Mayhanna Haslam hopes to one day win an Academy Award for best makeup and hair styling.
Haslam, 18, is a graduate of Cowichan Secondary School who has a talent for makeup and prosthetics that are made for the movie industry.
She has entered a contest where the grand prize is $25,000 U.S. and if she wins, it would enable her to be able to go to JCI Institute’s makeup school in Vancouver without having to take out any student loans.
The contest is being run by Orbiiit, a social media platform that ranks people or brands based on their social engagement and growth over the web, in real-time, and the winners are decided by votes from viewers.
Haslam’s entry in the contest consists of prosthetic horns she created for herself and makeup to make her look like a devilish character.
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“I started working with makeup four years ago when I helped work on a haunted house at my school,” said Haslam, who currently works in the Valley as a house-care assistant helping those with disabilities.
“I was going through a dark period at the time and I began to use makeup as a way to express myself through art as a release. It’s funny because I never was allowed to use makeup when I was growing up. I became interested because my grandmother worked at Brentwood College and everyone in her department would dress up each year and I always thought that was great. I began checking things out on YouTube and started working on my own.”
The contestants in Orbiiit’s Beauty X2 – Makeup & Beauty Challenge category have been placed in 12 groups with five in each group.
Contestants are eliminated through voting over five rounds, with the final round taking place in early January when the winner will be determined.
Haslam is currently in third place in Group 2 after the second round.
She said she was offered a $1,000 scholarship from the JCI Institute to help her pay tuition in the one-year makeup program, which costs $20,000.
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“If I won this contest, I would have my whole tuition and move to Vancouver covered,” Haslam said.
“I’m trying to get the most publicity as I can because the contest is determined by votes from the public. My dream is to specialize in prosthetic work like making big alien heads. My family has been in the Valley for seven generations and I don’t plan to head to Hollywood any time soon. Making films is now a big business on the Island so I plan to stay right here.”
To vote for Haslam, go to orbiiit.com, click on contests and scroll down to Beauty X2 – Makeup & Beauty Challenge where her entry is in Group 2.
Haslam’s entry can be immediately accessed at https://orbiiit.com/contest/16/entry/6546.
