We were lucky to catch up with Gisell Flores recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gisell, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Makeup was one of those things that I loved through out my whole life. However when it came to picking a career towards the end of my high school years, being a makeup artist was not one of the things I wanted to pursue. I went into John Jay college thinking that forensic psychology was the right path for me. However life kept pushing me towards the beauty market. I was truly unhappy with what I was studying in college and questioned everything. COVID happened and that’s when it really sinked in, that I need to follow what I love to be happy. Life is too short to pursue the old school “professions” I was advised to follow. I took the leap of faith and made the instagram page and asked my friends to be my models for my first few faces on the page. I remember it would take me 3-4 hrs to complete one full face. It was definitely not easy , I had to learn how to adjust my hands and steadiness when working on other faces . I had to learn so many things like the different skin textures, different skin complexions. It was a whole other world that I discovered. On my 3rd day of my page being up, I got my first inquiring client and I will never forget that feeling. I couldn’t believe that it only took me 3 days to have someone interested in getting their makeup done by me for their special day.. Even if I got paid very little back then it was an unbelievable feeling to know that someone trusts me to make them feel and look beautiful. This was the start of it all. I have been consistent with my craft since I started. Through these years of experience I have learned that I am capable of other things too. After working with various people on magazine publications, photoshoot sessions, campaigns, I wanted to create my own. I took another leap of faith to curate my own creative visions. With the connections I’ve made I learned to create teams that best fit the vision being asked for. I fell in love with creating things that are unique to my eye. I fell in love with bringing people together who love art, people who are as inspiring and hardworking as me. Nothing beats a great team that loves art and loves to create as a whole. This opened up another door for me as well. It’s a journey that’s on going and will only get better with time and more experience.
Gisell, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I put myself out there in the fashion world by collaborating with other fellow creatives. The very first year of being an artist it’s a lot of trail and error. Learning to see what best fits your craft and style is one of the most important keys. Makeup can be so broad so knowing what identifies you as an artist is supper important. I remember the first shoot I ever did really impacted me. It opened up a whole different world that I didn’t know existed, which is the set world. Here I was able to express my art in different forms. It was different because most of my clientele would ask for soft glams, natural glam’s but in the set world you can truly express your art and creativity. They showed me what the wardrobe was, they showed me the idea and allowed me to unleash the inner Picasso in me. There were no restrictions, just my intuition and trusting me as an artist. I then realized that I love this side of makeup. I love to work with teams because we get to combine all of our talents to create one single piece of art. I made sure that I left every room I worked in with a piece of me. Bringing in positive and encouraging energy truly makes a set go by so much smoother and enjoyable. I stand out because aside from my talents on my hands I am a nice and generous person. People want to have nice, encouraging people on set. They hire you for your talent and personality too. I identify myself as a very diverse artist. I specialize in photoshoot makeup but I can also create soft natural glams. Everything from editorials and super crafty glams as well. From my knowledge and experience from the set world I now apply that to my creative direction side of career. Knowing the importance of what hair and makeup is to a project has allowed me to see that those are one of the most important keys to executing a project. Without the team you are nothing. Behind every great project is an astounding team , I guarantee you that for sure. When working with clients I always insure to know what the identity and the purpose of the project is. This is the root of it all. Knowing who you are targeting, what’s it for will allow you to create for their purpose. I love what I do and with everything that my name has on it , I insure that I put my 100% all in it. This form of thinking goes way back to my younger days too, believe me, I was that kid in school that wanted those straight A’s because if it was created or done by me it will be close to perfect as possible. Never did I imagine that this was a form of my identity too, I refuse to do create mediocrity it’s only the best from me .
How did you build your audience on social media?
80% of my success is because of my social media connects. I hustled and learned how to speak to my audience. I learned what the people like but I also learned to be myself. If business is slowing down never be afraid to put up sales and discounts. People love everything that they can get as a sale. Learning to collaborate with others allows you to get different eyes on your work, see it as free marketing too. Also remember that it’s always quality over quantity. Post thoughtfully and strategically. Post what you want to attract not what seems cool. Don’t fall in trends , be your own person. You’ll be surprised by how many people you inspire with out knowing. Also aside from social media , building strong connections gets you ahead too. Referrals are everything too, how people speak on your behalf can open a lot more doors too.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Remembering how important everyone’s role is the key to being the best leader. Showing respect amongst all that are part of the team and valuing them for their talent and personality is how you keep a team from doing an outstanding job. Communication is super important when managing a team. If you have to add in those extra minutes to gather a zoom meeting do it. If you have to write supper long emails to each team member do it . They see the hard work and will respect you more because you go above and beyond for them and the project. Hard work is never overseen. The pressure that the leader has is a position not many can take so when it’s done the right way it’s always appreciated. Always know what the team members purpose is important to building the perfect match for the project. You have to learn how to be a matchmaker in a way too. Learning people’s strength and weakness can allow you to put them in the position that beat suits them. Having a solid team helps you trust that they will execute your vision perfectly. Scouting out also allows you to bring in new ideas and new forms of doing things, which is not always a bad thing, even as the leader you might learn a thing or two from them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @envygisell @makeupbygisell
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisell-flores-9590a4143?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCXh2NczxwbaHmfhDjyuxOWg?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAab2vCVNJj4b590Hjp20sK-dd7YopwmtZc8fhiMBQiBSxGgWEOPfXfKlUac_aem_f_z4y7nY3xCruBBbvB5gDg
Image Credits
Photographers
@melaniemariephotography
@_tripzy
@rrobertperez
@gabesuazo
@copperstillphotography
@moiraimona