Celebrity hair and makeup artist Bambbi Fuentes, after more than two decades in the business that she never thought would take her to where she is now, still remembers every detail of her humbling first chapter in making stars perfectly beautiful. 

“(I started out) as a makeup artist after college. My first celebrity client was Gelli de Belen then Janice de Belen, then from one actress to another like Dawn (Zulueta), Dina (Bonnevie), Dindi (Gallardo), Aiko (Melendez), Carmina (Villaroel) etc.,” she recalls.

“No, hindi ko iniisip na sisikat ako basta I love what I’m doing, glamorizing women walang kapaguran na pagmamakeup. I didn’t realize ang bilis ng panahon 2024 na and I am still doing what I love doing the most and that is beautifying women. Si Gelli de Belen my first celebrity client for a photo shoot for VIVA (After college I started doing make up to celebrities, one thing led to another, time goes so fast, I didn’t get tired of what I did I just loved making women beautiful),” Bambbi said.

With almost four decades of making celebrities perfectly beautiful, Bambbi shared her observations on the dramatic changes that happened in her field of work. 

“Yes, there’s a big change from my time to now because probably the makeup artists now, they are complete with accessories like ring lights, different kinds of makeup lights, tons of makeup brushes, lots of makeup palettes, serums, etc.,” she said.

Bambbi also revealed her list of her favorite celebrities in her makeup chair.

“I think si Gelli, Marian, Kris and Janice — because I did a lot of makeup sessions with them so memorized ko na ‘yung face nila (I already know their faces well),” she revealed.

As for lessons learned in her profession, Bambbi said that passion is key. 

“Biggest lesson is to be passionate about your work and you will never get lost. For the new gen of makeup artists, my advice is to create your own style and love your work,” she said

With decades in the industry, Bambbi is now exploring a new direction in managing talents through her Dragon Artists Management, a project she accidentally started during the pandemic. 

“Ah, yes, I’m managing new artists, Dragon Babies, hopefully sumikat silang lahat (they would all make it). It started during the pandemic because our salon was closed for more than two years so I tried managing new artist, and learned to embrace the new phase in my life though I still love makeup. But I learned to love these Dragon Babies kasi mababait silang lahat (they are good people), but it is very challenging as well. I hope to still be managing in the next 10 years and more movies and concerts,” Bambbi said. 

Bambbi has a back-up plan if things don’t work out. “If I didn’t become a makeup artist, I would probably be in another kind of business, probably designing clothes,” she said.