Iris Bondoc Felix still remembers the exact moment she decided to leave banking. She was sitting in her office in the Philippines, a commerce graduate with a stable career ahead of her, when she realised the job she had worked so hard to get was not the life she wanted.
“I thought about what I would regret at 60,” she says. “Would I regret leaving a secure job, or would I regret never trying the thing I actually loved? The answer was obvious.”
A beauty counter, not a boardroom
Felix enrolled in a professional makeup course and started again from zero. She worked on counters, assisted established artists and took every booking she could find. She learnt quickly that talent alone was not enough, and that the business of beauty was about reliability, reputation and the ability to make a client feel at ease.
“I took every job,” she says. “I was not picky. I needed to learn how to work under pressure, how to manage a client, how to be professional when the room is chaotic.”
Twelve years in Dubai
In 2013, Felix moved to Dubai. She built her portfolio slowly, working with brides, photographers and fashion clients across the UAE, and spending 12 years learning what Emirati and expatriate clients wanted from a makeup artist.
“I took my time,” she says. “Dubai is a city where you can grow fast, but I wanted to grow properly. I spent 12 years learning what clients wanted, what the market needed, and how to run a business. I had a steady career in the UAE, and I was in no rush to open a studio before I was ready.”
Building her own name
Felix has since turned her experience into her own brand. She runs her own studio, trains other makeup artists and is in demand for bridal bookings, working directly with brides, photographers and planners.
“I am not an employee any more. I am building something that is mine,” she says.
“I have seen how the industry has changed here. It is more competitive, but there is more respect for what we do. Clients come to me because they trust my work and my taste.”
“Try it, but do it properly”
Asked what she tells people who want to follow her path, Felix is clear: do not romanticise the leap.
“Try it, but do it properly. Study your craft, invest in your education and be professional from day one. Talent opens the door, but discipline is what keeps you in the room.”
That discipline is what carried Felix from a bank office in Manila to a studio of her own in Dubai. She did not chase a quick win. She built a reputation over 12 years, and then she built a business on it.
