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

Hi Jewel, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I started in 2010, as a makeup enthusiast. Posting makeup looks on Facebook, and getting comments/messages saying how I should consider doing other people’s makeup. I think that if I really believed in myself the way I do now, and stayed consistent, my creative career would have been farther than it is now.

Jewel, 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?

My name is Jewel Morrison and I am a professional makeup artist, owner of J. Morrison Beauté. My aesthetic is soft glam, and my favorite section of makeup artistry is bridal! I serve business owners,

I love making everyone who sits in my chair feel like a celebrity and giving a world class luxury experience.

I was a fresh graduate out of high school, and preparing for college. For some reason, I found myself becoming more interested in applying makeup for fun. It became a form of expression, and I wanted to share the joy I got from it with others by helping them with theirs. After a while, I decided to really study what I could with what was available to me. At that time, it was YouTube. I’d look up influencers and professional makeup artists like Jennie Jenkins (who was known as beautybyjj at the time), Jackie Aina (LilPumpkinPie05 when I first learned of her), Wayne Goss, Pixiwoo, EnKore Makeup, and others. I’d practice applying on myself, and my older sister who also loves makeup. I actually stopped after a while because I didn’t have any fellow makeup artists to look up to or lean on for support. I just stuck to doing my own makeup for years.

In 2020, I booked my dear friend Devonda Cherry, to do my makeup for my maternity shoot. She looked me in my eyes and asked, “And why aren’t you out here doing makeup, little sister?”. I paused, asked myself that question, and realized that I had no valid reason to not pick up my brushes again. After that, I became active in some amazing Facebook groups that are dedicated to supporting professional makeup artists in all stages of their career. I started purchasing courses and took in-person classes. My persistence is getting there, and so far my efforts have allowed me to be a published makeup artist in Southern Bride Magazine (Summer/Fall 2022 Edition). I know that I have so much farther to go, and it’s been exciting learning along the way.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I would have to say the impact that my artistry makes on those who I serve. The smiles, the gasps, the tears of joy, the gratitude. I love it mostly because of how my work makes people feel. The first look they take in the mirror after everything is finished ? That’s my favorite part.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

My main thought would be to please respect the fact that we are running a business that provides a service. Understand that there is much more to makeup artistry than just applying makeup. What people are experiencing is the result of our investments and sacrifices made to be able to provide the level of service that we do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/jmorrisonbeaute
• Other: msha.ke/jmorrisonbeaute

Image Credits
@river.rosephotography @mrsmurphy2013 @culturallyiconic @rileycreations_