I emigrated from Tanzania at the age of 21  to gain some work experience in the UK. I was always passionate about fashion, hair and makeup so I started to do this for family members. My aunt advised me to start offering bridal services professionally. I was a little hesitant as I had never received any professional training in this field but equally, I was very passionate and creative. Hence, I decided to make a price list and few business cards using my nick name (Raks) as a business name and distributed it in the Belgrave area in Leicester. Soon I started getting bookings in Leicester and nearby cities. Although I didn’t drive then, clients were happy to organise my travel arrangements. As I began to gain experience in the industry, I grew more confident and created a website and invested in makeup brands like Estee Lauder, Clarins, YSL and MAC Cosmetics. I started to advertise my services in the Asian Magazines and participated in wedding exhibitions. I began to receive invitations to do make up for models at the high-end fashion shows at The NEC etc which helped me gain more experience.

A couple of years later, l had a breakthrough in my career as I was approached by AFM magazine, who were based in Manchester, to see if I wanted to work with them on a weekly basis. It was challenging as I was also in full time employment but managed to use my holidays to be able to do both as I was very excited and there weren’t any such opportunities in Leicester. These were long days as I used drive to Manchester and create at least seven different looks for each photo shoot.