leeanna.maharaj@guardian.co.tt
Against all odds, Tia Dinanath persevered in a field that few are brave enough to enter in her community of Mayaro and that perseverance and resilience helped her to win the Caribbean Rising Stars in Beauty 2022, a community-based competition where participants compete for a scholarship at Career Development Institute.
“This shocked me...I really wasn’t expecting to win,” the makeup artist who tried her first look on her cousin years ago, said.
Growing up in the rural community of Mayaro pursuing makeup as a profession is not usually high up on anyone’s career list, but for Dinanath it was.
“In the area here people wasn’t taking makeup seriously…people don’t believe that it’s a good career but it is,” she said.
Because of her location, getting supplies was also a challenge.
“I have to make a few trips to Sando every month to get products,” she said.
Map of Trinidad
Encouraged by family, friends and social media followers, Dinanath entered the Caribbean Rising Stars in Beauty 2022.
The competition was comprised of four stages. Artists were required to submit photos and videos of their work, and she was one of three Trinbagonians, from a total of 15 contestants from the Caribbean.
“I did a piece with the Trinidadian map on it, I also did a piece showcasing the world, because how COVID come and like kinda disrupt the world,” Dinanath said.
For her final piece, the makeup artist did a lion themed look.
Her popularity on social media, mainly TikTok where she has over 180,000 followers, helped her to emerge as the winner and secure the victory.
“The feedback is awesome, I just want to say, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t reach so far,” she added.
For Dinanath, this support means more than a makeup artist from Mayaro winning a competition, it rewards her mentally as well.
She shared that she struggles with bipolar disorder, which causes extreme emotional highs and lows.
“I had real mood swings and anxiety and stuff like that... makeup is like therapy,” she said.
Dinanath recently started her own beauty academy and registered her business. Her dream is to be a brand ambassador for Sacha Cosmetics.
Chilling creation