Two years ago Pearlyn Mehta was a happy member of the Red House sales team but now, after a drastic rethink and a change in direction, she is making a name for herself as one of the Kingdom’s most successful Instagram make-up models.
The mum of one originally came to Bahrain to work as cabin crew with Gulf Air but, after marrying and having her daughter, she put her career on the back burner before moving into sales.
She says: “It was actually one of my colleagues at Red House who said I should give modelling a try; to be honest, I didn’t even think it was possible but, hey, here I am.”
Pearlyn, who works under the modelling name of Sasha, as she says many of the make-up artists found her name ‘difficult’, began contacting make-up artists who post their work online and was surprised at how quickly things moved from there.
“Everyone I sent pictures to was interested,” she says. “But initially I was told I would need to do shoots for free to build a portfolio, so that’s what I did. It takes time but, from my side, it’s not hard work though I did have to be prepared to literally hand my face over to them to do whatever they like – that’s a bit of an odd feeling.”
Nine months on and Pearlyn believes she is one of just a few Indian woman in Bahrain doing this kind of work, which makes her look unusual and adds to her popularity.
She says: “It’s the ideal thing for me. I’ve always been interested in make-up and beauty but I didn’t really know much about it – I wanted to learn and I’m certainly doing that. It’s amazing how make-up can change the way you look and, sometimes, how you feel about yourself.”
She’s certainly right on that score. When shown her pictures, her old colleagues didn’t even recognise her!
Names she has worked with include Zainab Al Hawaj, Narjes, Rihanna, Shoomi, Samira, Abeera, Eman Al Haddad and Aqella Aloraibi – an impressive bunch, who, between them, have thousands of followers.
Shoots can either be simply to showcase the make-up artist’s work or may be tie-ups with fashion or jewellery brands, and Pearlyn is in the process of negotiating her own collaborations, making her the face of a brand.
She says: “Bahrainis are very fashion conscious; they really know their stuff – what they like – and they’re always on the lookout for new things to try, whether that’s make-up products, new looks, such as the coloured contact lenses I wear for lots of my pictures, jewellery or fashion. It’s quite exciting having an inside track on all of that.”
Sometimes she works with professional photographers but, in true Instagram style, the pictures are often taken on mobile phones and posted within hours of a shoot, which means reaction is instant and very gratifying.
But Pearlyn’s frequent transformations can prove somewhat confusing for the little fashionista at home. She explains: “I showed my pictures to my little girl and she said: ‘Look, what happened to your eyes, that’s not you!’ I had to explain that it was lenses and false eyelashes. Now, she loves it and loves to see all the different looks I show off.”
For the future Pearlyn, or rather Sasha, is hoping to progress into TV adverts and develop her own Instagram channel – you can check her out @stunning_sasha.
