We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Deanna Rosson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Deanna below.

Alright, Deanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I was always a lover of makeup and beauty and was the one all my friends and family would always go to for makeup advice and to do theirs, but about 7 years ago I got extremely sick and everything changed. For 7-8 months I could barely walk, hold a makeup brush, feed myself, do anything. I eventually got diagnosed with Lupus but it took a long time for me to get back on my feet. During those months I spent most of my days in bed or resting, and I decided to watch every video, take every online class, and do anything I could to further my makeup knowledge and skills without being able to hold a brush most days. I had gained almost 50 pounds in a three month period on extreme medication and I just wanted to feel confident again. Once I was feeling a bit better I really hit the ground running with makeup. I wanted to put all my new skills to use and most importantly, I wanted to give my clients a confidence boost and make them feel beautiful. My expression has always been “you, but elevated”. I want people to feel like themselves but have that extra touch that makeup can bring. Helping my clients has always been my number one priority. Whether it’s a bride on their big day, or clients with cancer who are coming for lessons on how to apply fake lashes or draw on realistic brows, I want everyone to leave my chair feeling special and beautiful, inside and out.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am 100% self taught. I pride myself on an immense amount of hard work whether it’s learning my craft, learning how to grow a business (so scary! Especially durning the pandemic), and always listening to my clients. I offer services for events like maternity shoots, fashion shoots, newborn sessions, weddings, headshots, 1-1 lessons, shop with me’s. You name it and if it’s with makeup I do it. My favorite thing in the entire world is seeing a client look in the mirror for the first time. They get this smile and you can just see them radiating confidence.

One thing I really pride myself on is not just being a makeup artist for my clients, but being a sounding board for them as well. For brides, I’m usually one of the last people they see before they walk down the aisle. I’m the one calming them down and talking things through with them. I have clients who have been coming to me for years and I’ve gotten to be part of all their major milestones in life. From their engagement photos to weddings to maternity and newborn shoots.

One of the things I’m the most proud of is my work with cancer patients this past year. I do 1-1 lessons for women going through treatment. Being able to help give them just a bit of themselves back has been the most rewarding thing. A regular client of mine cried after I taught her how to draw realistic brows on and it really hit me how something so small and insignificant to one person can mean so much to others. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of some incredible photoshoots for breast cancer survivors and to hear all of their stories is life changing.

I work so hard no matter how big or small a project is because makeup is so much more than products to me. Makeup was such an integral part of my life when I got sick and just wanted to feel like me, to feel any extra confidence I could muster. If I can do that for any other clients then all the long hours and hard times are completely worth it.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I worked in childcare for over 15 years and never imagined myself doing anything else. I was happy doing it on the side and building up clientele over the years. Then the pandemic hit and there was no events, weddings etc where people needed their makeup done. I was devastated because I honestly thought that was the end of any momentum I had been building. Then in the fall of 2021 when things were back up and running, I decided it was time to make the leap to full time. I was terrified of failing, terrified of all the time and money I had to invest, but I kept telling myself a phrase my therapist has told me for years- you never grow inside your comfort zone. So I learned as much as I could about running a business, taught myself how to build a website, and went all in. It’s still terrifying at times (hello slow season), but it was the best thing I ever could’ve done. I’m so lucky to have a partner who supports my dreams and helped give me the nudge out of the nest that I needed. This industry is one that is filled with wildly talented artists so I’m so thankful when clients choose me to be part of their events/shoots/etc.

Over the years as my love for makeup grew, and especially once I got sick, I realized I needed to follow my passions no matter how far fetched they seemed. When you get told you have a disease that people can die from and there’s no cure it really puts things in perspective. I needed to go after everything I wanted with everything I had because there’s really no telling what tomorrow will bring.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think the biggest thing that has built my reputation locally and with clients is that I truly care about each and every one of them. I want my clients to feel heard, appreciated, and like they have a friend in me. Because I’m alongside them for some of life’s huge milestones, I definitely become friends to many clients. Sometimes I’m with them when they’re going through hardships and difficult times and they need someone to talk to. I’m always all ears. The best thing clients tell me when they leave reviews, or send cards or texts etc, is that they feel like they gained a friend after working with me or leaving my chair. Human connection is so important to me and I truly value that in my clients. I consider myself incredibly lucky that through the years I’ve met some people, clients as well as others in the industry, who have become lifelong friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.deannaelizabethmakeup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deannaelizabethmua/

Image Credits
https://www.brookeallisonphoto.com/ https://alexandraszebenyik.com/ https://www.jullyandalexphotography.com/