We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittney Everson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brittney , appreciate you joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?
I’ll never forget taking my first minor as a client. She was about fourteen years old and was suffering from teenage acne. During the consultation, her mother informed me that the child was being bullied at school because of her breakout. I felt terrible because I had my own personal experience regarding acne so I knew how much it sucked feeling like you have no control over your acne and I’m also no stranger to how cruel people can be when they see you from this “new” point of view. Helping her meant more to me than she actually knew. I recommended she saw me at least once a month I gave her product recommendations as well as a home regimen that wouldn’t be too complicated to commit to. Fast forward a year and she is still one of my most consistent clients and her skin is flourishing! She literally glows when she comes into my treatment room. I now see her every 2-3 months for maintenance. I’m so thankful that I played a part in this young lady regaining her confidence.
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?
For those who are clueless to who I am, my name is Brittney Everson, better known as BrittneySharde on social media. I’m a professional Makeup Artist and founder of BrittneySharde Cosmetics as well as a Licensed Esthetician. I’m from Miami, Florida and I’ve been a makeup artist for roughly six years now and I’ve been in the esthetics field for a year and a half. As an esthetician, I offer several different facial services including, but not limited to, dermaplaning and microdermabrasion, body and intimate waxing and brow enhancement services. I’m currently undergoing training for permanent makeup and I plan on offering those services some time this year. How I got into this industry is interesting and a little traumatizing. It was some years back, before ever thinking about wanting to become an esthetician, I suffered from the wildest breakout of my life. I was in college, going through my first heartbreak, failing classes, and just stressed beyond measure. When the breakout started, I didn’t think much of. Maybe it’s just a pimple from all of the stress or maybe it’s that time of the month. All of that changed when I realized my day-to-day products weren’t working for me anymore. Let’s keep in mind I always had fairly nice skin. The breakout was so bad, I had to see a dermatologist and I ended up being diagnosed with hormonal cystic acne.
I was placed on so many medications to try and stop it but literally nothing worked. In fact, the topical prescription burned my face and the oral pill made me weak and sick to my stomach. I was unrecognizable at one point. After about year of dealing with the acne, I decided to just accept this would be my new appearance. That’s when i met a lady who was an employee at my local beauty store. She recommended a product from her job and I figured why not give it a shot. Like, what’s the worse that could happen? I already look crazy!
So I started my new skincare regimen, incorporating the new face cleanser. After about a 2-3 weeks I notice my acne was beginning to dry up. As you could imagine, I was ecstatic, but I continued using the product and I remained consistent. About two months went by and the acne had completely gone away and it was now time to work on the acne scars! If it’s not one thing, it’s another! If you read my previous feature, where I spoke more on myself as a professional makeup artist, then you know I am an alumni of YouTube University. I searched and watched so many videos of how people got rid of their post acne scarring and hyperpigmentation and I followed suit. It was here where my love for skincare began.
I decided to take things serious in 2021 when officially enrolled into esthetics school. That was challenging enough considering I was a manager by day, student by night and a full-time mommy. Life was coming at me fast but I developed a different type of passion for skincare. It was personal and that helped me push through. Being a black female in this field is so rewarding because coming up, ninety percent of the skincare products we had knowledge of was not ideal for ethnic skin. Since self care and having healthy youthful skin is a never ending trend, I think its time for us all to benefit from it. In a world of constant comparisons, filters and unrealistic expectations, my goal as an esthetician is to bring natural beauty back to the forefront. I hate to speak on things prematurely, so I will say stay tuned. I have some major projects brewing.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
If I could go back, the beauty and esthetics industry would definitely still be my profession of choice. Since I was a little girl, I was always confident and into my looks. I was a young diva so its surprise that I’m landed myself in this field. I wish I would’ve know sooner that this would be my line of work but everything happens for a reason. I’m still early into my career but I have no plans of stopping anytime soon. I have big plans for my brand. I have aspirations of being one of the biggest African American Estheticians to come out of South Florida. As long as I stay true to myself, my mission and I keep God first, everything else will follow.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Social Media is without a doubt the most effective strategy used to grow my clientele. Instagram is my main social media platform at the moment and word spreads like wildfire there thanks to the reel’s feature. In addition to social media, word of mouth is just as powerful. A person will never for get how you made them feel, good or bad. This is where customer service comes in to play. I try my best to ensure all of my clients are treated with respect and feel valued. We talk, we laugh, and if need be, we cry. I don’t like to think of myself as just providing a service, but an experience that’ll keep them coming back and referring others.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: BrittneyShardeCosmetics
Image Credits
@shotsviajojo