When people see Pav Kaur’s work as a makeup artist, they usually see the finished result. The polished bride, the soft glow of perfect lighting, the calm and creative side of her life. What they rarely see is the journey that shaped the woman behind the brush. For Pav, that journey is inseparable from her daughter Amber, the person who transformed not only her priorities but her understanding of strength, patience and what it truly means to love someone completely.
Amber was born with complex medical needs, and from the moment she arrived Pav’s world shifted in ways she could never have prepared for. Instead of the gentle early days of motherhood she had imagined, Pav found herself navigating hospital corridors, learning medical language she had never heard before, and trying to understand diagnoses, treatment plans and care pathways that suddenly became part of everyday life.
From the outside, Amber appeared to be a healthy baby when she was first born. But Pav sensed early on that something was not quite right.
By the time Amber was around three months old, Pav’s instincts as a mother were telling her that her daughter was not developing in the same way as other babies. She raised her concerns several times, yet at that stage she was repeatedly told to wait and see how Amber progressed with her milestones.
Like many first-time mothers, Pav tried to trust that advice and reassure herself that every child develops differently. But the feeling never truly left her.
In April 2011, just a month before Amber’s first birthday, doctors finally acknowledged that something was wrong. Pav remembers the moment vividly. A doctor told her plainly, “Yes, there is something wrong with your child long term.”
It was an incredibly difficult sentence to hear, but it also marked the beginning of a long and complex journey toward understanding what that reality would mean.
Years followed filled with hospital appointments, medical tests, therapies and consultations with specialists. Despite all of that, Amber did not receive a definitive diagnosis for a long time.
It was not until she was ten years old that answers finally came. Amber was diagnosed with Prune 1 Syndrome, an ultra rare genetic condition that affects muscle development and neurological function. Because the condition is so rare, information and research remain limited, which can make the journey particularly isolating for families trying to understand what the future might hold.
Yet by the time the diagnosis arrived, Pav had already spent a decade learning how to advocate for her daughter, navigating the complexities of the medical system and adapting their lives around Amber’s needs.
In many ways, the diagnosis simply gave a name to the journey they had already been living.
Motherhood quickly became about advocacy as much as love. When a child has complex needs, an entirely new world opens up. Specialists, therapists, assessments, endless paperwork and decisions that carry enormous weight. Yet within that world there is also a depth of perspective that is difficult to describe.
Amber has become Pav’s greatest teacher. She has taught her patience in ways she never expected, but she has also taught her to appreciate moments most people would overlook.
When people talk about motherhood, they often celebrate the visible milestones. First steps, school plays, family holidays. For mothers raising children with complex needs, the victories can look very different. Sometimes a win is a calm hospital appointment. Sometimes it is a week without complications. Sometimes it is simply seeing your child comfortable and smiling.
Those moments may seem small from the outside, but to a parent they carry enormous meaning.
One particularly emotional moment came recently when Amber received the Headteacher’s Perseverance Award during a whole school assembly.
Because the assembly was for students only, Pav was not there when the award was presented. Instead, she received a letter from the school explaining why Amber had been chosen.
The teachers wrote about how Amber had undergone many medical procedures over the past few years, yet she always returned to school with a smile on her face. They explained that if someone did not know her story, they would never realise everything she had been through.
Reading those words was deeply emotional for Pav.
As a parent, she had lived every appointment, every hospital visit and every difficult moment alongside her daughter. To know that the people around Amber could see her strength, her positivity and her determination meant more than she could describe.
When Pav later held the trophy in her hands, it felt like far more than a school award. It felt like recognition of Amber’s resilience and the quiet courage she shows every single day.
In that moment, Pav realised something powerful. The world was beginning to see the extraordinary girl she had always known her daughter to be.
Being Amber’s mother has also meant becoming her fiercest advocate. There have been times when Pav has sat in rooms full of professionals and fought for the level of care her daughter deserves. Moments when she felt exhausted, uncertain or overwhelmed, yet knew she had to keep speaking because Amber needed someone to do that for her.
When it is your child, a different kind of strength emerges. It is not dramatic or heroic. It is quieter than that, a steady determination that refuses to give up.
Before Amber was born, Pav’s career in the beauty industry had been growing steadily. She had already spent more than sixteen years building her reputation as a makeup artist, developing a loyal client base and refining the elegant, timeless aesthetic that would become her signature.
But as Amber’s needs became clearer, Pav’s career inevitably had to slow down. Like many mothers, she stepped back, although in her case it was not simply about balancing work and childcare. Her days were shaped by hospital appointments, caregiving responsibilities and ensuring Amber’s wellbeing always came first.
There were moments when Pav genuinely questioned whether she would ever return to the industry in the same way. At times she wondered whether that chapter of her life had quietly closed.
Yet the passion for her craft never disappeared.
Gradually, Pav began rebuilding her work around Amber’s needs. Her days became carefully structured around her daughter’s care, from therapies and medical routines to ensuring Amber was comfortable and supported.
Her work often takes place in small pockets of time. Sometimes during the day while Amber is at school, sometimes in the evenings once everything has settled. Weekends are often when Pav takes on bridal bookings.
She is also supported by an incredible team of carers who assist with Amber’s day to day care. Their help allows Pav to step into her work when opportunities arise, knowing her daughter is in safe and capable hands.
Amber also has specific dietary and therapeutic needs. She is fed through a PEG tube and follows a blended diet, which Pav carefully manages alongside healthcare professionals to ensure Amber receives exactly what her body requires nutritionally.
Much of Pav’s day involves planning feeds, therapies and routines with meticulous care. From the outside, life may sometimes look chaotic, but behind the scenes every detail of Amber’s world is thoughtfully organised.
Because when your child depends on you in this way, love often looks like organisation, patience and devotion that quietly shapes every hour of your day.
Alongside her beauty work, Pav also runs an online travel business, a flexible digital venture she can manage from her phone or laptop wherever she is. The adaptability of the business allows her to build it gradually in the moments between caregiving responsibilities.
Over time, Pav has learned to design her working life around Amber’s needs rather than trying to fit Amber around work.
In April 2025, Pav’s journey was recognised when she was awarded Inspirational Role Model at the SHE Awards.
Receiving the honour was deeply emotional. For Pav, the award was never simply about professional success. It represented the path she had travelled as a mother, advocate and entrepreneur.
In many ways, the recognition belonged to Amber.
This year Pav will return to the awards in a new role, serving as a judge on the panel. The invitation felt surreal and a reminder of how unpredictable and remarkable life’s journeys can be.
Another milestone awaits this year when Pav hosts her first Asian Bridal Masterclass at the Charlotte Tilbury flagship store in Covent Garden. Being approached by one of the world’s most iconic beauty brands is something she could never have imagined earlier in her career.
Yet the significance of that moment reaches far beyond professional achievement.
For Pav, it is proof that even the most demanding form of motherhood does not mean the end of your dreams. Sometimes it simply means the path toward them takes longer and looks very different from the one you once imagined.
Success today bears little resemblance to what Pav once believed it would be. In her twenties, success meant speed, milestones and constant career growth.
Now it looks like balance.
It means being present for Amber while still nurturing the creative parts of herself that love beauty, artistry and connecting with other women. It means understanding that progress can be quiet and gradual and that resilience often grows in the spaces where life does not follow the plan.
Being Amber’s mother remains the greatest privilege of Pav’s life.
Motherhood can be exhausting, emotional and at times overwhelming. But it is also the deepest love she has ever known.
Amber did not simply make Pav a mother.
She made her the woman she is today.
