We were lucky to catch up with Stephen Bowman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephen, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I used to watch my mom put on make up before she went to work at night. That fascinated me–her transformation. She was a charge nurse at a county jail, but she felt that making an effort (ie. painting her nails, wearing make up) was a stress relief for the inmates. I used to play around with her make up and eventually she let me apply make up on her. She’d get dressed up afterwards and we’d go show it off at Sizzler. It was the only real quality time with her as a young child because she worked at night.

Then I pursued acting as a young adult. I had to do my own make up for theater. I eventually starting meeting other actors who needed make up services. A friend then volunteered my services on a Craigslist ad looking for a creative team for a photoshoot. That started getting the ball rolling. I never saw my career moving into beauty; I never thought I was capable of anything else other than acting and performing; I never considered this other talent that I had. Then a friend became a rep at a big agency and I sought him out and asked him if I could assist an artist. He sent me make up from their archives (Chanel, NARS, Stila, etc). I was lucky to start building a kit and assisted make up artists are celebrities for 5 years.

Stephen, 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’m a make up artist who comes from a performance background. I also do some hair services. Hair is not my main focus, but I’ve learned from the best. My style is: lived in, beachy, ethereal, messy pin up (braids are my nemesis).

My inspirations are: glamorous, ethereal, luminesce skin, the standard smokey eyes and nude lips (it’s ALWAYS in season). But I am always up for a challenge. I’m constantly learning. I don’t like anything to look too contrived or “done”–I want it to be accessible.

As far as my approach, my personality is geared towards people. I love making people feel comfortable. The more they feel comfortable, the more I have access to their most genuine self. It’s important for me to not just go in and do their make up; I want to know what inspires someone so we can collaborate. That comes from my performance background. I’m an artist at heart. I love to empower people to unlock their version of sexy, confident, and strong! Since most people don’t have the technical language of make up to express their needs, I find out through conversation what they’re drawn to; what they like; what they’re inspired by. I either make people take risks or I’m introducing clients to something they never thought they could pull off.

Coming from an acting background, I always do make up from a place of creating a character (ex. sexy, strong, vampy, sultry, glamorous). I really enjoy communicating with my clients so I can give each of them a unique stamp. What is going to make this individual pop off the page/screen? How do I make their presence known on the red carpet? (By exemplifying and accentuating everyone’s unique look). The big lesson I’ve learned: not all trends work on all people. It has to be a personalized experience.

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

When I started assisting, I was still acting. I thought one could serve the other. Make up opportunities were coming, but I had one foot in each world. By the time I was signed as a make up artist, it was a testament to my personality that they liked me, but they had a difficult time getting me work. I had focused too much on the needs of the artists I was assisting, and not enough on me building my own portfolio. That has always been a big life lesson for me in my career and personal life. Eventually, people from that agency went to start their own and and they took everyone from the top. Being a new addition, I was left behind by the very agency that I started assisting for, and that I had put everything into. I worked a lot with the art and editorial photographer, Stephanie Vovas at the time. That was a light in the storm for me. My collaboration with her brought us Treats Magazine, a campaign for Land of Nod, and eventually, the cover of Playboy. It took me a long time to be able to do this for a living, and getting into headshots was a game changer for me. I never thought I would’ve entered that world, coming from editorial. It has taught me how to open myself up to more possibilities. Over the span of my career, I’ve been able to work in all mediums including film, television, red carpet, editorial, music videos, and Fashion Week. Every medium has contributed to my confidence and helped me steer myself in the ways that fulfill me artistically.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s interesting how interconnected make up and acting is for me, and how being a make up artist has given a perspective of the world that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s introduced me to so many different people, cultures, styles, and sensibilities. I’ve seen it represented as a religious symbol, as a commodity; it’s ancient and fascinating. The people I’ve gotten to know from doing it have been the most enriching minds, people, and experiences of my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: Bowmanmakeup.com
• Instagram: @bowmanmakeup

Image Credits
Stephanie Vovas, Brian Parillo, Ron Derhacopian, Mark Griffin Champion, James DePietro, Stephanie Girard