Being a makeup artist is a hard job to explain, its never been just about putting makeup on people.  I love being a makeup artist because it gives me the opportunity to intimately engage with someone and make them feel the most confident about themself as they can. I have worked with celebrities, productions, brides, teenagers, boudoir, and even nursing home fashion shows…whatever the reason to have makeup done the energy is always the same, supportive, encouraging, and infusing positivity with each brushstroke.  Owning a business has allowed me the opportunity to work with a group of women I believe in and who I can support in leadership to help them succeed.  I not only see makeup as an art it is an expression of love.

 

My life changed when I met my daughter’s preschool teacher Yvonne.  I know this sounds weird but stick with me on this.  My daughter goes to a Montessori school so she had the SAME teacher from age 3 to Kindergarten, Lily went an extra year so she was in her class for 4 years.  Yvonne has the most gentle spirit, always kind, always positive, she exudes peace, she listens, she never judges, she is always supportive and even when its time to be firm with the children she does it lovingly.  From my first meeting with her, I left in tears knowing that “when I grow up I want to be like Yvonne”.  Having Yvonne in our lives changed me for the better, I look at life differently, and hopefully, my interactions with those around me exemplify her influence.

 

I think a great leader LISTENS.  As I mentioned, I have a Masters degree in Leadership so  I have read a copious amount of books on leadership. For my thesis, I wrote a College Women’s Ministry plan.  Through all of my studies of corporate leadership, organization leadership and influence one thread are that the leaders who made the MOST  impact are the ones who were excellent listeners.  They engaged with the people around them with laser-beam focus on what they were communicating, the absorbed what they were saying and then they took mindful action based on what they heard the needs of the people they are serving.

 

Paint.  I am an artist of the face but not of the canvas.  My mother is an amazing artist.  I always look at her creation in awe that she knows how to paint and more importantly that she does it so beautifully.  I have a gallery of my mom’s work in my home and I cherish it.

 

Yes, the Brighton Center.  This organization provides SO many programs to our community that people aren’t even aware of.  For years, my makeup artists and hairstylists volunteered to give, as a “perk” of their graduation of the Center for Employee Training, hair cuts and job interview appropriate makeup lessons.  We met so many neat women who were committed to getting educated to take their family out of poverty it was impactful.  This is just one program not many people know about and there is so much more.  What the center does for our community is inspiring.

 

Seek wise counsel – instead of listening to what my other “young friends” thought about a decision I was faced with I should have looked for advice from people who knew better than I did.  I was a stubborn young person and made a lot of decisions on my own.

 

At one point in my career, I was running a national fitness competition makeup division of my company serving 20 states while working for NBC Sports while getting a Masters degree and being a mom.  The BEST thing I ever did was remove notifications from my phone (email, Facebook, Instagram) and instead set INTENTIONAL times a day that I was going to check so that way I wasn’t answering emails while I was trying to watch gymnastics practice or hearing my phone ding while trying to get out of the grocery store.  It removed so much pressure to eliminate that distraction and set boundaries for myself and my clients as to when I was going to respond.

 

Every morning I wake up and pray either on my own or through a guided prayer from a Pastor I follow online called Church Home and every night I go to bed listening to praise music and  I write down a list of things I am grateful for.  I start my day with God and end my day with God.  Making God a priority has changed everything in my life.