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We had long gotten accustomed to team Nabila working their magic on hair and makeup at local fashion weeks and awards ceremonies. It is no secret, though, that the stylist has had her eyes on the international market for some time now and has carefully been making inroads into it.

“I feel like Tipu Sultan,” she has been known to joke, “trying out new territories.”

But if anyone can, Nabila can. In a breakthrough move, her brands Nabila, N-Gents and Zero Makeup have been announced as official hair and makeup partners at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA’s).

This means that in less than a month, an army of more than 75 stylists headed by Nabila will be making their way to Bangkok to working their magic on the stars that are an inevitable part of Bollywood’s biggest awards ceremony.

Incidentally, Nabila’s all-in-one makeup palette, Zero Makeup, is also launching in India this summer. “It works well for us because the IIFA is a great platform through which the Indian market will become acquainted with the brand,” says Nabila.

“Wizcraft, the Indian media and entertainment company that helms the IIFA’s, approached us through a common acquaintance and asked us to come on board for the entire project. I considered it a big compliment considering that MAC has been the official hair and makeup partner for the previous many years.

"Their primary concern was that they needed a big team to be present backstage to handle the styling. I told them that I could manage it. Over the years, I have trained a team that now operates like clockwork at major events. We’ll be bringing the same expertise to the IIFA’s.”

How did Wizcraft get to know about Nabila’s work? “They obviously must have researched on us. I have worked hard to build an extensive and diverse repertoire and the quality of my work and the mileage it generates can all be seen on the Internet.”

According to the IIFA’s requirements, Nabila and her team will be setting up in-room salon services for the MIP’s (Most Important People), an in-hotel salon for the VVIP’s (Very Very Important People) and an extensive backstage salon for the dancing troupes, assistants and fashion segments.

“Many of the more technical awards will take place on the 22nd of June as well as some of the dances and fashion rock segments where designers collaborate with musicians,” outlines Nabila. “There will be a break on the 23rd and then the more mainstream awards and dances are scheduled for the 24th. We will be working constantly with Indian designers and choreographers to devise hair and makeup looks for the stars and the troupes.”

The IIFA is veritably India’s most coveted entertainment-based awards ceremony and given the massive reach of Bollywood, this project may just allow Nabila to reach out to the world at large and not just India. However, this is hardly the first time that she has collaborated at international platforms.

She has long been working as an official hair and makeup partner at fashion events running the gamut from Berlin to London, Switzerland and Abu Dhabi. Zero Makeup is officially based in Dubai and is retailing at Bloomingdales, Middle East.

“I work hard,” Nabila says simply, “and I am very patient, making my business grow little by little, step by step. My team and I have been in Bangkok for the last 15 days. This is a big project and we needed to work out the details before I rushed off to my Eid appointments in Dubai and Karachi.”

And then, she’ll be rushing off to give Bollywood a dose of the Nabila aesthetic that we have long appreciated. Needless to say, the Nabila Instagram page is going to be buzzing soon with loads of star power!