Makeup and hair stylist Nilam Kenia is grateful to her mentor Florian Hurel!

Makeup and hair stylist Nilam Kenia, who has worked alongside Florian Hurel, an expert in the same field, says that she owes her entire career to the him. Nilam, an artist with talent management group L’Atelier, used to assist Florian and is now his hairstylist for haircare commercials. While working with Florian, Nilam has styled many celebrities such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone.

She says that it was after she started working with him that she realized what the job entails. “I did my diploma in makeup from London School of Makeup after which I got into assisting Florian Hurel. It was after I started assisting Florian that I got to know the heights you can get being a hair and makeup artist. I would say that whatever I am moulded into now is all thanks to Florian. Right from polishing my skills to etiquette, how to conduct yourself with celebrities to how to be bang-on on set is all his training,” she says.

The stylist’s association with her craft goes way back. “I have been born and brought up in Mumbai. I come from a simple Gujrati family where everyone believes that a girl should be married to be settled in life. I did my first salon technical training when I was in the 8th grade, It was basic threading, facials etc. After this, I got back to studying and did my majors in psychology from Jai Hind College. Then I got married after which I undertook hairdressing training from Franck Provost. I worked as a hairdresser at Franck Provost for six months and then took a break to fulfil family commitments. Later, I did a makeup course from Marvie Ann beck and one in hair styling from Seema V Jerajani,” she says.

Ask her what made her get into this field, and she says, “My inspiration in the field of hair would be Chris Appleton. And for makeup, it would be Mickey Contractor sir. But my inspiration overall would, of course, has to be my mentor and guide Florian.”  Nilam says that it’s important to keep working on yourself as a stylist. “The most challenging factor in this field is always to be able to deliver the best. You can’t get complacent with your work,” she says, adding, “As an artist, I would love doing more editorials as it would challenge my creativity but doing a film once in a while can be good too as you learn a lot from new people you meet.”