We were lucky to catch up with Jordan Blakerecently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have always been in love with beauty and makeup and that whole world. I used to sit and watch my mom put on her makeup and I remember thinking how cool the process was and how pretty she would always look at the end. My grandmother used to be a makeup artist at a Lancome counter. She was very successful and worked with clients, applying makeup and educating on products and ingredients. When I became old enough, she started bringing me sample eyeshadows and lip glosses so I could practice. I vividly remember collecting all of her Styrofoam wig heads and pulling out the case of makeup she would let me play with and glamming all of them. I am naturally a very creative and artistic person and makeup has always been my medium to express that creative artistry.

Jordan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a 25-year-old business owner, makeup artist, and beauty educator. I began my career when I was 15 years old and cheerleading. I started doing my own makeup for games and pretty soon all my teammates were asking me to do their makeup. We had diverse team, so this was a great opportunity for me to get experience working on different features and skin tones. Shortly thereafter, I was recruited by the theater director to be lead makeup artist for the school plays. I was in love with the fast-paced creative environment. My personality is definitely one that flourishes when I am around other creatives, so I felt right at home and very comfortable. I moved schools when I was 17 and at this time I go into styled shoots. I would reach out to photographers, and I would call my friends to model, and this would allow me to get practice and then also receive high quality photos of my work. Posting my work in a more high-quality format resulted in more people wanting to hire me for events. Over the next couple years, I worked on homecomings, proms, birthdays, etc. Fast Forward to when I was 20 years old, my best friend introduced me to the bridal world. She recommended me to another bridal artist she worked with and before long, I was working my first wedding. My first wedding was high intensity and fast paced and I loved it. I loved being around the other beauty professionals and seeing everyone doing what they love. At that point, I knew that I wanted to be in the bridal beauty space long term. In August of 2021, I got hired at a prestigious DMV bridal beauty service company. I started getting bookings almost weekend. I quickly realized that this was something that I could fully support myself with. In January 2022 I quit my regular job nannying and I launched my beauty company, Jordan Blake Beauty.

Becoming a business owner has been an experience of many lessons. Because there are so many lessons in this journey, in just the last year I have transformed as a businesswoman, makeup artist, and even friend and partner. The lessons you learn in business transfer over in other areas of your life for sure. I would say the discipline that I had to learn and practice in owning and operating my company transfers over to my discipline in my personal life and I can confidently say, I am so much more mature and efficient at navigating life than I ever had been before. I had to establish new habits an learn my work style, and like anything, it was a process but there is something to be said about sticking to things that aren’t necessarily easy. It makes you stronger and gives you more self-confidence.

Jordan Blake Beauty is a Black/Latin/woman owned company that offers luxury bridal and special event beauty services. I have a team of 6 hairstylists and makeup artists and together we service weddings, graduations, parties, birthdays, proms, homecomings, photoshoots, and any other event that glam would be needed. What makes Jordan Blake Beauty luxury is that we use high end, luxurious beauty and hair products. All of the team is highly experienced and educated in their specialty. Every makeup service includes thorough skin prep with products tailored to each clients’ individual needs. We offer high quality touch up kits to all of our clients so that they can keep their glam perfect or as long as they need to wear it. We also offer classes and enrichment for our team members looking to learn/sharpen their skills as well as offering training for both aspiring and established beauty professionals. We also do styled shoots together in which I bring in a model, we glam her up and use the time spent to create content for our social medias. It’s all about working together to help each other expand and achieve our goals. I truly believe that there is enough space in this industry for all of us and we can be more successful if we all work together.

I am very proud of my team and one of the things that sets us apart from other companies is our client experience. We view our clients as more than just business, we establish genuine connections. In many cases, especially in weddings, we are a part of some of the most important days in our clients lives and we are given the honor and responsibility of helping make them feel their most beautiful. That’s such a big thing to be a part of. So much of how people show up is connected to how they feel about themselves and being able to give that to our clients is our favorite part. I am most proud of how we are able to work with clients in the face of challenges. The bridal industry is fast paced and the ability to pivot is a skill that is definitely needed. My team and I are flexible in all situations and are really good at pivoting and problem solving. This is part of why our clients are always so happy with working with us. What I am most proud of is how my team is able to provide beauty services to everyone. We are all inclusive and we are prepared to work with anyone who may sit in our chair, no matter skin color, gender, hair texture, sexual orientation, etc. Anyone who wants to glam is welcome with us.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to bring more beauty service providers of color into the industry and help them be successful. In many areas, like where I live, the number of people of color needing/wanting beauty services versus the number of beauty service providers who look like them and know how to work with deeper skin tones and textured hair is grossly disproportionate. I can’t even tell you how many of my clients of color tell me that they had the worst time finding beauty service providers that knew how to work with their specific needs. I have personally had my hair and makeup done incorrectly because the person servicing me just didn’t know what to do for my skin and textured hair and it was a really frustrating experience. I want my company to be a safe space where anyone can walk out feeling beautiful. That’s a feeling everyone deserves.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Although I am still in the early stages of building the Jordan Blake Beauty social presence, I would love to share my journey. I got serious about pushing out content in early June. I was really unsure of myself and what kind of content that I wanted to share with the world. In June, I decided that I would just start posting all of our work and that’s honestly how you get started. I didn’t realize that there are so many opportunities to take pictures, film videos and share with the world what you do. The secret to success on Instagram is to put out reels. TikTok is another really great platform. Right now, viewers and followers love to watch videos, whether it’s before and afters, glam shots, etc. You just have to be confident and bring your tripod everywhere! Followers really love to see personality videos, so videos giving advice, FAQs, advice from an industry pro, etc. Your clients and followers want to know you and your team, so don’t be afraid to showcase who you are. At the end of the day, you are you brand so get yourself out there! My biggest advice is to collect as much content as you can, and POST POST POST!! Consistency is key because you never know which video is going to take off. The more content you put out, the more exposure your business gets, and clients will come!

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: @joietblake, @jordanblakebeauty
• Other: TikTok: @joietblake