Twenty year old science graduate, Sonya Bernadette Leilani Stanley is planning to pursue her dream of running her own cosmetic business in Samoa.
Stanley is currently working as a secretary at Natural Foods International Incorporated, but says makeup is her passion.
Stanley studied at Samoa Primary school and Faatuatua College.
She went on to pursue tertiary studies at National University of Samoa.
“I studied science all my life, but makeup and cosmetics, that’s my profession and passion,” Stanley said.
“I have worked with makeup for three years now and it’s my biggest goal to set up my own makeup studio somewhere. I just love it and there’s a huge demand for it in Samoa,” she said.
Stanley attends to about three to five requests a month for her services as a makeup artist.
She says the number could go if higher if she is doing it fulltime.
“The people I’ve worked with could come from anything, weddings, photo shoots. Sometimes for special dates like Halloween, birthdays, graduations, even night outs dates and a whole lot more. It’s one of the reasons why I carry my makeup bag with me everywhere I go, you never know when you need it,” she said.
“I’ve familiarized myself with all types of cosmetics and its tools and my experience is because of my passion for it,” she said.
While she understands that tasks of building her own small makeup studio would mean taking up most of her time, she says it’s something she wants to pursue.
Photo Sonya Bernadette Leilani Stanley