We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brittney McLain. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brittney below.
Brittney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.
As a Pro Makeup Artist, one thing about the industry I am in, its VERY saturated. There are a lot of us out there.
The biggest thing I have learned on the business side of things is not to sell yourself short. There is a big difference between working with peoples budgets and charging your worth. There was a point, when I first started out and I was doing Makeup for $45/face. Which, for a beginner, I thought was fair but the problem was that I really wasn’t taking in to account the business overhead I had. One tube of lipstick costs $20 so I was barely making any real profit and would pretty much come up even on taxes because I was spending more than I made so I was literally not making any profit.
Learn and understand Business plans and practices because in all reality- being a Makeup Artist is 20% Makeup and 80% business/admin work. When you understand the basics of business- thats where you will flourish. I wish I would have known that a lot sooner in my career. Having a logical business plan is key and giving it time to work. I usually re-visit my business plan at least once a year to see how im growing because thats ample time to review the logistics of when I’m busiest and what works and what doesn’t. I charge more now because I understand my worth but also, because its a business. Those who want you to do their makeup will pay the price- trust me. I had a lot of people that weren’t my ideal clients when I was charging $45 and struggling to make ends meet. Your price reflects your work & clients you attract. Learn to pay yourself from your business rather than taking the full amount being paid to you and with different finance apps – streamline your services and payments and learn to pay yourself 60% of what you make and save 20% for taxes and the other 20% for your over head costs.
Invest in your business by taking regular sanitation courses – By law I take one every 2 years in ordinance with my license but every Makeup Artist, licensed or not, needs those courses as well as good business insurance. And its not near as expensive as auto insurance – I hear that a lot as an excuse but it will literally save you if an emergency pops up. Luckily I haven’t had to use it but there is a sense of securing your business with having it. These two things will definitely help an Artist stand out.
I’m also 100% mobile so I travel to all my clients and they really love that convenience.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I started my journey in the makeup industry at 20 when I walked into a M.A.C. Cosmetics store and the manager said I looked like a M.A.C. girl (Piercings, tattoos, dressd in black), which was around 2009. Inspired by the OG Makeup influencers like Lana Reiss and Michelle Phan, I created my first creative makeup look on myself that resembled the Jamaican flag before committing to a cosmetology school to get dual licenses for both skin and hair care a few years later.
When starting out in the salon industry, I found it difficult to gain clients and so asked if I could start offering makeup services. After buying an airbrush kit and moving to my own suite, word got around that I was doing makeup. After gaining some education and certifications, I decided to go back to M.A.C.,for a more hands – on job experience so I could gain even more education. I worked off and on for M.A.C. & Ulta Beauty from 2014 to 2018.
In 2014, I was asked by the producer of a Fox Sports TV show (The Drew Pearson Show) if I would be willing to do makeup work for a former Dallas Cowboy & Pro Football Player, Drew Pearson. A friend of mine gushed about me to him so I was very fortunate for that opportunity. I was able to get close with Drew and had the opportunity to meet some celebrity guests like Korn, Drowning Pool, Randy White and Nikki McKibbin. This experience gave me the chance to use my hair and makeup services uniquely and opened the door for more opportunities. I worked for Drew and Fox Sports off and on seasons for about 7 years. I really enjoyed that time in my career.
From there, I got a call from an Agency I briefly worked with who dispatched me to a Runway show in Uptown Dallas and there I met one of Dallas’ socialites from Big, Rich Texas, Melissa Poe. Their show was featured on Style Network and I got to do her makeup for her engagement party, so that was really cool.
I continued this work and eventually went on to do a small film and a few commercial jobs. I did all of this independently and decided that I really loved the driving and traveling I got to do. I knew at that time I wanted to do this for as long as possible.
If we fast forward to now, 2023- I think a lot about my time in the industry and all that I have experienced. I really just threw myself out there. Its scary to think about it now but I had so much excitement and still do! I hit a new milestone in 2022 of being published, thanks to an amazing Photographer whom I work with regularly, Tim Bracey. And this is my second interview ever in my career and I’m so grateful. I still pinch myself in the mornings.
I will say, a huge tip for anyone wanting to do the same type of work – GROW A TOUGH SKIN. Its a very dog-eat-dog industry and its very saturated. Finding ways to keep your boundaries and integrity is huge. You will be asked to do so many different things that may not be in your immediate wheelhouse so it’s especially important to be able to “think on your feet,” and be prepared for anything.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
There are several elements that I believe are core factors for establishing yourself in this industry and I follow them all.
Be dependable, professional, truthful, consistent in your work, authentic and practice often. Have a clean, neat and sanitary kit because people do notice those things.
I had a client recently who was hesitant on getting her makeup done because she had “sensitive skin.” My job is to obviously investigate this further so I asked follow up questions and it turned out, she had a terrible experience with another artist who didn’t have enoiugh clean brushes & clean tools. The artist used dirty brushes on her skin and she broke out. She was under the “pre-impression” that I only had like 8 brushes in my kit – I have over 100 brushes. Once I talked her through my process of how I properly sanitize my brushes, clean my kit on a weekly basis – she was game to have her makeup done.
Because of the things mentioned above, people will always send referrals because they know they will be satified, safe and consulted with.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I had my children. This is probably the biggest pivot i’ve had because I really struggled with the right work/life balance. Its still something I’m practicing because my girls are still young. Our oldest is 12 and our youngest is 4 so it takes a lot of support and a dependable partner as well. A lot of people don’t have as much support as they’d like, that makes navigating those waters harder so finding the right people that can help you is very important.
Knowing when to take a break or time off is important to keep the balance alive because “burn out” happens especially fast when you over work yourself. Nothing will make you lose passion for what you do faster than over working. Money is important, but prioritizing your mental an physical health is just as important. Especially if you have children.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.babemakeupartistry.com
- Instagram: babemakeupartistry
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/babeartistry
Image Credits
Artist photo: JuliaMarieCreative Photos of work: Tim Bracey Photography