The 2018 edition of the Ghana Makeup Awards has been launched with a special emphasis on repositioning the industry to create jobs.

The job creation agenda is part of Makeup Awards' effort to contribute to the economic development of the country.

Nominations are opened and makeup artists are expected to fill out nomination forms.

This year's edition will for the first time give the opportunity to the general public to nominate their favourite artists.

This year's edition is themed: ‘Make-Up & Beauty: A Catalyst For National & Economic Development’.

Slated for April 28, 2018, industry players will converge at one of the country’s finest hospitality facilities,  Kempinski Hotel, to battle for various awards in the over 21 categories.

The launch which took place at new Osu office of the awards organisers, Makeup Ghana, last week.

The launch event was also used to highlight other activities outlined for the celebration of the Ghana Makeup Week which starts from  April 23 to 29, 2018.

This year’s award is touted as unique due to the many activities that are lined up.

The Africa Make-up and Beauty Fair 2018  will take place at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel as part of the celebration. It is expected to exhibit a wide range of make-up products and services from both local and international brands that begins from  April 25 to April 27.

Launching the program the CEO of Makeup Ghana, Rebecca Donkor, said the awards event, which was instituted two years ago is to celebrate excellence in the makeup and beauty industry.

She said it seeks to promote makeup artists and their works in order to win public recognition for them.

She noted that taking the industry to the next level is a core business objective of her company and therefore has been organizing capacity building workshops across the regions.

According to her, the industry’s role in the life of women cannot be underestimated because every woman wants to look beautiful and with the right makeup, they can increase the level of their confidence and feel empowered.

 "We need to educate the consumers because there are a lot of fake products on the markets as well, which causes all sorts of skin diseases," she adds.

We want to build the industry from the regional level and due to this ambition last year we embarked on a regional tour that took us to Tamale, Bolga, Kumasi and Takoradi where capacity building workshops were organised for makeup artists and consumers.