We were lucky to catch up with Chariti Dawson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chariti, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned how to do makeup through YouTube, I watched my first makeup tutorial in 2016 and became obsessed ever since. I would learn all types of tips and I just felt so inspired watching beauty gurus create different makeup looks. I love knowing how to transform from keeping it natural to creating a full on “beat”. I definitely wouldn’t have been so focused on keeping my makeup looks trendy but rather keeping it about my natural creativity. I was really trying to grow my audience when I first started doing makeup so to a certain extent I can definitely understand why hopping on the latest trend was necessary. However, I wish I would’ve invested more time into really showing my own creativity like I’m doing now. Beauty is beauty and it shouldn’t be defined by anyone but you and what makes you feel beautiful.
Practice, practice, practice! Doing makeup is a skill that doesn’t come easy for a lot of people. I have a natural skill to be able to do a really good wing liner, it came so easy for me. Contouring and highlighting on the other hand did not, I really had to keep practicing on myself because it’s very important to contour and highlight based on your features and not just because you saw it in a makeup tutorial. With that being said, never stop practicing and never stop learning!
At one point I did stop investing my time into learning more because I felt like I started seeing the same old things. Everyone was focused on whatever was trending at the time and it just became very boring for me but it did help me realize that I can also learn from myself by experimenting with my own ideas and creating different looks of my own.

Chariti, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I attended Paul Mitchell the School of Orlando, FL in 2016. I originally attended the school to become a professional hair stylist which I later discovered that it was not my passion at all and I was completely uninterested. However, I completed the 11 month program anyway. Being that it had a three week makeup course that’s what really got me started with understanding the basics of makeup like complexion, undertones and mixology. One day my sister showed me these vloggers/beauty gurus called ‘The Glam Twinz’ on YouTube. She watched them for their vlogs but thought I’d be interested in their beauty channel so I checked it out and it was the inspiration from them that made me want to be a makeup artist. I became so invested in learning makeup tips and ideas from them and other influencers, I instantly knew that I was still suppose to be working in the beauty industry just not in the way that I imagined. Everything just came so natural to me for the most part. So I created a Youtube Channel of my own called ‘Chariti Sinae’ and started creating my own beauty content from makeup, skincare, hair and hygiene videos. I would upload content weekly trying to stay as consistent as possible. I just love helping people feel beautiful and enhancing the natural beauty that we all have. I enjoy showing others how to work with what you have without splurging on products that are outside of your budget, because not everyone wants to splurge on makeup. Most people just want a product that’ll get the job done or some people don’t have the time to invest an hour or two into doing their makeup. I love making it convenient even though I definitely can take an hour doing my makeup depending on the look and I’ll even splurge on a product if it’s worth it. However, I’ve gained enough experience to be able to educate others on cutting down the time as well as being able to provide duplicate products of those that are more expensive.
I knew I wanted to build up clientele and eventually start doing makeup on other people so I practiced a lot and I started applying for beauty positions at retail stores. So I really started gaining experience by working at Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Nordstrom, MAC and NYX. Working for jobs such as those is what really took my growth and career to the next level and I’m really grateful for all the experience I’ve gained while doing so.
Although, I am no longer accepting clients I still educate others on my social media platforms. I create makeup tutorials while providing tips on how to achieve makeup looks. I give skincare advice because skincare is another one of my passions. I provide all the tools and tricks when it comes to beauty in general, I’ve realized that I really love teaching it now more than doing it. You can find me on YouTube & Instagram @CHARITISINAE.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being able to express myself in so many ways! As an artist, I express myself through my hair, makeup, fashion and writing, not just my personality or character. That’s what being an artist is all about which is what many non-creatives won’t understand. It’s so freeing being able to be my true, authentic self inside and out. You’ll see it and you’ll definitely feel it. I love switching it up. My style can change at anytime depending on my mood and that’s what I love the most because I know that I can make anything work. I can make anything look good because the #1 rule to being yourself is CONFIDENCE. I just love encouraging others to do the same. Be you, stay true to who you are, be brave and bold about it. That’s something that comes so naturally to artists and I just love being apart of the community.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Starting out in this industry as a small influencer is never easy but it’s rewarding because you gain so much experience and knowledge which eventually makes it hard to not notice you. You gain so much work with even more to show for it. Which is why I think smaller influencers should be given more of a chance because we really do work so hard to build and grow our platforms especially in today’s day. It is actually a lot harder to be noticed and acknowledged by brands and just by people in general when you’re trying to build your audience simply because it’s so overly saturated now. I know that’s what makes me so resilient, the fact that I can keep working and continue to reach my goals because I know this is apart of my purpose. This is a real dream of mine so I’m going to chase it no matter what. Yes, I’ve been disappointed by my progress or results before but giving up means that I have simply given up on myself and I can’t do that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @charitisinae
• Facebook: Chariti Dawson
• Twitter: @charitisinae_
• Youtube: Chariti Sinae
• Other: TikTok @charitisinae_