that. Well with weddings, I wasn’t great at up-dos and
wanted to learn. There was an amazing stylist that I
had the opportunity to learn from and that was Linh
Nguyen. I worked my first wedding under him and then
started freelancing myself. From there, it grew to pho-
tography. This happened very early in my career and
I did learn a lot from that. That lead me to working
television shows. Linh moved to New York and become
the lead stylist for Project Runway and brought me on,
so from there, I was in New York half a week working,
then back to the DC area.
What has been one of the hardest
experience about working in your career?
Confidence. It took so long for me to really believe in
myself. There’s a lot of great artists out there who do all
types of makeup. Don’t size yourself up to other artists.
Just find what you really love and cheer yourself on. Be
your biggest fan, but stay humble.
Can you believe how we were
introduced?
“I know this is so crazy. Usually I’m handing out my
mother’s business cards and it’s funny to hear how she
handed out mine.”
Tell us a little about your career and how
you got started?
“I never really enjoyed school and a classmate told
me how much she enjoyed doing hair, so I started cos-
metology school in Manassas, VA. Right away, I real-
ized something was wrong and they were rushing me
through my learning process and I wanted to under-
stand what I was learning and paying so much money
for. That lead me to looking for an apprenticeship and
landing one at PR at Partners.
I worked there for eight years and I started out wash-
ing hair and studying because I went through their
program while also still going to cosmetology school.
I then quit cosmetology school because I was getting
more hand-on training at PR at Partners.
I found myself wanting a job and wanted to work as
a makeup artist to get experience in both industries, so
I was hired at MAC cosmetics as a freelance makeup
artist.
How did you land as a stylist on Project
Runway and photowork?
When I was working at MAC, I saw the demand for
freelance artist who were both makeup and hair stylist.
Since I was freelancing with MAC, I was able to do
What’s one makeup mistake you see a lot
of MUA’s even clients make?
Cleanliness. Clients, friends and family always have
the dirtiest brushes, sponges, makeup bags and acces-
sories. Give your skin a break and stay as clean as pos-
sible. As a makeup artist it is your duty! Have pride in
your work and always offer your clients the best and
highest standards.
You took some years off to travel and
focus on family. Now that you’re back and
in a since, restarting your career, what’s
your present focus?
Weddings is what I started doing and I realized that
was really my passion, so I’m going back into that av-
enue. That’s been my main focus and I’m starting to
build my brand now from being that salon person to
being that freelance person. I do a lot of work for pro-
fessional headshots and seeing my work on camera has
definitely sharpened my skills a lot.
You mentioned how doing free work
ultimately got you the future jobs you had.
What would you say to up-and-coming
stylist trying to pursue a career about
this?
Do your research! Learn the do’s and don’ts. A lot of
times you have one shot. If you blow it, there are no call
backs and no explanations as to why. Please be ready to
work hard and learn a lot. Never complain and stay off
your phone and butt while assisting! Stay professional
and quiet. Be an alert ninja with nothing but your men-
tor’s needs as a priority. Many great artists have gone
through the same. No one is asking for anything they
haven’t had to do themselves.
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