A Liverpool-based artist who was told he “was never going to make it” in the make-up industry is now proving his doubters wrong.
Adam Ali, originally from Scotland but now living in the city centre, is preparing to head to France this weekend for Paris Fashion Week. There, the 23-year-old will be painting the faces of models who will be walking the same show as Kendall Jenner.
The Glaswegian’s impressive CV doesn’t end there – having previously put Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford and Amir Khan’s wife, Faryal Makhdoom, into full glam. Where he is today, a self-taught celebrity make-up artist with an Instagram following of 65,000, is where teenage Adam knew he was going to be one day.
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He told the ECHO: “As much as I wanted to be academic, I never was. Being a young Asian boy telling my family and others that what I wanted to do was make-up was challenging. But, I knew when it came to make-up I wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way.
“From a young age, all my cousins would get praised and had people that believed in them but I didn’t. I was told I was never going to make it and it’s sad to think I was always being put down at the age of nine and told I was never going anywhere in life just because I didn’t like going to school. But, I’m here, doing what I love, killing it and showing everyone that I have made it.”
Adam’s career hasn’t come without its challenges. As an Asian-Pakistani Muslim, Adam knew some within his culture wouldn’t be as welcoming as he would have liked of his job. Adam recalled whilst growing up it was very much drilled into the younger generation that they should aspire to be a lawyer or a doctor. However, Adam knew education wasn’t for him and instead, he embraced his creative side.
He said: “I practised a lot on my sisters, Mehek and Anan, for hours at a time, following YouTube videos. There would be times when they would say they didn’t want to do it today but I’d scream the house down until they gave in and got glammed up. To my mum, it was a horrific sight because she was seeing her eight-year-olds in full Kim Kardashian-style looks, but to me, I was obsessed with doing it.”
Whilst others may criticise Adam because of his gender, religion and upbringing, he said what makes him different is also what makes him stand out in a highly competitive industry.
He added: “I fully embrace my culture every bit of it. I use the art form that comes from my culture and include it in my creative side. I try to stay consistent and I think because of who I am it’s almost breaking down barriers – not a lot of Asian male Muslims would feel comfortable doing what I’m doing. My work speaks for itself but I want to show others from similar backgrounds as mine that if I can do it, so can they.”
Adam was approached several times to appear on BBC’s Glow Up but only when season four came around did he feel like it was the right time. He said: “The South-Asian community needs this and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
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