Hard-work, dedication and focus is Tahseen Tasneem’s motto, an upcoming stylist from Karachi and a former air hostess with the national flag carrier. She ventured into the beauty business about a year back and has never looked back since. “I joined PIA in 1987
As an air hostess and worked in that capacity for 15 years. But the time came when I wanted to do something more in sync with my family life and having undertaken a number of courses in styling, I decided to open up a salon on Zamzama Boulevard and called it Dazzles. As is usually the case, initially people didn’t know about my work and they had certain reservations about working with me. However, the people I did work with spread my name by word of mouth. Over the past one year, I have worked very hard with the aim to make a name in this field,” says Tahseen.
Besides being a stylist, Tahseen’s secret weapon is that she has appeared in commercials with Sunita Marshall and also with film star Shaan which she calls ‘a memorable experience’
As part of her initial training in Karachi, she attended grooming classes at Depilex along with short courses from Pivot Point Singapore, a body massage and facial course from Bangkok, MAC London and Caroline Germany. Today, Tahseen offers training courses for aspiring make-up artists at her salon which is formally registered with the Sindh Technical Board. So what is it that gives Tahseen an edge over her contemporaries? “I give utmost importance to the quality of the products I use as the result is always obvious. Also, the courses I have undertaken to enhance my make-up techniques gives me an edge over others. For example, the use of make-up taught to me in the UK led me to experiment and adapt it in accordance to the Pakistani climatic conditions and complexions. The make-up I do can last for up to 20 hours, which is the longest by any local standards.”
As a stylist, Tahseen says that make-up and styling trends in Pakistan days are highly influenced by Indian soaps. “I have given the Parvati look in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki to a character in a local play. There is a catch in copying the look and even if the make-up is
A class but the clothes, jewelry or lighting do not compliment the look then the whole effect is lost.”
Tahseen has mostly worked for commercials and her clientèle mostly includes fashion personalities. Her first commercial was with Mona Mehmood for a mobile commercial. The other girls she has worked with include Sonia Khan for the print media, Sandra, Sherry and Madiha. Besides being a stylist, Tahseen’s secret weapon is that she has also modelled for an ongoing soap commercial with Sunita Marshall, an international fast food franchise ad and for a brand of spices with film star Shaan which she calls “a memorable experience.”
Back to her work in the print and electronic media and Tahseen says: “I did a bridal shoot for Fashion Collection where the clothes and jewelry were also designed by me. In music videos, I’ve worked with director Sohail Javed. I was working for the drama serial Dulhan but as of now I have opted out of the project.”
Elaborating more on why she opted out of the serial, Tahseen said: “First, some ads came along so I did only a few episodes. Commercials pay more and there is not much monetary gain in TV plays. However, I would like to do quality plays. The parchi system is prevalent in this field and if the project involves an overseas schedule then only big names are taken into consideration.”
So what does the future hold for Tahseen Tasneem?
“Though every newcomer in any field has to face people who don’t let you come forward but hard work and perseverance does pay off eventually,” says Tahseen, sounding off on a positive tone.
