How do you define “Makeup Artist”? What does this title mean? Does it mean just putting makeup on another persons face? What visually comes to mind when you think of a “Makeup Artist”?

Maybe it’s someone head to toe in black; wearing flawless makeup, a tight pin-skirt, 5-inch patent leather heels, sheer ebony stockings, and an “investment piece” fitted, black blazer (popped collar) doing a “fierce runway walk in places that don’t have a runway because “the world is their runway”?

Do they have a Louis Vuitton bag, a German engineered ride (from Daddy), and enough buzz alluding to a delusion of success that they want the world to share?

But what does success actually mean? Making money of course- but how does that money come in? How does this daytime Cat Woman get clients in her chair? Maybe her boyfriend is “good with computers” and did her website. Maybe her Daddy bought her a studio and made it look just like a hybrid of a Mac counter and the Juicy store. Is she paying him back? Or was it a gift?

Lets review the definition of “Stereotype”:

Stereotype: a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Well for a particular group to be “stereotyped”, enough of them have to be engaging in some sort of consistent behavior or overall presence for the stigma to exist. And regardless of the “Politically Correct” part of us furrowing our brows at the word “Stereotype”— we all know that that the word wouldn’t exist if it didn’t have some sort of relevance or meaning.

So why is it that this stereotype of a “Makeup Artist” exists? Is it because some of the questions I have are consistent with your own beliefs of “Makeup Artistry”? Is it because all of the makeup artists you’ve seen hauling around their kit look like Vampire Stewardesses de-boarding a plane with horse blinders on? And by the way- do all makeup artists not look left or right when they walk? Do they have stronger peripheral vision than the rest of the world?

While I am digressing a bit, I’m not really— because it is this very stereotype that motivates me to pioneer a culture change. Call me a modern day Norma Ray, that’s fine, but I cannot go one more day without doing something to stop this viral stereotype.

I want to redefine the title of “Makeup Artist”, strip it of all its clichés and stereotypes, and let it allude to the many hats required of this title that have nothing to do with makeup artistry.

So what does “makeup artist” mean? Well let’s look at the phrase. We have the word ‘Makeup’ modifying the noun ‘Artist’.

According to Wiki: An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts, and/or demonstrating an art.

In the arts, a medium is a material used by an artist or designer to create a work.

So basically “makeup” is the material that we choose to work with and “artist” is our title. Plain and simple.

So keeping all of this in mind, why is Makeup Artistry perceived as something not even remotely connected to the general perception of art? Why is it that when we think of “artist” (as a culture) “makeup” is not a word that comes to mind? Even with the title “Makeup Artist,” people still don’t seem to connect it to the world of Visual Arts.

Do I have tangible research to prove this? Have I scoured the Lexus Nexus database for any facts proving this cultural phenomenon? No. Because this is a grey area that no one seems to talk about, let alone document.

The bottom line is that we owe it to our title of “Makeup Artist” to preserve its actual definition. Not what our culture has decided it should be.

Faces are our canvases, makeup is our medium. We are artists. We just happen to have more animated and opinionated canvases than the rest.

And I do get the “all black” thing—its because makeup artists are mostly backstage so the black blends in—right? But if you’re at a counter in the middle of Nordstrom you’re not really backstage?

It’s the entire process of actually getting out there and understanding the tools that will allow you to have full control of your presence.

I’ve been doing this for 11 years, and I can tell you with confidence that the “makeup doing” part is about 20% of your actual job. The rest of your time is consumed with everything else that allows you to continue to do makeup. Which essentially is getting more clients in your chair.

My own ability to give equal attention to the creating, presenting, and demonstrating process (according to the definition) will always allow me to keep my roots in my artistry and grow as a business. Regardless of the step I’m in at the moment—I’m always connected to my art.

If you allow one of the processes to consume you, than the others fall short. You can’t spend your entire day just playing with makeup. And even though there might be someone out there that just wants to do everyone’s makeup for free and doesn’t care about money (most likely a Collegiate Anthropologie sudo-hippie being entirely funded from their Gastroenterologist father) the rest of us pursuing this have to do it for some sort of financial gain.

I wrote this in an email to someone the other day; I liked it so much that I put it on my blog, and now for you…

An artist cannot feel total freedom painting a canvas in a ball gown. A makeup artist cannot feel total freedom diving onto the floor of a photo shoot to fix a models eyelash wearing a pin skirt and heels. Wearing all black doesn’t’t make you a makeup artist. But literally wearing makeup (on your clothes)… That just means that you’have been consumed by your art. And when that happens, the only canvas you’re concerned about perfecting is the one you’re working on.

In a culture where “presentation” is everything—should it be to the point that you physically can’t do what you need to because you’re in patent leather stilts? Are we some consumed with presentation that we favor it over what’s actually being presented?

