Hey guys,
I hope you’re having a great week! This month has been a very busy wedding month here in Puerto Rico and working with brides is one of my favorite parts of being a makeup artist. What’s great about this profession is that you have so many different settings to choose from. If you’re not a fan of bridal makeup you can work on TV, theater, editorial, etc. This month marks a year since I started my Master Makeup Artistry course at QC Makeup Academy and during this year I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to experience a few of those different work settings. I’m sure this is just the beginning of a great future with many more experiences but here are my top 5 career highlights so far!
1. Working with brides and their bridal party
Like I said before, I love working with brides. You have to be prepared to deal with nerves and possibly some extra picky brides. You must be tactful and a very good listener. It’s so exciting to see the bride all ready and teary-eyed thanking you for your work. I always get emotional when I see the bride all dressed up or they send me their professional photographs after the wedding. You’re part of their story so you should feel extra proud of a job well done!
2. Working at a magazine photoshoot
I had the opportunity of working at a magazine shoot as part of the beauty team. We were 3 people doing makeup and there were 43 models! It was fast-paced and nerve-wracking but so cool! I almost entered a trance-like state while doing the models’ faces. Nothing else existed but my model and me for those 30 minutes or so that I had to do her full face of makeup. I was very happy with the 12 girls I did but I honestly wasn’t so happy with the editing of the photos. They were super retouched and didn’t really showcase the makeup done. Either way it was a great learning experience!
3. Working with a teen beauty pageant contestant
A couple of months after working for the quinceañera magazine shoot, one of the girls contacted me to do her hair and makeup for the day of the beauty pageant. It was much smoother sailing with her being my only client that day, rather than the day of the shoot. There were a lot more MUAs at the theater since each girl brought her own. Nobody spoke to each other, only a couple who asked to borrow my small scissors a couple of times.
4. Working makeup for a music video
I recently had the very cool experience of working on set for a Puerto Rican metal band’s music video. I re-watched the course’s male makeup video before working on this job. All the band members were male so makeup was minimal but it was awesome staying on set and listening to the music and doing touch-ups. I even had to be an extra in the video because they were a few people short! The video still hasn’t come out but I will let you guys know once it does. 🙂
5. My first gig with CNBC
This August I received one of the most exciting and heart-stopping calls ever. I got a call from CNBC New York to do hair & makeup for Kate Kelly, one of their reporters who was going to be in Puerto Rico for two days. I had never worked TV but I thought, “This is an experience that could probably never repeat itself.” I told the producer I had no experience with TV but she was really cool, and since I had previous experience with editorial she offered me the job anyways. I had to wake up at 3:00am to be at her hotel room at 5:00am. The first work day was almost 11 hours long, mostly under the sun on-site. The crew was amazing and very helpful since I didn’t know what the heck a “hit” was. It was an awesome but stressful experience since you have so little time to do touchups but I learned so much! I worked the next day and the next month they called me again!
Here’s wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and keep on dreaming!
Bug hugs,
Nichole
