Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joelle Phillips. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joelle, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Ever since I was little, I wanted to be an artist. I grew up in a fashion household. My mother taught fashion design and patterned, making at the masters level. So growing up, there was always magazines and beautiful photos and designs all over my home. My mother really noticed that I liked colors and art when I was a baby pretty much playing in Makeup and painting and playing in clay and photography all of those things I took an interest in probably as young as five years old. So I don’t really have any memories of me, not wanting to be an artist. It was something that I truly believe I was born to do

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

So when I was about five years old, I had a Fisher-Price camera and that was pretty much the beginning of the end I had my camera until about maybe five years ago when I formally retired from photography, but that wasn’t before I pursued my bachelors degree in fine art photography at the Artist Institute of Washington where I was published in the Washington Post my junior year. I loved fashion all my life and I wanted to be a fashion beauty photographer, and I love marketing advertising. I wanted to really be a part of that industry where you make beautiful things that people get to aspire to own. Makeup was something that I’d always loved when I was really young in high school. I wrote a report on Keyvin Acoin and about how he transforms people and makes them feel their most beautiful selves. I had been playing in Makeup most of my life, but I never thought I could be a professional Makeup Artist. But while in college, I didn’t have any money to pay a Makeup Artist and I’d already loved it and at that time there was a huge Makeup creator YouTube craze so learning about new products and techniques became like this hobby of mine and because I could do make up I could Do my own glam sometimes for my homework assignments. When I had to move back home to Philadelphia in 2012 it was really hard for me to get work as a photographer so I had to get like a desk job and I had already started to work as an Econ photographer for a local fashion company, and sometimes I would have to do the make up for the models as well as take the pictures one day I was helping Creative Director of that same company do make up for a fashion show I was bored and I wanted to do something creative so I did it for free and ended up doing over 20 faces by myself. One Makeup Artist showed up really late and she looked at my work and she asked me like what my rates are and I will never forget it. She said that I was an idi*t essentially that I should have been charging because I was way too talented. She was amazing. She drove me back home that night and she told me that I should never do Makeup for free again and I have it. I went for for taking every single class that I could. I borrowed money from my mother to go to the Makeup show in New York and grab as much stuff as I could get to start my kit. I took classes with Sam fine, Mario, Tayanna Robinson, Renny Vasquez just name a few, and I wanna say about four months into taking classes I was asked to be a Makeup Artist assistant for a independent film called equity. It was being filmed in Philadelphia andThis was in 2016 and the film did very well the film festivals and it was picked up by Columbia so that was my first feature film. I never in my wildest dreams that I could be a film Makeup Artist but once I got on that set and got a taste of that excitement of that life, I’ve been chasing it ever since I fell head over heels in love with Makeup Artistry that trying to do both that and photography didn’t feel right anymore photography just didn’t fulfill me anymore and I made the decision back in 2020 to formally retire. And I have no regrets whatsoever I was able to start my own cosmetics company called OMGLO cosmetics I was able to fulfill my dreams of working in television, and I won my very first Emmy certificate working for queer eye on Netflix and I am working full-time as a bridal Makeup Artist And I travel all over the country. I’ve even done a few destination, weddings outside of the country this stage in my life as a Makeup Artist I am truly fulfilled and happy. I always tell people have the best job in the world. I have so much fun and I challenge myself every time I get someone new in my chair.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

so getting the job for queer eye, was me just taking a chance the head of the department was another mentor and teacher of mine Senoj I couldn’t have prayed for a better teacher. She really threw me into the fire, which was a blessing and a curse. I screwed up a lot. I didn’t know how to read a call sheet and that would really irritate her at times, but I worked hard Louisiana heat is no joke and the hours were long and grueling, but I learned so much I got to experience living someplace new and I had never lived anywhere outside of the East Coast and I had only two days to pack and get myself ready to get to the location. I took a chance knowing nothing about what I was about to walk into and I truly believe it made me not only a better Makeup Artist, but a better worker. I had to learn to focus and really pay attention to the details and really listen and all of these things I struggle with at times, but I think about my time in New Orleans every day and it makes me proud and grateful.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’ve had to pivot a few times in my career, from photography to make an Artistry from a Makeup Artist to a cosmetics brand owner to a content creator. It’s made me learn flexibility and to honor how Ifrom photography to make an Artistry from a Makeup Artist to a cosmetics brand owner to a content creator. It’s made me learn flexibility and to honor how I feel about things and if something doesn’t feel right to me in any aspect, I know when to say no, or when to walk away from something. It’s something that you constantly have to get used to doing as a creative, but honestly, it’s hard, especially when you’re perfectionist and you want things to be perfect. The first time I’m going to give all praise to therapy for really helping me learn when to walk away from something once I’ve tried everything I feel like if you’re a business owner or creative, you should invest in a therapist. A lot of the time you’re making decisions and working for yourself and you are all by yourself and you just get so overwhelmed with all the day-to-day decisions that you don’t think that you can handle it, but therapy has been my saving grace.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://joellephillips.com
• Instagram: @joellephillips
• Facebook: N/a
• Linkedin: Joelle Phillips
• Twitter: N/a
• Yelp: N/a
• Other: TikTok- @joellephillips