•What She Told CityPeople About Her Brand
These days, more and more celebrity ladies are going to Make Up Queen, Banke Meshida-Lawal for their makeup. Her BM Pro brand is strong and it has become the preferred Makeup brand. And the interesting thing is that she caters to the different age groups, from young babes to middle-age women to even the older generation.
Her clientele list has all the big names of celebrity women in the society, from the wives of Governors and ministers to top public officials, top female CEOs, corporate women, royalty, top politicians, everybody wants BM Pro to handle their makeup and beauty needs. They have become experts in giving ladies a total and corporate look. They cater to many brides and their makeups.
It is because of Banke Meshida’s creativeness and hard work. She is good at what she does.
Banke is one of the leading lights in the Make-Up business in Nigeria. She started small, 22 years ago and she has built her makeup business into the big BMPro brand it is today. From the little business she started with then, Banke has turned it into a fast expanding business, with 4 outlets in Lagos & Abuja. And she is still expanding at the speed of light. Next month will see her officially open her latest branch, located on Glover Road in Ikoyi, she plans to have a big official launch. With that, she would have her outlets in Abuja, Dolphin Estate, Lekki & Glover Road, Ikoyi, all in Lagos.
How has she been able to expand her business rapidly the way she has done?. She says its the Grace of God, Passion and Focus and Hardwork. Her friendly personality has also helped. She is warm to everybody and all her older customers see her as that little Banke they have always known. That’s why she has been able to keep all her old clients, over the last 20 years.
She continues to be present personally at her studios, often running a busy schedule, as she divides her time between this and attending to clients and brides alike. She believes in the power of her presence to help give clients confidence as their makeup needs are attended to as well as to personally deliver the wealth of experience she has garnered over the years.
Recently, City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE spent time with this easy-going lady who is regarded as the Queen of Makeup.
How has your business evolved over the last 2 decades or so into the big brand it is today?
We’ve grown big. We have expanded. When we started we had just a few items on our list in terms of cosmetics. As time went on, we had to expand. We started with just 14 items, now we have over 65 items because trends keep changing, and artistry keeps evolving. So it is left to us as artistes controlling the beauty sphere to be able to keep up with trends and provide customers with the current trending materials. So BMPRO has been able to do that very well, by expanding our manufacturing base from Europe, into Turkey and even Asia.
How do you feel when you sit back and you look at what BMPRO has become today?
The journey has been quite a long one. It is 22 years now. And we have come a very long way. We are expanding globally, and the world is in the palm of our hands now. Globally, we have been able to reach international markets and just bring focus into Africa and Nigeria, especially. We’ve gone from being local champions to competing in the global space.
How do you see the Competition that the make up industry has witnessed in recent times? Or put differently, how do you see the explosion that the make up industry has witnessed?
When we started there was a handful of makeup artistes and we would jostle for jobs. But now with the explosion that we have witnessed in the beauty industry, there are over 1,000 make up artistes who are doing excellent work. But we have our market share, and we have continued to serve the people that we serve. I just see it as growth for the industry and development for Nigeria as a whole and I am thankful that we have been able to influence the youth to become successes in their Art, in their Skill.
So, yes there has been growth in the beauty industry, and we are glad that we are pioneers and we were there at the beginning and we are still at the forefront of things.
Many ladies describe BMPRO as the most-sought-after Makeup brand in the industry. How does that make you feel?
It is because we have been consistent over time and we haven’t compromised that standard. We have also realised that there are people who wouldn’t go lower than what we offer. I am thankful that we have this amazing clientele who continue to patronise us and push us and support us, and we know that we haven’t covered a fraction of the populace.
I am happy that people recognise the high quality and high standards of our Make-Up. Well, it can be good or otherwise, when people regard you as Premium or Expensive. But again, let me quickly add that we won’t compromise our standards so that we would be able to package our services and just stay in the lane of people who appreciate what we do.
How do you see the fact that today, almost 80% of celebrity women will not stop out of their homes to go to a party if they don’t get a professional Make-Up artiste to do their Make-Up for them? These were the same set of women you used to convince years back to embrace Makeup?
I would term it as economic growth and awareness. Now, women understand the importance of turning up beautiful at events. Why do we host parties? It is just for us to celebrate & admire ourselves why do we have Aso Ebi as a culture? To turn out looking beautiful and exceptional. I would say Make Up has become a part of the Nigerian Culture when you show up looking beautiful at an event, you are going to have a great time. Every wants to chat with you. Every one wants to sit with you. Everyone wants to show you off. People want to have conversations with you. Even business deals get closed at the parties because now you have access to people you’ve been hoping to see and they see the way you are beautifully turned up. You are the Belle of the Ball. If you probably still have your heads in the cloud, about the reality of the Beauty industry wake up. Its just the way it is. I can’t explain why its that way. If you are still one o those who say I don’t do Make up, you’ll just find out that people will not accord you or give you proper treatment. When you get to an event they may even relegate you to the back. They may not take your view.
When you do a good Make Up, you look beautiful, people are drawn to you. If you look beautiful people will be drawn to you. It boosts your confidence, people will listen to what you have to say. Its a Feel-Good-Thing to have your Make Up done. It doesn’t mean it’s a crime if you don’t have it done. Again, it’s all because it stays on your Confidence level. Again, we are just happy to be connoisseurs of Confidence.
What has kept Banke going? What has kept the brand active for years? How come you have not been distracted to do 20 things at the same time?
I think it has to do with the support of the clientele that I have. I have had Good people in my life. I have had people who will say a word or fight my battles, or just appreciate what we do in BMpro and again Focus is key. I am one of those people that if I believe in something I will take to the top. What we do, benefits lives, from the people will employ to the people we serve. It’s a positive thing. We draw positive energy and we have had great support. We also give back to society.
By virtue of your job, you make other people look beautiful. You’ve done a lot for Brides. How easy is it for you applying Make Up when you want to go out to parties…? Is it usually a big challenge? Or does it come easy?
It is always very difficult for me now to sit down and have a full face of Make-Up done. I am being pulled in different aspects of life-kids, home, the studio. So, for me to sit down and enjoy a 2-hour Makeup session is virtually impossible but I know the tricks. I know that if I have 10 minutes I know the kind of things to do. If I have an hour, I know what to do. Again, its Experience & Mastery. So, I can show up and turn up looking excellent. But again, I am one of those people who will rather be in the background. I don’t really doll up. I am not like my clientele. I don’t have that time. I am unable to go somewhere, sit down & party for hours because there are so many things pulling at me. I love to be in the background. And I love to be behind the scene helping people. I love dressing people up and making sure they turn up looking excellent. I am not one to enjoy Makeover and the whole session. I can’t afford it.
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