I've overcome addiction after finding my murdered dad and now I'm nominated for make up artist of the year

A Preston woman whose dad was murdered by his 'carer' has been nominated as a 2024 finalist for make up artist of the year at the SOS Beauty Awards.

Make up artist and hair stylist Natayla May 36, from Ingol, Preston, who runs Natalya May Training Academy at 26 Woodplumpton Road in Preston, says she is elated to be in the final 10 for her category for makeup.

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However, the road to success hasn't been a smooth one, having lost her dad and grandad who were both brutally murdered.

Darren Taylor, who was 45 at the time, abused Natayla's dad Steven May, 50, physically and financially, while living under the same roof as him in Deepdale, Preston.

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with The LEP’s free emails A pathologist found Mr May had suffered 76 rib fractures in the last 12 weeks of his life in May 2020 and immediately prior to his death he had suffered more acute rib fractures, compromising his ability to breathe, and a serious jaw fracture.

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Darren Taylor, was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years.

Having been the one to find her dad dead in his bed, the mum of three spiralled into 'self destruct' mode, using alcohol and tablets as a coping mechanism.

She said: "My grandad was murdered when my dad was 14 - that's what sent him into addiction with alcohol." "My dad was a very troubled man who was hard on the drink due to his own dad's murder that made him spiral out of control and was an alcoholic from a young age but he never recovered before being killed himself."

"I actually found his dead body in the position the guy had put him in and I can’t get that out of my mind. It was a lot for me to deal with mentally and I suffered really bad with ptsd and anxiety.

"With everything going on and me not being able to deal with all of this and having no help I turned to alcohol and sleeping tablets. "I was drinking three to six bottles of wine a night and taking a jar of tablets a day as well as using cocaine and other substances. Mentally for two years I was completely off track."

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The wake up catalyst for Natayla came in the form of injuring herself by falling down the stairs alongside smashing her head into a concrete wall. She added: "I realised I needed to stop this destructive behaviour not just for myself, but for my kids and my business.

"I’ve worked so hard 14 years to get to were I am and I could have lost it all so I realised it’s time to sort myself out before I completely lose myself and my business, so I took myself away for two weeks locking myself in a dark room and didn’t speak to anyone for the full two weeks so I could rattle it all out of my system."

Alongside being nominated for make up artist of the year, the thriving businesswoman has also brought out her own products - one of which is for brows which has sold hundreds over the past few months and has a five star rating.

While her dad may no longer be with her in person, his spirit falls heavily in her academy with some of his paintings which take pride of place on the walls.

She added: "My dad was an aspiring artist from a young age and could have made something of his life had he not chose the drink, so this is why I’m so determined to reach my goals and progress further in life.

"I have been to a few psychic and my dad has come through every time saying he’s happy that I’ve not let the grief take over." "His painting, which is of Arthur George Negus who was a British television personality and antiques expert, serves as a reminder to me that he is watching over me and keeping me on the straight and narrow. "It will be coming up to two years I have been clean from everything. I now drink only on occasions now which is very rare. I had my beautiful daughter that completely changed my life. "If you are struggling with addiction please please reach out to someone.

"If I can do it believe in yourself and you can do it too and accomplish them goals you want to do get out and work hard and you will reap the rewards.

"I would love to eventually own my own college teaching disengaged pupils and offering services for non academic students." The SOS Beauty Awards ceremony was launched to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the mobile application going live on the app stores.

Since launching, they have had almost 1500 Hair, Beauty, Aesthetics and Holistic Therapies businesses register. The SOS Beauty Awards 2024 will take place on Tuesday, June 4, in Nottingham.