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

Jamillah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

Absolutely, my work has put me in positions to be misunderstood or even judged for how i choose to express myself creatively. I am secure in myself and open enough to do nude modeling and it really has been difficult navigating that starting out since it’s seen as “unconventional”. I received a lot of adversity at first, but as I keep going- I realize that I am finding more like-minded individuals thus opening up more opportunities for myself. If I choose to listen to what others say or allow it to slow me down, I wouldn’t have had the amazing opportunities to be published in the magazine I was published in, or even able to monetize off my self expression.

Pressing on even through being misunderstood has and will continue to absolutely pay off and I am excited to keep exploring what this path has in store for me.

Never let something as minuscule as being misunderstood slow you down. It can be a lonely road sometimes, but always keep in mind that you have yet to meet all the people that will love you.

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

My name is Jamillah, I am a 27 year old model, makeup artist, mother, and business owner. I have ran my own freelance makeup and bridal makeup business by the name of Millah’s Makeup for going on 4 years now. I have been booked for services in Maryland, DC, Virginia, and Atlanta! I also am a freelance model and have been published in magazines such as “Luxia Magazine”, “Vigour Magazine”, “Beauticia Magazine”, and “Marika Magazine”. I have had the privilage to work with an amazing photographer by the name of “Bring The Noise Photos”. Terry from Bring the Noise is an absolutely amazing photographer and creative director.

I also make and sell my own lipglosses as a part of my “Millah’s Makeup” brand. They are a best seller locally to me and I cannot wait for more of the world to try them out! I recently sent 10 of them to California for an all women’s retreat and the reviews i got were phenominal. I am so excited to keep expanding my business and providing my products and services. It’s amazing the things you can accomplish as long as you beleieve in yourself. It may not happen when you want it to, but it WILL happen.

I am so proud of the name and recognition I’ve gathered around myself over the past 5 years. I became a mother, started a business, I am a small internet sensation- I never would have imagined this to be my life- and I’m just getting started! I’m so grateful for all the oppourtines I have had brought to me during this time and even through all the self doubts and sleepless nights, I still manage to press on and keep moving forward.

I also struggle with mental health, I won’t get too personal about the topic but after having my daughter I fell into a deep post partum depression that spanned well over 3 years. I still managed to show up for myself, my daughter, and clients during this time and looking back I can’t believe what I’ve built while simultaneously feeling like I’m not doing enough nor good enough at the same time. Constantly overstimulated and overwhelmed as I navigated being a new mom and business owner. Never believe yourself when those negative feelings creep in. Yes, of course it’s normal- but it’s also untrue. YOU can be ANYTHING you want to be in this life. Even if you have to uproot the whole damn thing- it will absolutely all come back together. Sometimes better than you would have ever imagined.

To help cope with my mental health, I started making music- so I’m an artist in that department too- LOL! Making music has been the best thing I could have ever done in regards to expressing myself creatively.

I feel like I can get a mesage out to the masses and it be heard through music, music is one of those things I always wanted to do, but never thought I had the adequate talent to. Boy was I wrong. I may not be mainstream, but those who have heard my music, love my music and I am super exicted to keep making and putting it out!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is the fact that you can be anything you want to be. You can imapact so many people. Inspiring others and just being a reminder that they can “do it too” is such a good feeling for me- especially when the individual ACTUALLY goes for their dreams and it starts to work out for them. There are so many ways you can express yourself creatively and emotionally. Music, art, dance, I could go on. It’s rewarding to the masses of course, but more importantly yourself!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have multiple stories that illustrate my resilience but I think the best one was when I had my daughter and COVID first hit. Obviously now, it’s blown over pretty much. In the heat of it all, I was working as a medical assistant with a tiny infant and no clue what was going on regarding COVID. Due to personal reasons, I was against the vaccine and at them time- it was mandatory to get one with the job I was working. I had a choice to make. Get the shot and go against my own beliefs or quit that job and trust myself. It wasn’t easy at all- but I quit the job and trusted myself. That was the birth of “Millah’s Makeup”. I used the last little bit of my tax return that year and paid to start renting a booth in a makeup studio. I had no clue about running a business but I knew I did makeup execptionally well and I knew I had a good attitude to commit and provide exceptional services to clients that would book me. I made it happen and was successful in it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://instagram.com/basedgoddess444
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/millahsmakeup
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user185293029

Image Credits

Terry Neal – Bring the Noise Photography, Milford, DE