Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Zelaya. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Courtney, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Hello! My name is Courtney Zelaya, 27 years old, and I have been a Freelance Makeup Artist in Raleigh, North Carolina for the past 5 years.

I learned to perfect my craft in makeup artistry by studying different skills & application processes by various talented makeup artists in the industry as well as investing in courses online and in-person on models, myself included to truly learn after trial and error. This was helpful as learning different techniques to apply to different skin types, what products work well with what and what’s best to do to achieve every desired look for my clients. Knowing what I know now, I believe there is never a true time limit on learning as every experience is a learning one and I aim to always consider that as my business grows and clientele does too.

The most important skills, in my opinion, are those that were practiced on a skin-to-skin basis. I can read tips and tricks all day but the true learning moment for me is what I’m in front of my client, or model in that instance to gain better knowledge on products and skin types.

When asked about what obstacles were in the way when learning more that would be mainly, learning to be patient with each client. It’s important to always be in a position to learn and not get frustrated, or overwhelmed when one thing doesn’t work on another skin type. Always being prepared to learn and discover a new technique is my main focus when working and growing in this industry as a freelance makeup artist.

Courtney, 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?

My name is Courtney Zelaya and I am a 27-year old Trinidadian Freelance Makeup Artist located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Previously known as Courtside Glam Makeup Artistry but recently named, Glam By Court Makeup Artistry.

I have been a freelance makeup artist for 6 years. I specialize in soft glam applications, for occasions such as bridal makeup, branding photoshoots, birthdays, graduations and many other special occasions in Raleigh and surrounding areas. I have worked for and collaborated with other cosmetic brands as well in different states and provided makeup services for press conferences too! I have grown to be incredibly blessed in this industry, as I am still learning and growing, God has been good and He still is.

I started this business as showing interest as a young girl always playing in makeup and it always stuck with me the more I grew up. I participated in a few fashion shows, branding photoshoots for small businesses and always ended up being the makeup artist for the other models, wanting to always practice on family members and friends who let me. It was and still is a big passion for me, and even though I consider myself still learning, I love how it has worked in my favor with big and better opportunities and I can only pray it continues to play a part in my life on this journey.

I don’t want to necessarily ever consider myself different from the rest, but I am very hard-working and dedicated to making my mark and having a positive impact. No matter how big or small the opportunity is, I make sure there is something makeup related I can contribute towards. I’m always thinking of different ways to gain clientele, branding strategies, working on my flexibility and anything else business-related I can grow in. If I’m able to make it work, I will. I’m really big on showing up and making sure people know my name, what I do and walk away feeling happy they met me.

One of the things I’m proud of as I’ve started as a freelance makeup artist, will be each experience with my clients remaining as rewarding as it’s been. Each client is very unique in their own way, with being trusted to enhance their beauty and make them feel their best, I’ve also been granted the lovely opportunity to share and learn different experiences and create really good friendships and trusted relationships with each as well.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’ve always been good when it comes to social media, I don’t know what it is exactly but as far as knowing when to post and promote, what hashtags to post, how to gain my audience, I don’t even know where to begin because it’s forever growing and changing at that, every day! I think it is mainly based on your interaction with your followers, the aesthetic for the audience you want to reach and how consistent you are when it comes to social media.

Like I said before, I like to make it count! I have no problem reaching out to new followers to let them know what I do as far as what makeup services I provide and updating them of any specials I have going on too!

I make sure I engage with my followers plenty & do fun things like makeup hauls for my clients, pop quizzes on products application, fun before & after on clients & keep it trendy. I do believe keeping up with social media plays a big part in your engagement as far as knowing what to post, what’s trending and what’s not.

There are tons of free courses online anyone can take to learn how to lock in your audience and grow with your social media presence.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal, above all, is to provide an amazing boss babe life for my 6-year old daughter, Jordyn Jayla and I. She has always been my drive and my reason why. I always call her my princess warrior and I mean every bit of it. I’m glad she can see her Mom, work hard for something I enjoy doing and as she gets older, she shows her interest in it too! So it makes it fun. I don’t get to have her with me for every client but when we are traveling to different states, and if allowed, she always enjoys watching me work and she always asks questions about what it’s for and pretty much understands it all.

One of the best things about being a Mom is knowing my daughter appreciates my hard work and actually can see the fruit of my labor.

She’s my biggest blessing and as rewarding as being a makeup artist is, my biggest reward is seeing her happy and being her Mother.

Thank you so much for this opportunity. I really enjoyed sharing my journey with readers. If you are interested in seeing my work and/or for future bookings, click one of the links below and follow me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/glambycourtney
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glambycourt/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
• Other: Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@glambycourt?_t=8W8E5jI6T4o&_r=1