ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Kurdish entrepreneur has gained a global following with her skills as a makeup artist in Europe and by bringing her self-made eye lashes to the Kurdistan Region where she hopes to inspire other women.
Sazan Amin, 32, is originally from Erbil, and moved to Denmark at age 5. Two-and-a-half years ago she became interested in turning a hobby of hers into a career.
The mother of three children since has launched ‘2 Lashes’, named for her two daughters. Amin says the lashes can be used up to 20 times if cleaned and cared for.
“I was really, really young when I started liking makeup,” said the trained dentist. "But as you know how our culture is... our parents want us to become doctors and lawyers.”
Sazan Amin uses her following on social media to promote other brands, as well as her own work.
Her fear was what her family would think.
"I was 17 when I met my husband,” she said, adding that he has been encouraging, but worries that others will talk.
After discussing it, she earned her degree as a makeup artist in Copenhagen, and then began promoting her work on the Internet, receiving offers from several well-known makeup artists and brands.
Sazan Amin's work has attracted more than 70,000 followers on Instagram.
She promotes her work on many platforms including Instagram, Snapchat and Youtube.
“You start wearing red lipstick and people start seeing you in a different way,” she said.
In Denmark, Amin works with celebrities, adding “slowly doors opened for me.”
She admits meeting new people is special and she enjoys “working with people she always used to see in magazines.”
Amin still holds on to Kurdish culture and its traditions; she says her family, parents, and family in Kurdistan support her “120 percent.”
The Kurdish woman knew she would be judged because everything remains on the online, but for Amin the most important thing is knowing your limits and knowing how far to go.
Currently, she sells two styles of lashes, but wants to expand her product line by six or seven. Additionally, she would love to open a makeup store in Kurdistan, where women can buy better quality makeup that won’t harm their skin.
Sazan Amin hopes to expand her line of lashes in the Kurdistan Region.
“You can achieve anything,” she said. “We are living in 2017. We shouldn’t judge by appearance or what certain people do for a living. Surely there will be people trying to bring others down anyway because they couldn’t make a name for themselves.”
Amin has now become an advocate for other Kurdish women pursuing their dreams. She is considering starting classes in makeup design, but says she understands the financial constraints right now in the Kurdistan Region.
“Kurdish women should believe in themselves, be confident and our women should follow their dreams,” she explained. “Kurdish women should be able to take care of themselves.”
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