NICOLE SUARES
In the 1970s, generations of young girls grew up emulating the glamorous film star, Helen. Her iconic style and beauty captured the imagination of a young 13-year-old in the old heritage precincts of Cortim, in Panjim.
“I always admired beautiful and stylish women. Helen was a rage back then. I would study her makeup and outline my eyes with a blue colour pencil. I used my mother's lipstick as a blush to create high-cheek bones,” chuckles Hasina Bandukara, one of Goa’s acclaimed beauty brands.
That young girl’s drive and determination to enter the mesmerising beauty world led her to become an award-winning makeup artist, hairstylist, beautician, aroma therapist and cosmetologist.
Hasina created her signature range of organic, aroma therapy services and products.
Her revolutionary methods won multiple accolades like the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Orchid Awards for Women Achievers, and the GoWomania Outstanding Special Achievers Award 2021, amongst others.
With around 25 national and international certifications, Hasina took her wealth of experience from her learnings to the Maria Merca Beauty Centre (London), Toni & Guy (London), and Linda Meredith School of Makeup (London) to mention a few.
But, her story has been far from glamorous.
IN THE BEGINNING
A student of Mary Immaculate High School, in Panjim, the determined youngster, yearning to get a head start in the beauty business, requested a local beauty parlour to take her on as an extra hand.
Hasina came from a family of graduates, but here she was dusting, learning to put rollers for the hair, washing used combs, and cleaning mirrors.
Her mother wasn't pleased. “My mom said, ‘There is no need to do these dirty jobs. All are graduates in the family.’ Those days, beauty wasn’t a viable career,” she recalls.
But, Hasina didn’t let her family’s aspirations get in her way and headed to Mumbai. On a visit to her friend, she met with a renowned international beauty brand based in the city.
She recalls her delight after getting in. “I applied without my mom’s consent. I was the youngest candidate and told them what I knew. When I got in, I felt on top of the world,” she says.
She moved to the city of dreams to pursue her passion. Over the years, she joined other salons in Mumbai and continued upgrading her knowledge through multiple courses.
After marriage, she began a beauty parlour at home, attending to one or two customers at a time. As her popularity grew, she launched a bigger parlour in Mumbai with 10 staff, offering services like permanent epilation, galvanic facials, and ionization, unheard of in the early '90s.
Apart from her services, Hasina’s well-groomed, long-wavy hair and flawless skin, resembling the Indian beauty icon, Shanaz Hussain, caught the attention of her clients. The secret lay in her home-tested blends of oils and creams.
Thus, began her aroma therapy beauty line. “I did a lot of courses on the subject in India, the UK and Amsterdam. I also learned naturopathy and cosmetology. I took my old grandmother's recipes and fused them with aroma therapy. I had a small lab where I would create different oils based on budgets.”
Backed by her industry experience and international and national certifications, the family returned to Goa in 1994, where she began her parlour at home.
“My old friends returned since they knew I was a beautician. I would do complex facials using five different products,” she says. Through word-of-mouth, she gained a clientele from across the State.
Her home parlour, Hasina’s Beauty World, in Miramar, offers a range of services. Her vast experience allows her to personalise her treatments according to her clients and advise them accordingly.
It tackles all sorts of skin and hair-related issues, from pigmentation to alopecia. The face of a bride-to-be was completely cleared of heavy acne before the wedding.
The signature facials include an elaborate process, from cleansing with her homemade organic scrub to using wooden rollers to stimulate blood flow.
The skin polishing process sucks the dirt from the epidermis area and you’ll be surprised at how much dust the pores can hold. Hasina's range of aroma therapy products includes a select range of hair and face oils, hair masks, and moisturisers.
Every success story has its storms and the single mum fought the odds with her health crisis after a liver transplant.
She says, “I faced numerous health complications in the past years and continue to do so even now. But, nothing stopped me from my passion.
"Even when I was in Chennai awaiting a liver donor, I would visit the hospital with complete make-up on. No one knew I was sick. There, too, I would make little blends. I’ve always wanted to get ahead. I could never lie in bed. I would motivate myself to move,” she adds.
As she completes her 50th jubilee in the industry next year, Hasina is already planning the launch of her exclusive range of organic beauty products.
She’ll be ready for release in the coming year. “We have already tied up with a manufacturing unit for production. I’ve always driven myself to achieve the next level. I’m not afraid of challenges. I’m ready to fight to achieve,” she says.