WHEN gypsies and travellers get ready for their weddings, christenings and holy communions, there’s only one make-up artist they turn to.
Farida Khalifa, 49, from Wolverhampton has been glamming up traveller girls for six years and her stunning work has gone viral on TikTok.
Over 16,000 TikTok users follow the hair and make-up artist as she shares top beauty tips and transformations from caravans across the country.
“I set up my business through The Princes’ Trust 22 years ago and even put henna on King Charles, when he was the Prince of Wales,” she reveals. “I do travellers’ make up wherever they want me to. Sometimes we’ll be in a hotel, other times we’ll be in a car park or a campsite.”
She adds: “Their values are a lot like mine as I’m Indian. Our cultures have arranged marriages so they don’t have to explain themselves to me. Instead, they ask me to make them a curry in their caravans.”
Farida - who also boasts an Instagram page - says gypsy weddings can be lavish, with posh cars, a horse and carriage and up to 30 bridesmaids who walk down the aisle.
“Once I went to Ireland and did 24 girls’ hair ups and four makeovers. I started at 6pm and finished at 9am the next morning,” she reveals. “The family paid £100 each per bridesmaid and £250 for the bride, and covered my travel and two night’s accommodation.”
According to the beauty expert, it’s not uncommon for travellers to spend over £1,000 just on hair and make up for her bridal party. Fake lashes and hair padding are included in the price.
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“Gypsies say the bigger their hair, the closer they are to God - big hair is everything,” she says. “They spend thousands and thousands on their weddings, so hair and make-up is just a dot in the ocean.”
After watching the Channel 4 show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, many Brits assume that travellers love crazy hair and make up but Farida says they’re classy, and not that different from us.
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“The teenage girls spend a lot of time cleaning their trailers and looking after the babies. They play with make-up so they’re really excellent at it.”
Still, even a classy look for the traveller community involves industrial amounts of hairspray.
“I use tonnes of synthetic hair, hair padding, special hair powder and two massive cans of hairspray on one bridal party,” shares Farida. “It takes me about an hour per girl, even very small children.”
In traveller communities, says Farida, it’s acceptable to put a full face of make-up on a baby, including lip liner and striking eyebrows.
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“The girls ask me to do foundation and blush, eyelashes and tinted eyebrows on their kids and I accept that’s part of their culture.”
When a child attends Holy Communion for the first time, aged around 10 years old, they’ll wear what looks like a mini white wedding dress with hairspray underneath the netting to make it as big as possible.
“I go easy on the make-up to make the children look classy rather than trashy. They have such fabulous outfits, big hair and fascinators, shoes and handbags, there’s no need to go wild on their faces.”
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Six years into working with the traveller and gypsy community, Farida has earned their respect, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing.
“I feel like I’m part of their family when I do a job with them. At the beginning I did experience a bit of pickpocketing. They had trust issues because I was an outsider. Now we respect each other.”
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