Name: Loni L Jones
Age: 27
Occupation: Professional make-up artist
Place of birth: Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica
Current residence: Kingston, Jamaica
I grew up in Jamaica and I think that my parents are pretty Complexd! My mother is Scottish-African and my father is Irish-African. Luckily for me, I have parents who support my career choices. They’ve seen me grow from a budding artist to an established one so they keep all the copies of magazines with my work or name in it. They are so proud of me and they are happy if I am happy.
I have been passionate about make-up from a very young age. I was always first in line to help Mrs. Singh do the make-up when we had dance productions at the academy I attended. I studied make-up at college and refined my skills practising on friends. I strongly believe I was born to do this. I’m an artist by nature and faces are my blank canvas. I develop my skills daily and try to stay on top of things by getting familiar with new products, trends and experimenting with new looks.
I mostly do make-up for weddings, music videos, film and TV but I also have clients who just want to be dolled up for a special event. I enjoy beauty editorials the most because I love making people look pretty. Make-up is very important in the creative and entertainment industry because it can enhance the image of a person. If you’re a woman on set and you have a great stylist, but no make-up artist to complete the image you’re in trouble.
In Jamaica my profession has only recently started to get recognised as a job and not just a hobby but I still don’t think it gets the respect it should. I have always taken it very seriously because it’s my bread and butter and it pays my bills. I’m in Cuba right now shooting for the Sandals Hicacos online brochure. When I tell people about some of the perks of my job most of them start considering a career change. But make-up isn’t for everyone; it’s a lifestyle so you have to be ready for the full adventure because you never know what the next job will bring or where it will take you.
I travel a lot throughout the Caribbean and because of the extreme hot weather most of the time it’s always good to apply only a light layer of liquid foundation or use a tinted moisturiser, which I recommend against using foundation. Wearing sheer colours and water proofing everything is the best way to stay cool in the heat!
Jamaican women enjoy experimenting with make-up just as much as women abroad. We’re not that different from the rest of the world but culturally, we’re influenced by the bold styles of dancehall fashion. As a Jamaican I’d be crazy to say dancehall make-up is distasteful because it is a part of our culture. I love seeing videos and pictures of dancehall divas in their outfits, all made up.
Photograped by Faith Bowman
