On the first floor of the Shekina Building around Edna mall, Bole, there is Gresh Nail, Eyelash, Makeup, and Hair Salon. As you set foot in, there are three women sitting waiting for their next turn to get the beauty treatment. The room is packed and busy with about 30 women getting their nails and hair done and others getting their make-up done.

A woman in her 40s, Tigist Baede, has her hands protruding on a table for more than an hour while the manicurist in a black uniform is taking her time with the nails as carefully to achieve perfection. Tigist has been a customer of Gresh Salon for over five years mainly to get her nails done. Although there are times she lets loose and goes natural, she said that she enjoys adding extra features. Her makeup routine consists of applying Fair & Lovely whitening cream with lipstick and the occasional use of foundation.

"I try my best not to depend on it," she said.

She reminisced about her hair salon more than 14 years ago, in Dire Dewa before retiring to be a home manager. Despite her exposure to the beauty industry, Tigist adamantly opposes younger women with intact natural beauty using makeup.

Tigist believes that most women use makeup as a follow-up trend from various sources. The mother of two does not see it as a way to impress others but as an enhancement of the faded beauty due to old age and to boost her self-esteem. She has been dying her hair blond for the past 30 years.

“I like to see myself that way for some reason,” she said.

The owner Eyerusalem Getachew accredits the increased use of makeup on social media proliferation with emerging influencers. She appreciates a well-kept appearance and believes that it reflects confidence. According to Eyerusalem, most women come to the salon to get their nails done, paying more than a thousand Birr depending on the design.

Three years ago, she managed to open her salon.

The first woman singer and actress in Ethiopia, Asnakech Worku, wore noticeable make-up, and bright berry lipstick painted on which many women clamoured to resemble. In the '80s the country turned a corner with women wearing bright pink eyeshadow, while the '90s got low-key, showing off black smeared smoky eyes and mauve lips.

Helaz Beauty, founded by makeup artist and businesswoman Helen Hudush in 2019, is a cosmetics organization headquartered in the US. In 2019 it made its subsidiary branch in Ethiopia to make make-up more affordable and accessible to customers in the beauty industry. Helen's first started importing lipsticks half a decade ago, consisting of four types, and five years later, they grew the portfolio to more than 90 different products.

Natnael Zerihun, Helaz Country Director said that many people do not have access to quality makeup at an affordable price. Expensive products sold in the US cost less in Ethiopia. Foundations are sold for 100 dollars in the US and less than 33 dollars here.

They do not give their products to anyone to make a profit claiming that they want the product to be sold at the same price everywhere. They are currently administering four branches in Addis Abeba and another in Dire Dewa and Gondar.

Helaz imports makeup products worth 100 million Br. In the last five months, Helaz imported 40 million Br worth of products from the US, with price inconsistencies because of the forex crunch, according to Nathanael.

Natnael said, “The point is to enhance the natural look.”

With such potential for the industry to flourish, huge companies such as MAC Cosmetics landed in Ethiopia. The New York-based brand, under the multinational Estee Lauder, opened its doors in the capital under a franchise agreement with NHY Import & Export, a company involved in retail.

Nur Hussien, a close friend of Mohammed Ali Al-Amoudi, formed the company in the early 1990s and was involved in the hospitality industry, running establishments such as London Cafe and Monaco Bar. Buyers pay thousands of Birr for small containers of products like concealer and eyeliner.

According to the salesperson, close to 100 customers visit the store on Namibia Street near Edna Mall. Foundation costs 4,500 Br, while lipstick costs 3,000 Br, and concealer prices range from 2,000 to 4,000 Br, depending on the size.

On the fifth floor of Tropical Mall, on Airport road, IMS make-up school was founded in 2020 by Lia Gole, an international make-up artist, and instructor. It gives three classes a day, each taking four to five hours for close to 30 students. Students pay 65,000 Br for seven weeks of the session. A year ago, IMS signed a deal with Temptu, a Newyork based, Airbrush company, to advance the make-up application through a makeover.

Kalkidan Arage is one of the make-up artists and assistant instructors at IMS. She came from knowing very little about make-up having only a passion for it. Kalkidan was a first-year accounting student when she decided to follow in the footsteps of Lia, learning by watching her.

“I loved make-up as much as I loved art when I was a kid,” Kalkidan told Fortune. She describes makeup as an illusion, saying that it will make the viewer focus on the face where the face feels different subconsciously.

She believes that the trend to wear makeup for most occasions has exploded in the last three or four years.

Kalkidan said that foundation is the main product in make-up with different shades that should be thoroughly considered in what goes on with every individual. She recommends that customers should use original products paying attention to morning and nighttime routines to hydrate and moisturise. For professionals such as Kalkidan, make-up is used beyond personal satisfaction.

"It is a form of art," she said.

Makeup is used beyond beauty enhancement. Bethlehem Abebe is one of the artists using makeup to express artistic talents. She is a special effects makeup artist. An architect by profession, her love for makeup grew when she was a little girl.