Lets say you asked a chef to wear a Herve Leger dress and 5 inch Pigalle Louboutins. So she wears it but can’t get around the kitchen quick enough. The pasta ends up soft and gross and the meat is totally over cooked. Was it worth it? Do you favor presentation to the point that you’re willing to eat a horrible dinner? NO.

My daily “to-do” list has nothing to do with heels. It’s a no-couture zone. I spend way too much time on a ladder holding a drill to be worried about getting mascara on my trendy black corset.

There is something I like to call “The Glass Ceiling named ‘Ego’”—that so many artists heads unfortunately end up hitting. Above that ceiling is a world of growth and potential. But the one thing keeping that glass in place is their ego. So present in its nature that it actually has physically manifested itself.

For Artists, there is no day that you stop learning. There is never an environment that cannot teach you something—either directly or indirectly. Once the realization is met that you will NEVER be the “best” you will always push yourself harder.

In the first couple years I officially took on makeup as my “career” I remember feeling like the absolute “best.” I was completely unaware of what “greatness” meant in terms of makeup artistry. But as I grew as an artist and became more aware of the vast world of makeup artistry, I very quickly realized that my ego was not even remotely parallel to where my artistry actually was. And even worse, it was completely inhibiting my ability to grow and learn.

There was a pivotal moment in my life that spurred this epiphany. I worked for MAC at the time, and was at the pro store for a monthly class that reviewed the new products. The artist teaching the class was reviewing a technique- and I (like the Diva I was) thought it was beneath me. I thought I knew everything.

So as everyone was practicing this new technique I sat alone in a quiet revolt. This artist walked up to me and whispered in my ear “If you push past your ego, and you push past the fact that you just don’t like being ‘taught’- you might learn something.”

This moment was so odd for me because my reaction in any other situation (at that time in my life) would be to flip out. But for some reason this just hit me. It hit me in a way that made me realize that there was a reason WHY she was a teacher and I was a student, why she worked at PRO and I worked at a NJ counter. She was, plain and simple, far more experienced than I was. And despite my cocktail of embarrassment and rage- I got it.

Humility and a thirst for knowledge washed over me. And in that life changing moment my relationship with my own artistry changed. I saw it as something I could constantly examine, inspect, and improve.

I remember the person, the day, and the precise situation that made me realize just how much I had to learn. And even though my pride stung the walls of my throat- I knew that accepting this fact (rather than letting my own ignorance blind me) was what would allow me to become the artist I wanted to be.

It has been my endless source of motivation. I am never completely content with where things are and because of this I always push myself harder. I enjoy the moments I feel like an absolute loser and failure. Because its that moment that pushes me to soak in the knowledge that will prevent that failing moment to duplicate itself.

Have you ever been extremely insanely happy? Like so happy it was borderline uncomfortable? Was there was a small piece of yourself that didn’t think you deserved that happiness? So you called a person that your hopeful side assumed would share your joy but your subconscious side knew would diminish it? And like clock work, the person you called was a complete jerk and your joy evaporated.

This is just good old, self-destructive, “I don’t deserve happiness” behavior at its best.

We all do this. We all look for bad advice. And that’s fine if your trying to rationalize why dating a complete idiot makes sense. Somewhere you need to hear, out loud, that he is, in fact, “an idiot”. But if this behavior is NOT something you can recognize and compartmentalize—it can be beyond devastating to your early stages of growth as a business. It can actually stop it in its tracks.



If you want to be a makeup artist and truly pave your own way you should really be aware of how much of an impact bad advice can make.



The stage of cultivation is so very fragile. And the self-destructive parts of all of us want to hear something that makes our dreams a farther reality than we thought. In some sick way it allows us to feel safe and in the cycle of what we define as our “routine.”



Has Uncle Herman said “Way too risky—you need liability insurance, a 401k, health insurance” blah blah blah?



And your dreams get back-pocketed quicker than a receipt you’re trying to hide?



We can either communicate with people that have advice based on actual entrepreneurial knowledge or we can communicate with people that really have no knowledge about owning a business first hand- but just vehemently believe “it’s a bad idea.”

TOM PRESTON: Deviant Art-I actually found this cartoon on a website called “Deviant Art” and this person made this many years after he realized how much bad advice had impacted the decisions he made. He now understands that had he followed his instincts his current reality would be based on passion.

I try to encourage all of my students to have “problems” relevant to their current reality— not the reality they hope to have.

We allow ourselves to be distracted by problems not relevant to where our business is as of now. If I didn’t have a client in my chair— I should focus my energy on getting my business out there rather than “Liability Insurance” (Uncle H’s Idea).

The reason I stress this is so that people can clear their own path to their goal and maybe push past it. If you remove the obstacles that have manifested from bad advice or your own doubt in yourself—you will see there is clear road to your future.

