Pretty, Professional & Prepared: Why I Got My Firearm Licence
By: Sigi Shaw
I’m a makeup artist.
I spend my days making people feel beautiful, confident and camera-ready. I carry brushes, palettes, hair tools, lights, products and enough equipment to practically open a small beauty counter in the back of my car.
But there’s another thing I’ve learned over the years:
Being a woman who works on the road means you need to be prepared for more than matching skin colours.
My job takes me far.
Three to six hours of driving for a booking isn’t unusual. Sometimes I’m heading to a wedding venue, a shoot or a client’s home somewhere I’ve never been before. And sometimes those journeys take me onto isolated dirt roads where the scenery is beautiful, the road is questionable and my cellphone has about as much usefulness as a chocolate teapot.
No signal. No people. No immediate help.
Just me.
And that’s when the reality hits.
If my car breaks down, I’m the one who has to deal with it.
If something goes wrong, I can’t simply assume that someone will come along.
And if somebody decides that a lone woman on an isolated road looks like an easy target, I don’t want my entire safety plan to be:
“Please don’t.”
I decided I would rather be prepared.
Getting my firearm licence wasn’t about wanting to feel tough.
It wasn’t about playing cowboy.
And it certainly wasn’t about looking for trouble.
It was about accepting responsibility for my own safety.
Because here’s the thing about being independent:
Sometimes independence means knowing how to look after yourself when there is nobody else around to do it for you.
But owning a firearm comes with serious responsibility.
A firearm isn’t a handbag accessory. It isn’t a personality trait. And it isn’t a substitute for common sense.
If you’re going to own one, you need to understand the law, understand your responsibilities, practise safe handling and get proper training.
And by proper training, I don’t just mean learning how to make a hole in a target.
Learn to think. Learn to move. Learn to recognise trouble.
Good self-defence training isn’t about becoming aggressive.
It’s about becoming aware.
It’s learning to notice what’s happening around you. It’s understanding avoidance, de-escalation, decision-making and what to do when a situation starts feeling wrong.
And firearms training adds another layer of responsibility.
You learn discipline.
You learn control.
You learn that there are consequences to every decision.
Most importantly, you learn that having a firearm doesn’t make you invincible.
Preparation does not mean looking for danger.
It means being ready for the possibility that danger might find you.
And ladies, this matters.
Especially for women who work alone.
Especially for women who travel.
Especially for women who carry valuable equipment in their vehicles and regularly meet people they don’t know.
Makeup artists, photographers, hairstylists, videographers, sales reps, real estate agents, travelling professionals — there are plenty of us who spend an enormous amount of time alone on the road.
We need to stop treating personal safety as something that happens to other people.
Your safety deserves the same level of planning as your business.
I have emergency supplies in my car.
I think about where I’m going.
I pay attention to my surroundings.
I let people know where I’m travelling when I’m heading somewhere remote.
And I’ve invested in training so that, should I ever need it, I have more than one tool in my toolbox.
Because your first line of defence is your brain.
Your awareness.
Your judgement.
Your ability to avoid a bad situation before it becomes a dangerous one.
And if you’ve chosen responsible firearm ownership, that comes with another layer of preparation.
I’m still a makeup artist.
I still love beautiful things.
I still get ridiculously excited about a gorgeous palette.
I can spend hours making someone feel like the absolute goddess they are.
I’ll happily discuss foundation undertones while covered in glitter.
But being feminine doesn’t mean being fragile.
Being a makeup artist doesn’t mean being naïve.
And being pretty certainly doesn’t mean being helpless.
I can carry a makeup brush in one hand and responsibility for my own safety in the other.
I don’t want to live my life afraid.
I want to live it prepared.
Because when you’re three hours from home, sitting on a dirt road with no cellphone reception and nobody around, the person you absolutely need to be able to rely on…is yourself.
So ladies, learn some self-defence.
Learn situational awareness.
Learn basic vehicle and emergency preparedness.
Get proper training.
Understand the law.
And if firearm ownership is something you choose, approach it with the seriousness and respect it deserves.
Because confidence isn’t walking around believing nothing can happen to you.
Confidence is knowing you’ve prepared yourself for the possibility that something might.
Pretty? Absolutely.
Professional? Always.
Prepared?
Bloody well better be.