Meet Kaniz Rashid | Makeup Artist & Entrepeneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaniz Rashid and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaniz, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As a makeup artist, my specialty is eye makeup. I love eye shadow in all colors, blends, and finishes. In my years of working, the first thing I’ve always liked to play with are colors on the eyes. Different colors put me in different moods. I’ve had a full face of makeup on for every occasion of my life. Each look has had a different eye makeup which felt especially made for that occasion. I associate makeup with emotions and moods. That is what inspired me to come up with my own makeup line Kaniz Kosmeticz, which I started with eye shadow palettes and liquid highlighters. I picked beautiful colors, different textures, and lovely finishes. Some colors are dark, some are bright, some are vibrant, and some are just natural. I wanted my palettes to be able to give every woman a unique look. My liquid highlighters are used to achieve glowy skin. Woman who wear makeup can wear it and also women who don’t wear makeup can wear it easily. I have been working in makeup since I was 18. But my first professional makeup job was when I was 20 and that was when I stepped into beauty retail. Working with so many brands for the past 5 years is an experience that was life changing. Selling such a wide range of products and seeing the transformations makes one wonder what they themselves could create and grow.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart from others is that I took a risk in a field which sometimes the general public calls a hobby or side hustle. However, I turned my talent and art into a business and a career. Working in makeup for so many years has made me a professional in makeup due to the experiences of working with so many different makeup lines and also being trained by them. Every brand has its own niche, and I am thankful to have been given the opportunities to work, learn, and grown with them. It was easy in a sense because makeup comes naturally to me. But hard because excelling and being a better version of yourself than in the previous job or endeavor, is always a challenge. Overcoming such challenges are only possible by being open to new experiences, ideas, and trends. To expand, one must be confident yet humble enough to know there is always room for improvement to become the best or at least one of the best. The lesson I learned is to never give up. Some tasks are harder than others and working well with different people is a growing trait. No matter how difficult the task is, you have to keep going. If one endeavor doesn’t work, you have to trust that the next one will. What I want the world to know about my story is that everyone and anyone can be someone notable if hard work, creativity, and dedication is always prioritized.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting Atlanta, there are a few places I would want to show them to ensure the best time ever. For outdoor day activities, I would love to take them to Stone Mountain or even some of the parks/trails by Kennesaw. Day parties and brunches at different restaurants is always a go to. I would love to take them to Pasha for a nice dinner with awesome ethnic music and of course great food. Atlanta is known for its night life so some good nightclubs would be a fun night outing.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Diamond from Crime Mob. She is an artist I grew up listening to and now as an adult I am one of her makeup artists. She has been very aspiring and supportive to my career. She herself has her own skincare line and well does have amazing skin. Her ig is @diamondatl.

Website: www.kkosmeticz.com

Instagram: @killafacekaniz @kanizkosmeticz