Behind the brush

Maya Jama’s go-to MUA and artist to the stars, Letitia Sophia, tells Lollie Hancock how she perfects the Love Island looks and juggles motherhood with work

Where did your love of make-up come from?

“My mum is the type where it doesn’t matter if she’s going to Tesco, even to the gym or if she’s going out, she has to put a little bit of make-up on.

“That was my first introduction -Ijust would be constantly trying different things on my face, but it would all be my mum’s make-up.”

How did you start building a client base?

“At university, I worked part-time at Mac. Technically, when you’re a cashier at Mac, you’re not allowed to get involved with doing make-up, but I would have a lot of people come up to me at the tills and say, ‘I love your make-up. What have you used? Do you do it privately?’ I was on the tills and a lady asked if I’d done photoshoots before. I hadn’t, but I felt like I could do it…. so, I said ‘Yeah, I’ve done it before’, and that was it.”

How did you build brand and client relationships?

“At the beginning, I had no connections to any brands, and I just thought let’s go to Beauty Con.

“My friend pushed me to go up to the counters. I went up to Eylure and the woman there was so nice and took my details and put me on their PR list. Brands are really excited to speak to new talent and to include them. It’s a positive exchange for both parties.

“I saw that Maya [Jama, host of ITV2 show Love Island] was going somewhere and got her make-up done, and I just replied to her Snapchat story saying, ‘Hey, if you ever need your make-up done, I’m based in London. This is my Instagram; you can have a look.’ She followed me right away.

“People look at your work, that is what they are mostly interested in, and they want to see what you can do. I try to post as much of my work as possible and show different sides to what I can do – it just attracts other people to reach out to me.”

How did you prep for creating Maya Jama’s Love Island looks?

“I can’t decide on a make-up look without knowing what the outfit is. I spoke to Maya’s stylist [Rhea Francois] honestly every day. It’s all based on the outfit.

“It was sometimes last minute, but at the same time, I think what made it special is that because the outfits were so different, it gave me the opportunity to create such different looks.”

How do you balance travelling for work with being a mum?

“It’s a minefield. I feel like the main thing is the support around me. My mum and stepdad take full responsibility for my son when I travel for work and I trust them so much. When I’m away, I don’t feel stressed or upset, because I know he’s having the best time.

“My clients are honestly so understanding. Maya always wants me to bring him over – he’s so well behaved on set and he just loves it.”

This is an excerpt from an upcoming episode of our brand new podcast, The Pro Beauty Pod. Find us on all the usual podcast platforms or at professionalbeauty.co.uk/podcast