Ada Atayobor, popularly known as Vendajules, is a multiple award-winning makeup artist in Ghana. She originally hails from, Imo state, Nigeria and is the first daughter in a family of five.
Her relocation to Ghana happened when she went there for tertiary education. Ada says her brand name Vendajules is a combination of her father’s and mother’s names.
A dive into her journey
Talking about her makeup journey, she says that she did it for the love of it, not knowing there was anything called make-up artistry business. She recalls while growing up, she did make-up on her cousins whenever they were in the village for Christmas celebrations.
“I could even steal my mother’s makeup purse and go into hiding – play with different makeup stains and do make up on self. Make-up was fun for me and I enjoyed doing it on people” she states
It was until when she was in University that a friend opened her eyes towards the fact that she could earn a living doing what she loved. At first, Ada was skeptical, but she went ahead to research on make-up artistry, and what she found out blew her mind and ignited her interest in monetizing her skill.
Speaking about her chosen career and entrepreneurial journey, Ada says that, she became a professional makeup artist in 2014, after she did makeup and got paid for her services. In 2017, she officially registered her company in Ghana.
“It has not been a smooth journey, as there are immense challenges. My comfort however is that, back in school, I knew that I would be an entrepreneur who would do great things and therefore pursued an Entrepreneurship course that came in handy at the start of my entrepreneurship journey,” the make-up artist says
She applied the principles she learnt about business from her favorite course and grew her makeup business. She always made sure that she did makeup every day – if not on her face, it would be on a client’s face or a model’s face. With constant practice, she sharpened her craft.
Nonetheless, she didn’t stop there. She went ahead to get further professional training on the art of make-up from other professionals in the field both in Ghana and Nigeria.
“I also learnt about proper branding in the makeup industry and how to propel my business to greater heights. Due to this, my business has blossomed, as I have gained massive visibility across several social media platforms,” Ada states
She keeps growing by the day, with several referrals coming into her studio to pay for her services, beautiful messages from people who admire her work, as well as excellent reviews from her clients.
The make-up artist says that she still does a lot of training via online classes to keep abreast with the latest happenings in her field; a move she believes will help her maintain her position at the top.
“I believe that what has helped me much in this journey is how I relate with clients. I always make sure that I create a moment with those who seek my services and offer the services excellently. The universe presented an opportuning and I am making the most out of it,” she says
Reflecting on her journey thus far, she remembers one of the lowest points in her career. A client poured wine on her face when she went to do make-up on her. However sad and disheartening, she took it in stride and didn’t let the incident discourage her from building her career.
“Many years later, I have more nominations and awards than I can count and I am super grateful to God for that,” Ada states
Any Achievements?
Some of her recent awards in 2021 include; Makeup Artist of the year in the Ghana Star Awards and Ghana Media and Entrepreneurship Awards, respectively. She also won the People’s Choice Award at the Ghana Beauty Awards and the Influential Makeup Artist of the Year Award at the Ghana Tertiary Awards.
One of Vendajules goals is to impact people who want to make a living from makeup artistry. She does this by organising masterclasses on the art of makeup artistry every April and November.
Her success is not a one man effort for as she states, she has a fantastic team supporting her, with God being the head.
“God has shown his favor and mercies upon me in ways I can’t comprehend. My husband has been there from day one, supporting and pushing me to achieve my goals. He is a partner in the business and handles the digital aspect of the brand, ensuring that it is known worldwide,” Ada notes
The girls who work with her in her studio are not left out in the praises, for they make work easier for her. Her wonderful clients continually give her excellent reviews about her services and she deeply grateful.
Vendajules just like most successful people has a couple of mentors in the makeup artistry business and amongst them, she mentions Alexandrina, and Nancy Blaq, who are both notable make-up artists in Ghana.
Her advice to young people who want to go into make-up artistry is to settle down and learn the business. She advices them against relying on YouTube alone or practicing on their friends, and shortly after, calling themselves make-up artists. This route she says will set them up for failure for with the aforementioned, they will not know how to treat a client to understand what a client wants.
“Young people should learn about the business aspect of make-up artistry to raise the bar for themselves and make a living from it. It is for this exact reason that I do masterclasses twice a year (April and November), to teach people about my craft,” Vendajules points out
Apart from being well known in the makeup industry, Vendajules has created other businesses together with her husband. They include; Vendajules express, a delivery and courier service in Ghana, Vendajules hairs, which sells affordable luxury hair extensions and wig caps, and Vendajules empire, where they sell products.
“I thank God for this far. Watch out for this great brand for we shall be taking over in 2022 and beyond by God’s grace.” She concludes
Ada is available on all social media platforms as Vendajules.
