Meet Ambreen Khwaja | Makeup Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ambreen Khwaja and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ambreen, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I attribute my success to many people – my family, a supportive husband, and amazing friends. I think a really important factor however is my passion for makeup and art. It’s what kept me going through long, challenging days on set, or during slow seasons that made me question my career choice. It made me continue to want to grow and learn, even though I didn’t feel skilled or experienced enough. It still keeps me going today- through setbacks and life changes. In my experience passion, hard work, believing in yourself, and some luck is the secret sauce to success.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I start painting and drawing at a young age and continued to paint through my teenage years, so making the transition to makeup in college felt natural. My background in painting has conveyed itself in my makeup, and though I mostly do clean beauty today, I still enjoy playing with makeup and getting creative.

However, it was really my best friend’s passing that made me take the step into a makeup career. I spent 3 years studying biology at HBU and UH, and had no clue what I wanted to do career-wise. When Tasnim passed away in 2016, it was a dark period of my life and I couldn’t to focus in school. Her passing made me realize that life is short and unpredictable, and I’d rather follow an unconventional career path that made me happy, than continue to pursue a “stable” career that made everyone around me happy. I gained admission to the Make Up For Ever Academy New York in 2017, and spent 6 months in school before making the move to NYC. I attribute much of my career to her, and I wish she was here to experience it with me.

I’ve learned so much in my almost 6 years of doing this, but I still feel like a student. I’m most excited about continuing to learn and grow. Social media has changed so much since I started, and I’m looking forward to challenging myself and sharing in new ways, while staying true to my art form. I’m working on using my social media to share parts of my journey and knowledge, as I’d love to be able to help new artists navigate this career path.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh, this is a hard one!

I’d definitely have to take them to dinner to Traveler’s Table, Brenner’s on the Bayou, or Da Gama. Followed by drinks at Present Company, SOHO Garden, or Julep depending on the mood.

You can’t come to Houston without eating some bbq, so I’d def take them to Killen’s to experience some of the best brisket and mac and cheese.

A cute picnic at Discovery Green would be so fun. And if they’re here in March, they couldn’t miss the Rodeo!

If we’re feeling artsy, I’d take them to Seismique or The Museum of Fine Arts, followed by a coffee at Tenfold.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So many people have helped me along the way! My parents and siblings have been my biggest cheerleaders since day 1. They weren’t familiar with the industry but believed in me enough to support me during my move to New York to start my career. My husband has been so loving and encouraging- he always has my back and pushes me to keep going on tough days.

Website: Ambreenkhwajamakeup.com

Instagram: @ambreenkhwaja_makeup

Other: TikTok: @ambreenmakeup

Image Credits
Evens LeAndre Lisa Martinez Jacky Nayak Kennedi Carter McKenzie Thompson