When the Passion Began...

     I've always been the very "dainty" kind of girl. You know- the "sugar, spice, and everything nice" type. I wore dresses just about everyday, my favorite past times were "playing school", pretending to be a part of  a "girl (singing) group", and of course...playing BARBIEs!

     I loved everything about a Barbie doll! Her clothes, her hair, even her makeup! Wait...Did I just type makeup?...Why, of course! Something about the way all of those vivid, fun colors came together to create this perfect harmony of highlights, contours, and hues that really got my attention! Like many other girls my age, of course I wanted to be like Barbie- not in that "girls rule the world" sort of way. I just wanted to look good!
     I remember being about 6-8 years old, trying to look like a Barbie doll by trying out my mother's "Cherry Jubilee" lipstick from Avon. Of course, I'd wait until she was fast asleep or at work before I'd sneak into her room and dig through the makeup on her vanity! I'd smear that deep, red lipstick on my lips, grab a hairbrush, and do my best "Barbie and the Rockers (or JEM)" ensemble! When I had on "face paint", you could tell me NOTHING! I knew I was a star!

     By the time I turned 12, I'd save my $5 allowance, strut to Eckerd's drugstore and purchase my own Wet N' Wild lipstick to wear. Of course, by this time, my motive was no longer about imitating dolls or "pretty" cartoon divas, but to become more appealing to the cute boys in school! In many cases, it actually worked! It was about this time that I came to realize that the relationship I had with "makeup" would evolve into a lifelong one!
      It seemed the older I became, the better I became at applying products. All throughout high school, I'd get compliments on my makeup from the night time/party looks I used to wear for the school dances to the heavier, (dare I say) "clownish" looks I had to wear for competitive dance! I had no clue that this little "hobby/passion" of mine would later reinvent itself in my life as a lucrative career!
      As a professional makeup artist, every day that I get to apply beauty enhancing products to a client's face, something inside me jumps for joy! Why? Because I love the art of being able to reinvent oneself, I love being the artist who gets to do this for others, and I especially love seeing the expression on someones face who's just been "made over". They literally appear to "glow" from within! I'm telling you, there's something "magical" about this art and I'm so thankful that I have a true passion for it!