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

Shelbie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?

-Love and be passionate with what you do and put that into daily practice
-Have a business plan or goal
-Getting out of your confront zone
-Deal with limiting beliefs
-Take control and action

These are the things that I’ve applied to my business and life that have help me in my journey as a creative business owner.

Believe in yourself and what you can offer. Get REALLY good at what you do. Practice your craft until it hurts. Put yourself in environments that you want to attract. Surround yourself with successful people. Your comfort zone will kill your business. Be your own advocate. Turn mistakes into lessons. Always work through the self doubt. Know that it won’t be perfect the first time and thats okay, never let that stop you from trying. Never rest on your laurels. Develop a callous towards rejection. Find outside inspiration.

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.

From a very young age, I’ve always been connected to the arts .. there was never a time that I wasn’t actively doing something art related. My introduction to the career path of being a makeup artist was through my many years of modeling in NYC and around the world. I always had an amazing connection with the makeup artist on set and jobs and was always so inspired by what they did on me. I used to call them magicians..

Once I parted ways with modeling, I took up art classes for a few years with really no intention of a major or being a makeup artist at the time, I think I just knew I needed to start somewhere. During the second year of art school, I had an innate feeling of getting a job at MAC Cosmetics. I lived in a small town and knew most of the people I worked with in the big cites came from the MAC world, so in my eyes that was the closest thing to do to start somewhere. After a very rigorous interview process, I finally got the job.

That was when all the stars stated to align for me and I finally felt like something major clicked.
MAC became my home away from home, my safe space. For 6 years I dialed every aspect of what being a makeup artist meant, from personalizing, techniques, trends, skin tones, undertones, skin texture, ingredients, customer service — you name it, I dove all the way in. I felt so grateful to be apart of such a strong group of artist. I got in so much practice and was taught by some of the best in the industry. It was there that my own personal artistry started to take form and people would come in and request me for a “natural glam” look.

After 6 years of working under the MAC cosmetics umbrella, I knew it was time to start my own path and business. I worked day in and day out for years building my portfolio and pitching myself to everyone in my city that I wanted to work with. It took sometime by eventually things started to stick. Once I got some traction , Makeup By Shelbie was born. Once I launched my business and site, I got in a great flow of being a full-time freelance makeup artist. I worked on commercials as well as bridal and between the two it really fulfilled the variety of what I needed at the time. I quickly became a big fish in a small pond, which felt amazing but at the same time knew my business needed more.

The next and most current chapter of my journey is one that I am most proud of. During covid I had a lot of time to brainstorm my next move.. So I built out an amazing presentation for myself of all the jobs and shoots I did and pitched my self to creative agencies all over the country. I remember telling myself this slogan over and over again – “just throw gum and the wall and see what sticks” the idea of blasting myself out to world and seeing who wants me had me in a state of excitement because I knew I put the work in and was proud of this stage of my business. After months of no replies and almost giving up, I finally received an email from an agency in Nashville. they were interested in meeting me!
After the meeting, they offered me a 3 year contract on the spot. I changed my entire life around in just one month and I’m so grateful I did. Since being represented, I have polished my skills and have had very rewarding moments, but also learning to not rest on my laurels. No matter how great or badly I feel I still know there is work to be done.

Today, I pride myself to have an intentional and modern approach to every client I work with; meaning my artistry is not cookie cutter — my goal with every single client is to truly bring out the most beautiful essence and enhancements to every face I touch with intentional technique and skill. Depending on the job, I always make sure the person sitting in my chair feels comfortable and satisfied.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think most non-creatives think that, there’s this undertone of a premise that until they see us on a billboard or something in the public eye, we are not taken seriously or successful. As rewarding as that can be, that is not the case at all. Many creatives find happiness and success in different ways that doesn’t have to be seen on a global scale.

Most successful creatives, have had to do free work to build and make connections/reputation over and over again until their big break or even first paid job. Working in this industry takes a lot of guts and stamina.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The nature of making people feel more enhanced & confident.
The fact the I can say “I love my job & I love what I do.”
The freedom of self expression.
The adventure and variety that comes along with my job.
The idea that I work for myself.
Inspiring and helping other creatives to take the leap and sharing my journey.
Creating with other creatives.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.makeupbyshelbie.com
• Instagram: shelbieie
• Other: TikTok: shelbieie

Image Credits
Laur Nash Rose Catherine Kohl Kristen Balani