Phiona Headley- Fontana's First Beauty Awards Winner

While she had been in the industry for seven years, Phiona Headley did not expect to win the Fontana Beauty Awards competition.

During her childhood, you would not have expected that Headley would be the girl to like make-up. She was the complete tomboy - climbing trees and playing football. One of her fondest childhood memories was riding a motorcycle with her grandfather, but then in 2010, she started to dabble in a bit of make-up artistry.

In 2010, Headley decided to do a short course in this field as she was a make-up artist apprentice for the television programme On Stage. She admitted, however, that it was not until four years ago that she got really serious about her skill and decided to get certified at HEART College of Beauty Services.

It was this experience and studying at the college that she heard about the Fontana Beauty Award competition. Different persons at the institution had encouraged her to join the competition.

Headley, being an individual who is always up for a challenge, saw this as an opportunity to get some exposure, as well as a learning process to go up against professional make-up artists.

She looked forward to the competition but, in all honesty, she did not believe that she would have won. The competitions were a bit nerve-racking in a way that she admits only her fellow competitors could understand. What also contributed to her nervousness was the fact that she did not know who the other contestants were. They were also graduates and she expected them to be better than her.

ABOOST

Winning the competition has been a boost for her, and she does not intend to stop at just being the Fontana champion. Headley enjoys doing make-up, the transformation of her client. Her five-year plan goes beyond make-up artistry. After she has completed her studies, she plans to not only continue her work but to start a spa. Here she can cater to all beauty needs.

Headley also hopes to produce a line of beauty products. But right now, her focus is completing her studies and continuing to hone her skills as a make-up artist.

She is now on her way to living her dream and she encourages youths to "identify what you want to do, make a plan and pursue it vigorously and do it legally".