We were lucky to catch up with Brooke A. Mulholland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brooke A. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

I will never forget when I got my first client that had no relation to me. I remember thinking, how cool, weird and exciting is this?! A complete stranger having total faith in me simply from photos on social media. Still to this day when I get clients that way, it’s a surreal feeling. I experience imposter syndrome a lot, and this just solidifies that I have nothing to worry about.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Professionally, I am a freelance makeup artist nearing 10 years. I have had a passion for art always, but it wasn’t until highschool that I knew it was something I could see myself doing as a career.

You know the person in the friend group that’s always getting you ready before going out? That was me. & sometimes it got old because I was always asked to curl their hair poorly or put on false lashes, but ultimately I really enjoyed it.

I graduated Esthetics School in 2013 in hopes to pursue makeup full time. Little did I know, you have to build clientele just like any other person. Before and after photos have always been my way of showcasing my work. That didn’t mean they were good from the beginning, but it was a start. As long as there was a transformation, I was sharing it. This quickly jump started my Facebook and Instagram pages to become what they are today. A portfolio of making people feel confident in themselves, and there’s nothing more special than that.

Fast forward 9 years, and I began pursuing dry hair styling. I never had a yearn for it, yet at some point I decided I needed to challenge myself. And a challenge it was.

I don’t know what it is that makes me feel like I should always be learning, but I’m glad I got that gene. These past couple of months I began a career in Esthetics, which only took me 11 years to do… I had spent that time building my makeup business and putting esthetics on the back burner. That is, until just recently. After all, your makeup can only look as good as your skin.

One of my all time favorite ways I like to freshen up my skills as a hair and makeup artist, is by collaborating with photographers. Something about having complete and total creative freedom to do what I want is indescribable. All of the photos I will be attaching are from creative shoots. All but the one of me doing my bride’s makeup. It’s where I truly feel grounded and at my happiest.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a time I struggled in my career but never gave up… was during Covid. I wasn’t sure my dreams of becoming a full time makeup artist would ever come true, because it felt like there was no end in sight.

Weddings were postponed, which in turn meant that my career was too. Besides, no one wanted to be 6 feet apart from one another, let alone directly in their face. Unfortunately, my entire career was based off of that.

I was extremely discouraged and shut down my business until further notice. No more showcasing my work because, well, I didn’t have any. No more early Saturday mornings filled with dolling up beautiful brides, and that’s what hurt the most. Brides were the first ones to support me, and they still do to this day. I always say I got super lucky in my business, because at the time I started, there weren’t many bridal makeup artists, so the competition was slim to none. Now if you want to be a makeup artist, you have to fight tooth and nail to get the booking. But like I said, during Covid, we all struggled.

I thank God every day that we are at a place now that my brides can have the wedding they always dreamed of, without fear of having to cancel their big day. I was lucky enough to get straight back into bookings, and it’s been amazing ever since.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

My business wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the first makeup kit my mom bought me straight after Esthetics School. She has always been my biggest fan, and still cheers me on to this day.

I will never forget the Target run we made and how excited I was to get my hands dirty. I started with a couple makeup brushes, a foundation and concealer, bronzer, eyeshadow and a lipstick. That’s all I needed to make it work. Like I said earlier, times were different.

I worked at a nearby restaurant as a hostess, which allowed me to fund my makeup kit if I ever ran out of supplies. Because then, I wasn’t charging people to do their makeup. Instead, I offered to do it for free in exchange for photos of my work. And man, it worked. I am always showcasing my work by having creative content days. It allows me to hone in on different techniques, and step outside of my comfort zone.

Since the very beginning, any profit I make, goes straight back into the business. Sure, I’ll pay myself. But first, I have to invest back into my business if I want to stay afloat. These are all things I had to learn on my own. I didn’t have a manual teaching me these things, I had to learn by experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bam-mua-LLC.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bam.mua.llc?igsh=NzZzb21zZmdiejg%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brooke.alexandra.31?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-a-mulholland-13954a95

Image Credits

Nicky Wilmas
Liliya Sharipova
Nikki Foster