] Babara Beer next year,” Chie said. 

She hopes that this initiative will help aspiring makeup artists in the country further hone their skills. 

When asked if she would continue organizing workshop events in the future, she said yes if it means helping many Filipino makeup artists learn new techniques. 

With these workshops, Chie hopes that we will finally get our own ‘Filipino makeup look’ that we can be proud of to share with the world.