We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jami Messuri a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jami thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

For my 10th birthday my aunt and uncle bought me a book by the worldly famous makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin. His book, “Making Faces” has images of The Who’s who of Hollywood and many others that inspired his creativity for creating some of the most iconic makeup looks of our times. In this book he had illustrated drawings of how the makeup should be applied. I was so fascinated by it all. How could makeup transform ones face so easily and create something so beautiful? I was completely fascinated. That book alone sparked a fire in me and pathed the road for my future at such a young age. I had no idea that being a makeup artist was even a job at that young of an age. This then turned into me tearing out images of every magazine on of makeup looks I was inspired by. I would tape them all over my walls in my bedroom. I always say I am very lucky because I knew at such a very young age I wanted to be a makeup artist and I was going to hustle as hard as I could to achieve this dream. By the age 16 I had learned that being a makeup artist was a career. I didn’t know how I was going to get there but I had my eye on the prize to figure out a way to make it happen. For all my school dances I would drive around to my friend’s houses or salon appointments and do their makeup. It’s so funny looking back on this now because I am literally doing the exact same thing. That’s foreshadowing at its finest haha

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

All through high school I would do all my friends makeup for all our school dances. I would ask what their dress color was and then run to the nearest MAC counter to purchase an eyeshadow to match their dress. I just loved color so much and playing in makeup. Once I graduated high school I begged my parents to let me go to a makeup school I wanted to attend. This school was MakeUp Designory (MUD). It was located in NYC. To this day I’m forever grateful that my parents believed in me as much as I did and helped me achieve this goal.
MUD specialized in beauty and special effects makeup. I very quickly learned I LOVED fashion and beauty makeup. It just came so naturally to me. I graduated from MUD and moved back to Ohio so I could attend esthetician school at Aveda. At the beginning of my career I felt that it was best to have all the qualification I could so that I was well rounded in my field.
After school was finished I then started working at the makeup counter where I worked for NARS Cosmetics and MAC Cosmetics. I truly believe I learned all the best tips and tricks here. It taught me how to be a well rounded artist. From working with all skin types, customer service, practicing your skill on each individual customer, and just so much more. It was never a dull moment that’s for sure. It was the perfect stepping stone. To this day I think everyone starting out should start at a makeup counter of some sort. Its the best hands on experience in our industry in my opinion. I did this for a quite a few years. I actually thought at one point I wanted to grow corporately with the makeup companies. I was living in Chicago at the time I was making my way up the corporate ladder when my dad got sick. At this time my career had kind of been plateauing so I made the very difficult decision to move home to help my mom. I always believed that when one door closes another opens. My career changed in a drastic way all over again. Moving home caused me to really reflect and figure out why I loved being a makeup artist so much. I left the makeup counter and focused solely on my freelance career. Seriously everything happens for a reason because my career took off in such a big way!
You would never think Cleveland, Ohio would be filled with some much commercial work but it is! I was working with the top agencies as their lead makeup artist for their commercial shoots, modeling agencies headshots, weddings, and NBC/MSNBC.
It was a hustle but I knew it was sink or swim.
I then met the man of my dreams at the peak of my career. He had some job offers in South Carolina. I knew I would never stay in Ohio forever. I just had no clue my next adventure would end me up here in South Carolina.

Starting my career all over again had its challenges especially in a new city where you literally don’t know a single person. I reached out to every single person I wanted to align myself with. I don’t know how much money I spent in coffee meetups my first year here but I bet it was a a few mortgages haha. Those coffee meetups really paid off though because it helped me landed a dream job of mine with BRAVO TV’s Southern Charm and Southern Hospitality. I am one of the Lead makeup artists for the show. I work along side some insanely talented artists. It’s truly been a dream working along side these artists and the beautiful talent on the show.

When I am not doing makeup for Bravo I am personal assisting and helping run a successful bridal company.

I sometimes forget how cool my job is. Not every day is easy. The freelance world is hard work. You lose jobs some days, and gain some the next. I’ve learned to trust the process and to not take it personally. There is always enough work to go around. And stay humble.

I think what sets me apart is my drive and my hustle. I knew this career wouldn’t be easy and some days it still isn’t but I never imaged doing anything else in my life. This is all I ever wanted to do. And I’m still just beginning.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I really thought I would go the corporate route at one point. I wanted to be a national artist so badly with them. Unfortunately I didnt get the promotion I was aiming to get at that time. It was so devastating at that time but honestly it was the best thing to ever happen to me. At this same time is when I had gotten the news my dad was sick. I felt like it was my time to move home and do a major pivot. I needed to be reminded why I wanted to do makeup in the first place. It was scary to leave the corporate world but I knew it was sink or swim.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The best advice I can give is the following : -Reach out to every model and photographer that you want to work with and send them a vision board of what you would want to create together. Get them inspired. Make it collaborative though and work together!
-Don’t feel like you need to say yes to everyone. If the photographer/model doesn’t align with the jobs you want to promote or your esthetic then don’t do it! It’s ok to say no.
-Always be professional. Everyone knows everyone. Seriously.
-Try and post things you are passionate about. Don’t be shy!
-Stay Humble. You can learn from every single person.
-Have Fun and be yourself! Your audience loves when you are your authentic self.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.makeupbyjami.com
• Instagram: makeupbyjami
• Other: TIKTOK : makeupbyjamimessuri

Image Credits
Photos by Janelle Putrich @janelleputrich Joseph Bradley @joseph_bradley_photo Jesse Volk @jessevolk Mira Adwell @miraadwell_photo