Splendor by Aneeka Bushra: Where brides embrace fantasy, tradition and their natural beauty
Splendor by Aneeka Bushra uses makeup as a medium to promote comfort in one’s own skin, acknowledging that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes
Aneeka had once encountered a client who wore a powder blue gown for her wedding, the hues resembling the attire worn by Disney Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. Naturally, she had to turn the bride into a Princess.
Aneeka contrasted the edge of the dress with a feminine, gypsy floral crown. She put a pop of cobalt blue in her eyes. It completely broke the bounds of a traditional bridal look in Bangladesh.
For another bride, Aneeka contrasted the client's hot pink dress with a mellow baby-blue eyeliner, a colour combination that we do not often see.
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Such innovation, however, does not stop her from embracing the magical touch of our traditional looks.
"I love brides going back to their roots and preferring red suits for the big day," she says. She has dolled up a lot of red brides in a timeless bridal look as well – shimmery eyes with bold lipstick.
Aneeka Bushra's work is a perfect balance of innovative and traditional makeup looks. It ranges from brides with minimal base makeup and golden eyes, to bold glitter graphic eyeliners.
Splendor by Aneeka Bushra - her salon - is known for accentuating natural beauty. She is an advocate for embracing natural skin tones.
"The women of our country have such enriched skin colour, yet I have seen numerous brides hesitant to embrace it on their big day. Most of them are put under the immense pressure by society to look brighter," Aneeka sighs.
Splendor uses makeup as a medium to promote comfort in one's own skin, acknowledging that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. They even spread awareness about cancer through campaigns on different occasions.
Aneeka Bushra's never-ending experiments and fusion looks have made her a standout.
"Makeup is a form of art and the opportunities to be creative with it are endless. I always wanted my creations to reflect my style and try different things. Switching between the boldness of the modern era and the elegance of the traditional looks," Aneeka explained.
So how did it all begin?
"To be honest, my coming to the world of glamour was not planned. However, the idea of makeup relying on changing one's skin tone to a fairer one has always enraged me since I was a kid," Aneeka shared.
From the little girl who used to get scolded for putting makeup on at home for no reason, to doing her own makeup for dance programs at school, Aneeka's skills blossomed naturally.
"Things changed when I casually did one of my friend's bridal makeup, which everyone liked. Even though I had no professional training back then, people kept asking my friend where she got her look done. This is when my friends started pushing me to start something of my own,'' Aneeka said.
A page created with only one bridal picture and a roughly handmade logo got flooded with responses and queries about her makeup packages in less than 24 hours. The talented artist felt she had found her passion. Within six months, with a photo shoot of her friends in bridal makeovers, Splendor started to pick up.
"After the overwhelming response, we had to rent out a place in Dhanmondi where we could take Splendor to the next level, which was really a big deal for a 21-year-old," Aneeka said.
As the wedding season is in full swing, we wanted to know about the trends of winter weddings this year. "The best thing is, brides are not confined anymore to a particular trend. The variety in
the brides is a mesmerising thing to see," Aneeka replied.
Aneeka Bushra's bridal makeover packages start from Tk25,000 and go up to Tk30,000. The Akhd package costs Tk18,000. For clients looking for a more budget-friendly option, there are packages available which are conducted by their in-house artists', within a range of Tk10,000-Tk15,000. Splendor by Aneeka Bushra is about to relocate to road 13A, Dhanmondi.
