Lubna Rafiq's prepossessing and progressive energy is inspiring

In this extremely competitive world, where everyone is a part of the insane rat race, it is fairly hard to find the people who are dedicated, honest and remarkably vehement about their work. For a lot of people, working in a profession means the mechanical task of finishing up the job at hand, and moving on to the next. However, when it comes to make-up and its application, it requires a hell lot of more than just the practical skills.

For a make-up artist to be recognised and be successful, they need to understand their client’s desires and requirements, and perceive the kind of styles that would enhance their appearance while mastering the latest trends. A lot of experimentation goes into figuring out new techniques and coming up with unique ideas and concepts and more importantly, to make sure that the ideas are implemented with the utmost sublimity. And when I talk about make-up and perfection in the same sentence, one name that pops up in my head is Lubna Rafiq. Lubna is one such gifted, blessed and accomplished makeup artist, who reveres her work. Her creations are truly magnificent and aesthetically inspiring.
Lubna’s odyssey to success is as impelling as her creativity. In a recent conversation, Lubna was kind enough to spill the beans and gave me a chance to get a glimpse at her bitter-sweet road to success. As they say, good things never come easy. So was it for Lubna Rafiq. She did not have a very supportive start to her career.
She told me how she was utterly girdled to a large extent by many people who sought to bring her down and left no stone unturned to make her believe that her ambitions were a far-fetched dream and that a girl with a limited reach shouldn’t dare to dream so huge. There were times when people tried to deter her passion and her blazing spirit towards her craft and continually kindled her insecurities. At one point of time, Lubna herself was nearly convinced to abandon the idea of turning her fervour for her craft into a profession but, ultimately, the designs of the fate prevailed.
With the steadfast support of an immensely comforting family and a set of few but excessively genuine real friends, Lubna decided to strive powerfully to silence the nay-sayers. She put up a tough fight, embedded her soul to every little task at hand and turned her dream into a legacy.
It is rightly said that there are no short cuts to persistence and dedication. And no one else but Lubna Rafiq justifies this quote most appropriately. While Lubna effortlessly followed her heart, it also worked as a blessing for her long list of patrons including the brides-to-be, the stars and a lot of fashion labels. People who have worked with her before would vouch that Lubna has the ‘Midas touch’ and no one ideates make-up as she does. And I for one am no one to disaffirm her dexterity with her embellishing tools.
Lubna has a heart of gold and the nerves of steel. Lubna quips that the love and admiration she has earned through her profession is what keeps her going. Her work is praised not only in the United Kingdom but all over the globe. With her training academy, the Lubna Rafiq Academy (LRA) and her talent agency, the Lubna Rafiq Agency, being some of the most sought-after organizations, Lubna has been mounting new heights of success with each passing day. Through the social media, she has been able to garner the appreciation and respect of make-up lovers far and wide, a platform that I feel she’s sincerely grateful for as it offers her the opportunity to connect with the clients, fans and admirers from different parts of the world.

It is excessively evident that Lubna is a solely self-made professional, and she has had to learn all the industry traits the hard way. At this point, I remembered a Japanese saying which goes - ‘Fall seven times and stand up eighth’, which I feel closely mirrors the journey of this rising legend. Every time she yielded, she stood up more potent and more resilient than ever before. And that prepossessingly progressive and compassionate energy of hers intrigues her to take up every opportunity to mentor and anchor the young minds in the business by providing them the necessary guidance and placement assistance that unfortunately she never received.