We recently connected with Nabila Pranto and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nabila, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

One thing I wish for sure is to have stayed consistent and made my journey to a makeup artist more of a priority in my life. I’ve always had in the back of my mind to be a representation for that little 5 year old Brown girl who loved makeup and always knew she was different. I’ve never had a true representation in media of a Bengali woman who was in the beauty industry or even politics. My goal has always been to be able to teach my craft to people and change their perspective of their life goals.

I struggled a lot with my identity and where I fit in with my passion. I studied Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice at the University of Georgia. I interned in the House of Representatives, I’ve won a competitive national senate campaign as the lead digital media associate, to working across the nation with countless representatives, analyzing endless marketing tactics to raise donations for their grassroots fundraising programs. I thought this was what I was supposed to be doing, it felt right bringing Democracy back to America.

However in between all of that I knew deep down I would be a successful Makeup Artist and influencer and could make a change for women through beauty. Because I was so hyper-focused on winning races and getting donations for other’s I was actually burning myself out and not even focusing on what my goals truly were.

This is when I decided, I was unhappy. I was overworking a 9-5 where I was making other’s dreams come true instead of my own and I wasn’t even appreciated. That didn’t stop me though, instead it motivated me and made me realize I should be working on what makes me happy and it does not matter at what cost.

While it was a long struggle, I would say for about 8 months, I did Uber and UberEats to be able to support my own business and I’m not ashamed of it either because today, I’m traveling to major cities like Miami, New York, DC and Los Angeles to promote my makeup services and having to create waitlists for my services. I truly do wish I kept that my main focus and wished I didn’t always care what other’s had to say about what I was doing.

All of those fears holding you back is exactly what is going to keep you from reaching success. I’m going to make a Harry Potter reference here: remember when Harry and the other students were faced with approaching their biggest fear and then they used magic, turning it into something they WEREN’T afraid of? I apply that same concept to my every day life… to face my fears! You can get through anything, it could just be a bad moment, it does not mean a bad forever and you can get anything done if you do the work for it.

While it has taken years to get to where I am, consistency has been a big factor. It is the one small thing that you are putting off that could complete your project! Don’t hold back, face your fears and get started!

Nabila, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Nabila but I go by Bila. I’m really a fun, enthusiastic and energetic soul. I am not afraid to go outside the box and try new things. Most times you’ll find me shopping for new makeup, making content, traveling or cooking!

I can remember starting my first ever YouTube channel. I stacked up some books, turned on my little Cinderella light for more lighting, and hit record on my iPod. I did the rainbow eyeshadow look, and just like any other 12 year old I was instantly hooked to the Beauty Guru’s of of YouTube.

Years went on and I had an odd relationship with makeup. Coming from a Bangladeshi background, beauty had different standards. I was torn between sterotypical comments from people in my culture to finding my own perspective of beauty, “wearing makeup can make you look to old”, “you didn’t make yourself look any brighter”, “all that makeup will damage your skin later, you don’t want to get wrinkles early,”. Despite the negative comments I received, I still practiced makeup every day! I would wear it to school and wipe it off before coming home to avoid comments!

But none-the-less, over the years, my parents saw how important this was to me and that this was not going anywhere and started letting me take my first clients at home. When I moved away to college I continued doing makeup as a travel makeup artist and posting looks and reviews on social media. In between all of that I was still going to school, doing a regular job and studying to be on the path to becoming a lawyer so makeup always had to be something I was doing as a side hustle.

Once the pandemic hit and everything was at a stop for a few months, I was able to get back into my craft and really enjoy it. That year I also built a makeup studio in my garage and began ‘Bila’s Beauty Beats’. This was the beginning of my makeup artistry services but still it was more of a here and there rather than this is my main focus!

8 months ago, I came to a serious realization that I really did not like the career path I was headed on. It wasn’t what I enjoyed or envisioned myself to be, I was trying to incorporate it into what I truly love doing but it honestly did not match up. I thought of a rebrand that could cater to everyone’s energy– thus “Perspective Beauty” was born. I also created this brand with my culture in mind, I want to increase the presence of Desi women in the beauty industry and break the barriers of our stereotypical standards! I want to make that little brown girl inside of me proud!

I now have launched a successful luxurious makeup service in Atlanta. Perspective Beauty does bridal, photoshoot and event glam with an unforgettable and luxurious experience that will leave you with a new perspective of beauty. We held our first ever Atlanta beauty campaign, a promotional event where we bring in local influencers, models and creatives to do makeup and create content! Miami is our next stop and you can catch us in DC, New York and Los Angeles next!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Support your friends. Stop just watching their stories or telling them you see them doing great. Repost their stories, like their posts, share their posts with other friends that may have upcoming events. The purpose of the community is to communicate, gather and share. There is no need to gate-keep information or connections, everyone deserves an opportunity to expand. Good karma is all around, you suggest a friend on to an opportunity the same will happen for you! Keep the love going.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This was one of the most difficult things for me. I tried everything from apps to hitting people up but let me tell you the real secret to getting an engaged audience:

BE CONSISTENT. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.

This goes for the entire theme of my article but if I could tell my younger self anything it would simply be that. Nobody cares how many videos you have of the same thing, they care about the quality, is it read-able, digest-able, is it clear, does it have a call to action? Is this person posting often or are they posting and ghosting? There are people who want to see your content, so post, engage and post with quality over quantity in your mind!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://squareup.com/appointments/book/2e4uddf0m61bzj/L4FHF846HFCKY/start
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perspectivebeauty.me/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCexW8VAdmN6Trhu5si5GXog

Image Credits
Quavea for the last photo of me!