The Winning Duo

If you are a millennial and follow fashion icons on social media, then you are no stranger to the Kardashian sisters. Everyone admires what they wear and more importantly how they do their makeup. Now imagine getting your makeup done by someone who was trained under one of Kim Kardashian’s makeup artists. Yes, you read it right, Ice Today caught up with Sadia Sabreena who learned the tricks of the trade from Mario Dedivanovic and Anastasia Soare of the famous makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills and if that is not enough, she has also been trained under another renowned makeup artist Selina Manir from UK. Sabreena has been a makeup artist for the last two years but she always knew that she wanted to work as a professional in this business. “Afroza Parveen has been a great inspiration for me, after being trained under her I had enough courage to participate in Style Icon 2018 and I won one of the category, Party Makeover, in the competition.”

Sabreena with Mario Dedivanovic

“I was always playing with makeup and looking up products from different brands,” Sabreena muses. In order to do her magic, she factors in the skin tone, eye shapes and even the hair colour of her clients. All this is done to bring out the best features on an individual, states Sabreena. “While working on a client it’s not always necessary that I take 3 hours. Sometimes it would take only 15 minutes to do someone’s makeup. It all depends depend on the look we are aiming for.”
Sabreena’s studio, The Pink Makeover & Bridal Studio, is situated in Niketan, Gulshan-1. For an appointment, clients have to book her services a week before. In case of soon-to-be-brides, it is better to make an appointment with Sabreena between 15 days to a month before the big day. “In a month time, I provide them a healthy regime like sleeping early, increasing their water intake and most importantly staying relaxed.”

“I only use products on my client which I would use on myself. Most of the makeups have been purchased from USA Sephora or MAC.”

Her business partner is none other than her own twin Sonia Shakereena, the interior designer. She has been in the business of interior designing for almost two decades. Being an artist from a very early age, Shakereena always loved to capture the world around her on paper. Seeing the spark of an artist, her father encouraged her to work on her talent. This positive influence eventually inspired her to be what she is today.

Interior decor done by Shakereena
Interior decor done by Shakereena
Interior decor done by Shakereena

“Our parents have given us a very disciplined childhood which nurtured the decisive nature in us. Our mother has always encouraged us to learn and adapt to our surroundings no matter where we are in life.”

Working for both foreign and local interior designing companies, Shakereena has amassed enough experience to render her clients speechless through her work. This is because when it comes to the world of design and decorating, she is in her natural element. Society Interiorz is one of Shakereena’s brainchild where all the magic happens.
“I have done many projects over the years, be it corporate and business spaces, private homes and apartments, resorts, hotels or restaurants.” From minuscule fittings to towering marble walls she can procure almost anything for her projects. In order to make her clients’ ideas into a reality she is not afraid to do the work by herself. “If needed I show my workers, with my own hands, how to achieve perfection during an ongoing project. I have done it in the past.”

Bridal & Glam makeup done by Sabreena

According to the designer, her secret is detailed groundwork and executing everything by her own parameters. “My employees know what I expect and how I like things to be done after I share the blueprints with them. And so far, they have not disappointed me.”

Furthermore, Shakereena will pick out the furniture, fittings and utilities with her clients even if it means going abroad with them. “We provide A to Z solution when it comes to interior decor.” She continues by saying “I never say no to my clients. As a professional it is up to me to make sure that the final output is better than what they had perceived. Therefore, I don’t hesitate to discuss every minute detail if I think there is room for improvement in their ideas.”

She believes that her best work is portrayed through minimalism. “The current generation wants more free-flowing space both in case of an office and home. Which is why I always try to implement Feng Shui, also known as Chinese geomancy, in all of my projects.”
Shakereena works on the interior while the space is still under construction, as it is easier to implement, and in some cases improvise, the designs and the structure. “I usually ask for the blueprints from my clients during the construction phase so that I can properly envision the project.”

Both the voguish twins are very much into fashion and own all the business ventures jointly.

Their lifestyle boutique Zarans started because their friends and family always complimented them on their attires. “This prompted us to launch our own clothing line and the rest is history.” They added that they mainly follow Zara, VOX, Boohoo, Gucci, Prada, JCP and TJ Max and many more. “Even though we mostly follow western brands, our main focus has been fusion between different cultural garbs. Our best sellers have been the Western-Paksitani and Western-Indian fusions.” The sisters stated that the material for their clothing boutique is procured both locally and from abroad.

Sabreena and Shakereena have said that their main focus and most of their buyers are millennial, which is why they keep up with every season a year has to offer. From Pahela Baishak to New Year’s Eve they offer an outfit for every occasion.

“We can see the younger generation are more into simple and minimalist look than the previous generation which is why we try to keep that essence in all of our projects.”

Speaking on where they find inspiration, the twins divulge, “We take our inspiration when we are travelling. While we roam on the streets of foreign countries or sit at a layover in an airport, we always get references and new ideas. It works like a charm.”

Sadia Sabreena’s husband has been the greatest support for all of her ventures she said. “He never said no to anything I wanted to do or try. He always encouraged me and my sister to do more and do better.”

The twins added that they plan to do more in the future and have more ventures in their pipeline.