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

Tattiana, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always been a creative person. However, I never really thought about pursuing a creative career until I became an adult. I remember wanting to be a lawyer at one point and a chef at another. Once I got older, I ditched those aspirations and didn’t really know where I would land. I started to explore makeup as a medium of expression when I was in college. I cut my hair in my second year and used makeup as a way for me to feel comfortable and more feminine. In 2016, I eventually got a job at a makeup retailer but I still wasn’t at the point of pursing makeup artistry as a career option. I was more so focused on finishing school. As time went on, people noticed my talent & started encouraging me to provide makeup services to other people. At that time, makeup was still just a hobby for me. Something that made me happy & allowed for me to express myself. So I wasn’t interested in taking clients. Fast forward to the year 2018. I was working for another makeup company and I ended up becoming a certified artist through them. I was able to get experience in applying makeup to other people & I really enjoyed it. September of that year, I decided to take the plunge and start to offer makeup services. I didn’t know what I was doing but I created a separate instagram specifically to show my artistry and promote my new business. I have been working on my business ever since. It was such an unexpected journey, however, I am happy that I made that choice.

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.

I initially got into the beauty industry through makeup retail work. December 2016, I got a job at a makeup retailer. Makeup was my hobby at that point in time. But I thought that since I was so interested in it, it would be cool to work part time for a makeup company. In 2018, I started working for a different retailer. That’s when I decided that I wanted to start freelancing. While I was still trying to figure out how all of that would work, I kept working & finished my degree. In 2019, I worked for a third makeup retailer until March 2020 when I was furloughed because of the pandemic. That’s when I fully made the transition from makeup retail to freelancing and content creation. I started to network with other creatives and that’s how I was able to build relationships and find work. I provide traveling makeup services to people who are in need of them. I offer my services to private clients, other creatives and production companies. Most of my work is on the production side. I tend to do fashion shows, photoshoots and events more than I do private clients. I’m most proud of my growth. From not even thinking about pursuing a creative career path to being a professional makeup artist. I’m proud of my steadiness even when things get tough. I have worked so hard to get where I am and I’m just getting started. Through my work, I want to show my clients/fans/followers that it’s okay to show up in the world as unapologetically yourself. And to not let societal expectations dictate how you would like to show up. What sets me apart is my apathy towards mainstream beauty standards. A lot of the time beauty standards are exclusionary and based in bigotry. I use makeup as a tool in order to combat that any way that I can. Makeup is art. Art is used to disrupt. I want to disrupt the restricting confines of those beauty standards.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

To best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem, society has to value art. Society does not value art as much as the hard sciences. Even though art is used so much in our daily lives. Creatives are just as important to society as anyone else. There are so many ways to support creatives. You can monetarily help them. You can share their work. You can help put protections in place to shield their art from being stolen. So many things can be done but I think that it starts with valuing and respecting art first.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is the impact that my art has on other people. I create art for myself. However, it feels so good to learn when that art has a positive impact on other people. It reminds me that just being myself can greatly impact someone without me even knowing it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealmuahxtati?igsh=NmxtdXRoZ2h5MHpp&utm_source=qr
• Other: Booking Site: https://muahmakeupartistry.as.me/schedule/d1c5bd35

Image Credits

Linette Messina