Tomika Halley-Johnson, a bubbly entrepreneur hailing from Dazzel Housing Scheme, Paradise Village, East Coast Demerara, has turned her passion for makeup and skincare into a thriving business. Her family hails from Beterverwagting, but she grew up in Victoria and Golden Grove villages on the East Coast Demerara.
In 2016, tragedy struck as a fire burned down the house she was renting. According to her, the fire was started by her then landlord’s wife.
Following the fire, she moved back to my mother’s home. During that period she was also pursuing studies at Ug’s IDCE while working at Qualfon Inc. With the fire ravaging all her belongings, she received many donations from her friends, church, job, and various organizations.
“If I had told anyone how depressed I was at that time, they probably would have doubted it because I remained my bubbly self in public, but at night, I cried and suffered from insomnia,” she said.
Most of the donations were makeup products, and it was then her makeup journey began. While suffering from insomnia, she began watching makeup tutorials on YouTube. Eventually, she started practicing on herself, and that process calmed her thoughts.
Johnson added, “I was dating my now husband at the time, and he gifted me my first set of professional makeup brushes. He would entertain my many trials and errors of perfecting what I had only considered a hobby then.” A few months after the fire, Johnson resigned from her job at Qualfon.
The losses she endured were traumatic; however, they changed my mindset and perspective on life. During her time of unemployment, she completed her social work course despite being advised that these courses were an entry point into the University of Guyana. However, she was disappointed as she was once again denied access to the University of Guyana.
She eventually gave up on attending the University of Guyana and began improving her makeup skills. With the improvements in her makeup skills and encouragement from friends and family, she started advertising her makeup business, as she aimed to serve her community and beyond.
Her first bride hailed from Region Three and was a fan of her work, as she had been admiring her growth. With more marketing and client reviews, she started to get more clients.
While looking for a different avenue to earn more money, she started another venture, selling bundles and watching wig-making videos on YouTube. Further, she did a cosmetology course at the Carnegie School of Home Economics, which ignited her passion for creating wigs. This helped boost her business as she began creating wigs. In 2017, she was employed by the Ministry of Social Protection as a Social Services Assistant.
With her new schedule, she couldn’t accept as many makeup appointments; as such, she started investing more in wigs and selling bundles. She accepted makeup appointments based on my work schedule. However, after almost 3 years in the system, it began to affect her mental health. In 2020, she registered my business, which had become well-known, and a few months after she resigned from Social Protection.
Johnson converted her veranda into her salon, and depending on the weather, she sometimes worked in her home.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tomika found out she was pregnant. Her focus during that period was making and selling wigs. In 2022, she expressed the need to have a proper space for her clients; as such, her mother recommended that she upgrade her veranda, which she did gradually.
“With support from her mother and husband, along with continuously investing my profits back into my business. I upgraded that space. I also changed up the packages; the idea of a bridal package had been on my mind for a while, but I was worried about the price. I’ve always enjoyed watching blackhead removal videos online. I saw a video that explained how the skin can be affected by the longevity of make-up, etc. This sparked my interest, leading me to what is now the most successful part of my business,” Tomika told this publication.
In 2023, she introduced her bridal package, which consisted of a wig, wig installation and styling, makeup, and a facial. With the launch of that package, she received so many appointments. After a while, men started inquiring about facials; at the time she didn’t offer those services, but after some more research, she introduced “Bro Facials.” She used her brother and brother-in-law as models, and it quickly became a trend. Then men started asking about manicures and pedicures, which birthed her “self-care packages.”
Johnson started doing facials with a salon-like hair chair, a fold-up table, a small hand-held steamer, and a few small pieces of equipment. She decided to further her knowledge by doing a facial course. It improved her understanding and quality of work. Because she was self-thought, she realized in the class the importance of product knowledge and understanding what works for every skin type, including her own since she has textured skin, likely from sleeping in and not removing her make-up properly when she was younger.
She is passionate about educating her clients about the importance of self-care and skin care. However, she noticed that men began to dominate this aspect of her business when they see other males using that service, as well as when they see those posted on her social media pages. Johnson highlighted that now men have become very comfortable and self-aware that self-care is also for men too, leaving behind the ones who believe that self-care is for females.
Though she’s had financial struggles, she’s grateful for her support system. However, her current challenge is finding the funds to expand her working space.
“I’ll work with what I have because if there’s one lesson I’ve learned in this life, it’s that God will give you what is deserved when the time is right,” she mentioned.
Her other challenge is clients not being on time for their appointments and trusting her advice when she tells them she can’t provide a service for them even though it’s been advertised, e.g., persons with fungal diseases (foot fungus or athlete’s foot). She noted that many male clients have this issue but lack the knowledge to identify it.
“Give your business the respect you want everyone else to. Keep improving your knowledge, keep investing in your business, and set and implement a standard for your business. Avoid social media drama. Do note that you can’t please everyone, even if they go on the media; try to deescalate it offline. If a public statement is necessary, keep it professional, use that block option if necessary, and finally keep thanking God even on your hard days because, through him, all things are possible,” is Johnson’s advice for the youths.
Her business is located at 6th Street, Dazzel Housing Scheme, Paradise, East Coast Demerara and can be found on social media at:
https://www.facebook.com/kmikays?mibextid=LQQJ4d,
https://www.tiktok.com/@mikayshairandmakeup?_t=8puTh0nk34Y&_r=1 and
