We were lucky to catch up with Omari Floyd recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Omari, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I discovered the power and beauty of make up when I was around 16 years old. Like most children in there teens I was acne prone and I was trying so many different things to remedy my skin such as proactive and nothing seemed to work. One day I stopped by the MAC counter inside of a Belk and inquired with the artist at the time on how I could cover up my scars and acne spots. She recommended a concealer for spot coverage and skin care to manage the health of my skin. I walked away from that interaction with a brush and Prolong wear concealer in NW45. Little did I know that would be the spark that set y career and interest for doing make up into motion.

With hind sight being 20/20 I actually wouldn’t change anything; I believe that all things happen in time and for a reason and every opportunity and client I took was a learn lesson. Whether it being product or service I was learning something new.

Over the years I have learned in this field that there are definitely more than one way to skin a cat and that the best artist are great listeners and willing to receive feedback.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Being a young African American man from the south I got into makeup as a means of covering up my childhood acne. From there I was amazed with the application process and the different textures and finishes of make up products. The retail side of cosmetics gave me the opportunity to buy, try, play and experiment with different products at my own pace. Once I realized that I had a natural talent for makeup artistry I set out to be apart of an environment that would not only give me the opportunity to play in makeup but to also learn as well. When I was 21 years old I got my first opportunity with Lancome Cosmetics as their Counter Manager at Nordstrom. For anyone who does not know that was a HUGE deal for me! To be discovered and recruited out of a liquor store and placed into a high end luxury selling environment right out of the gate was a blessing. From there I became a Make up artist for NARS Cosmetics and shortly after given another opportunity to become one of the top makeup artist in the cosmetic department at Nordstrom which they called, “The Beauty Stylist!” Those roles prepared me for everything else that was to come in my career as a Professional Makeup artist.

As a professional I like to come to the table with a clear mind, creative juices flowing and my clients best interest at heart. For those who contract me they often say to me, “this is what I am wearing what do you think I should do with my face?” I like to allow my creativity to flow naturally unless my client request something very specific. Sometimes the challenging aspect of the job is re-directing the clients vision. What I mean by that is sometimes a client may request something that structurally may need to be adjusted to either fit their face shape or compliment there complexion better.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think over the years I have enjoyed seeing my clients live and create amazing memories where my work being apart of it. You know for some artist it is making it into the magazine or on television but for me it is the natural appreciation for really elevating and bringing my clients vision to life.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My creative journey has been a pure reflection of where I have been which naturally matches my life. When I was working at the counters inside of department stores my creative style matched my client pool. I was creating more dramatic looks or looks that were not necessarily slated for ‘every day” wear. After I transitioned out of that space and started freelancing, my creative pallet became softer and more natural as my clients were not looking for that type of makeup application.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instragram.com/beautdvaux