I encourage you to hold on to your own belief in yourself as hard as you can. Despite all of the “advice”, horror stories, and everyone encouraging you to do everything but follow your instincts- you have to allow the voice inside you to be the loudest. Listen to it, ignore everyone else’s, and go for it. There is no better time to become your own best friend.

You manage the reality you currently have to prepare for the future. You don’t manage your reality around your plans for the future.

Meaning, if I were just starting out as a makeup artist, I wouldn’t build my branding scheme around the color for a couch I haven’t bought yet, for a studio I don’t have yet. I would just use the colors that I like.

A good barometer for determining whether or not what you “need” is an actual necessity is this: Is what your interested in Investing in more or less than what you have actually made as a makeup artist?

The bottom line is that your dreams can be a reality. Being a “makeup artist” does not mean that you are exclusive to makeup. You can use all of your talents and tie them into one comprehensive line of services that has never been offered. You can use the colors, textures, and patterns you love to create a brand that celebrates your own ideas. You CAN do the things that you would normally ask Dad, Hubby, or boyfriend all on your own. The reward is not only in the accomplishment, but also in knowing that you can do it again.

Also, from a financial standpoint it allows you to be within your means. We are constantly being impacted by Convergence. Convergence is all the various forms of media (cell phone, computers, television, billboards, etc.) telling the same message. For our society, the consistent message seems to be that buying a certain product validates us as human beings and can allude to a particular level of success. As a byproduct, we believe that if we earn $1000 we should spend $1200. There is no message out there that seems to say that “things” have nothing to do with our individual identity.

Point being, this mentality can infect your ability to make purchases relevant to your actual needs as a business. Yes, you can hire someone to install fancy blinds, or you can get scrap fabric and a nail gun and do it yourself. You can buy the fancy glass table from Restoration Hardware, or you can find a glass table for $50 on Craigslist.

If you start things being almost under your means, you can allow your focus to be entirely on the growth and success of your artistry and business. However, if you start a business 20k in the hole based on the purchase of insurances, licenses, a studio (everyone’s “recommendations”) and any other “things” that really don’t have any relevance to your current reality (which is that you haven’t made even $1 as a makeup artist), than your not working towards building your artistry and business, your working towards absorbing that debt. You will not only siphon the creativity and passion from your new business, but you will also have increased the risk of failure 10 fold by not making strategic steps based on where your business is as of today.

As I have grown as a business I have understood that a learned skill set has a great deal more value than a borrowed one. Meaning my ability to take pictures myself is far more valuable both financially and artistically than hiring a photographer. My ability to get on a ladder with a drill is far more valuable to my business than hiring someone else. I used to assume things like drills, ladders, 2×4′s, HVAC Maintenance (basically everything you would have the “male” in your house do) would never be in my future. But as I slowly conquered all of the skill sets that I would typically contract out- I retained that much more control of my business.

Maybe in 100 years this newsletter will find itself in a glass case in a glorious tea-stained hue, commemorating the “Makeup Artists are Artists” movement. There might be pictures of people burning black expensive clothing and wearing various Post-It shades of color. I could be holding my brush high in air as I burst out that last line of a speech that makes everyone scream with joy! Maybe next to the letter is an amendment to an extremely important political document saying something like…

No Makeup Counter shall enforce any policy, which shall abridge the privileges’ of an individual to either express or perform their artistry. Nor, shall any company subjugate its employees to footwear specific to gender.

Am I a bit ahead of myself? Maybe a touch. But what can we do collectively to change this viral stereotype? Do I have to spend my days pacing the length of every mall in the tri-state area sporting my signature combat boots, off the should sweatshirt, and scrappy ponytail with a sign written in lipstick…”I’m a makeup artist too!”

Maybe that will change perception. Or land me in the mall security holding office. One or the other.

A more “Sane” approach would be to share everything I know about business and artistry and help other people following their dream. A One-stop-shop for learning about makeup artistry and what to do with that education in the real world. A place where people can avoid years of trial and error and go into a business with a level of protocol and technique that will catapult their dream into a reality.

This is why I started The Glam Academy. I wanted to create a place where passion was encouraged. Where students have a specific plan and strategy after the program. What is the use of learning a specific trade and having no clue on what to do with the skill set when you leave? For makeup artists— that means getting the client in your chair. Which ultimately is having a business.

Use all the things that are unique about you as a spotlight.

Use it to create an overall vibe and presence that is just as tangible as any other company. Use your talents, whatever they may be, as things that allow you to be that much more of a one-stop shop. Realize that the things that come naturally to you may not come so easy to others. The discovery of those “things” will allow you to be an arsenal of knowledge for others.

Makeup Artistry doeskin’t mean “makeup counter” it means Artist—plain and simple. Do I shun cosmetic counters? Not at all. But I do believe its a shame that its perceived as one of the only options on the menu.