About Miruna

“I don’t really see this as my job. It’s more of an interest and I just love dressing up brides and organizing everything for them!”

What little girl doesn’t love playing dress up as a kid? Make up, fashion, and art is something I’ve loved ever since I was a little girl. I’ve loved dressing up and putting on my mum’s lipstick (that she would hide from me). The lipsticks we used to have back in the day in Sri Lanka had this strong smell – which I loved very much.

However,  having Asian parents meant they were never keen on me getting into makeup and fashion. Regardless, my love for makeup, fashion, and art was never hidden away. I’ve always kind of had that as my interest and passion on the side.

I was born in the beautiful country of Sri Lanka. We migrated to London when I was eight years old and my life changed. There were many interesting things to learn, see, and feel. Every little thing was new to me. Time was flying fast while we were adapting to this country’s lifestyle and weather.

Days flew by in a second – and before I knew it, I ended up with a degree in Accounting and IT. I guess I can say it was purely for my parents. When it comes to family, they come first for me no matter what. Makeup will always be my passion and my first love. A lot of people say I am very family oriented and also a cultured lady. I like to think that about myself  as well.

Dazzling Darlings Ltd

It all started six years ago professionally, just after I got married. However, I have been in the field of beauty for over 10 years now.

My wedding was in Sri Lanka and I had a long holiday. After the wedding, I had a lot of time to think about following my passion, dreams, and future plans – that’s when it all started!

When I decided to start this venture, I wanted to make sure I was following all the rules and regulations – hence the company was formed and registered in 2010.

The name Dazzling Darlings was named by my hubby. I was telling him one day about how I wanted to have my own company and name it something different and unique but without having my name in it. This way in the future, I could have a lot of things under one company. He came up with “Dazzling Darlings London – Dare to be Different”

It was only after marriage that I started to follow my passion and dreams. A lot of people say life changes after marriage, and for me it opened many doors. These doors have lead me to be free and to do whatever it takes to follow my dreams. They say “hard work never fails”.

I can now proudly say Dazzling Darlings is my own company and I am the sole person behind it. It took a lot of time, determination, and courage to be at where I am today. I was never comfortable being in front of the camera, but being in this field has given me the confidence to be less camera shy.

Services

For bridal makeovers, not only do I provide hair, makeup, and saree draping services, but I also like to work with brides to fully complete their look by going above and beyond. I like providing them with options for jewellery and flowers as well.

Ever since I started this company I have worked with VallisUK florist as they are one of the best florists in the UK. They have excellent standards while excelling in quality and timing – along with making sure they provide all the essentials for a bride. Some items VallisUK provides are hair flowers (called kondai maalai and jadai nagam), bridal bouquets, garlands, and bridal party baskets/bouquets. Brides have the ability to choose a package where they get to decide on what they want. They have many options available.

I only got into this as I loved organizing an entire look for a bride. Especially when it comes to choosing their jewellery, hair flowers, and bouquet – or suggesting them with ideas.

I’ve had brides ask me to help them choose their wedding sarees (from choosing the colours and designs). That makes me feel so special, especially to know that they trust my opinion. I absolutely love brides who are open to options, it makes my service much easier.

Dazzling Darlings standard package for a Hindu Bride:
Make-up
Hair Style
Saree Draping (pleating and ironing 2 sarees)
Full Bridal Jewellery (2 full sets provided)
Bridal Veil/Net (colour choice available)
Hair accessories/ornaments (hair pins, safety pins, mudi mayir, kuncham, kondai)

Options for Real Flowers 
Bridal Bouquet
Flower girls Bouquet (4 sets)
Hair Flowers/Jadai (full jadai naagam, kondai maalai, saram or malligai)
4 Wedding Garlands

Location

I am mainly based in London but I love travelling abroad. You feel so blessed and thankful that people from around the world think you are worth crossing oceans to dazzle them up. I have travelled to few countries like France, Germany, Norway and Sri Lanka. I do get a lot of inquires for other countries as well but due to my availability and other family commitments I have had to turn them down.

Jewellery

Jewellery business – it was something that came up out of nowhere. I used to spend a lot of my time putting jewellery together and of course I used to spend a lot of money buying jewellery for myself, which at times I would also use on my brides. It then became a hobby/interest where I  would spend hours looking for the right jewellery to match a bride’s saree. This led to me buying the jewellery myself as it could be added to my collection for future brides.

I then got into searching for the right suppliers from India and Sri Lanka who can provide me with the best quality and designs. My clients then started to ask if I was selling jewelries? People appeared to like my collection and so I thought to myself, why not get into it?

Now I have a range of bridal collections, necklace sets, earrings, rental collections, waist chains, bespoke designs bridal sets, etc.

Thanks to all my customers and through word of mouth, the business has picked up so well in the last three years. We ship to any country around the world and we also customize jewellery to every clients’ needs. I can also design a specific pattern for my bride to match her saree designs.

Tell us something about DazzlingDarlings that a lot of people may not know (whether it be a service you provide, or product, etc)

A lot of my clients come to me through recommendations or word of mouth. Hence, it goes around to people that I provide the full package and can be flexible to work around their needs. Most people are not aware that I am the only person behind Dazzling Darlings – since I don’t really publish much about the company. 

A lot of people are unaware that I also conduct one-on-one makeup classes and bridal courses.

I remember the days when I didn’t know who to turn to for advice when starting my own company. I had no idea as to what courses to take in order to improve my skills. I used to spend a lot of time on the internet searching for the right academy. It then got me thinking to share all that I have learned with other makeup artists who are already in the field but just need guidance to start their passion professionally. I got into helping people to start their own business. I share my knowledge about registering a company, having the right accounts to follow, etc. My accounting skills are so useful when it comes to organizing the financial side of a business and  I am happy to share that with all of my students.

Miruna has many courses and projects coming up. Make sure to stay tuned on her Instagram (@dazzlingdarlingsuk) and Website (http://www.dazzlingdarlings.com/) for more information!