A little bit about me. Lover of crème brulee, flannel sheets, beauty products, anything lavender scented, my 2 crazy dogs, and of course my husband. The list could go on and on but the number one question that I am always asked is how did I end up with a career in makeup?
I have been beauty obsessed since I was little. I remember Easter morning; I was probably about 5 years old and I got a bag of malted milk chocolate eggs in my Easter basket. I busted into the bag immediately, grabbed the pink one, licked it, and rubbed it on my lips so that it looked like lipstick. Strange, I know, but creative none the less. This continued throughout my tween years. I would use my little sister and her friends as models, doll them up for dance recitals and save my babysitting pay for the newest mascara. High school wasn’t much different. I loved helping friends get ready for dates and proms. By then I had acquired a serious caboodle filled with enough cosmetics to paint my childhood bedroom.
I didn’t plan on having a career in makeup. It was just something that I always enjoyed and considered a hobby. After high school, I headed off to college for fashion design and then explored a few career paths but none felt right and I wasn’t happy. After a lot of soul searching and research, I decided to go back to school for my Esthetics license. I always loved skincare, face masks, and makeup. It seemed like a great fit.
I thoroughly enjoyed esthetics school. It was something that I was very interested in and I finally felt like I was where I belonged. I learned so much about skincare, product ingredients, skin disorders, skin diseases, makeup, sunscreens, etc. After completing the esthetics program and passing the state boards, I was honored when they asked me to run the makeup program at the school I had graduated from. I taught both the day and night classes. It was great to be able to share my knowledge with others and overcome my fear of public speaking.
While working at the school, I also worked part time at a local day spa. I would help out with special occasion makeup and events. I met a lot of great contacts through the spa and the esthetics school and was able to work different trend shows and fashion shows. I eventually gathered up enough courage to start my own freelance makeup artistry business. While in school, I was introduced to the jane iredale mineral makeup line. The product line is phenomenal. The products are clean. They are free of chemicals, fillers, talc, petroleum, FD& C dyes, added fragrance, parabens, etc. They are cruelty free products and they look amazing on the skin. A lot of the products also contain sunscreen and have the Skin Cancer Foundation seal of approval. It was a no brainer for me to start my business using this line.
I had a website developed by a dear friend, joined a local bridal group, attended bridal expos and the word of mouth referrals started pouring in. As luck would have it, I was doing makeup for a beautiful bride at a local hair salon when she told me that she worked for Iredale Mineral Cosmetics. I told her how much I loved the products and the company and that I would love to be a part of it someday. Well, that someday came a few months later when the bride sent me an email with a job opening at Iredale Mineral Cosmetics. She said that I could use her as a referral and that it would be a great way to get my foot in the door.
I have now been at Iredale Mineral Cosmetics for over 5 years. I work in the New Business Department. I spread the word about how great the products are and help other businesses have as much success with the product line as I do. It is the perfect fit for me and merges beautifully with my own freelance business. I could not be happier. I consider myself extremely lucky to love what I do. To say that I live and breathe makeup is surely an understatement!