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

Tennille , appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I kinda figured I wasn’t academic growing up. I was always always into the arts. I could never sit for too long in regular classes at school , my attention span just wouldn’t allow. It wasn’t like that in a creative class tho, they always got my full attention. That’s how I knew I was gonna be in the creative field at some point

Tennille , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a full time makeup artist from a tiny island in the Caribbean, Barbados…Bap Bap…I’ve been in this industry for about 10 years now. I’ve always had a love for artsy things and makeup is just another form of expression. I’ve always been quite expressive in my style.

Anything makeup related I’m there . I do regular soft glam, dramatic, natural makeup…any kind of makeup I’m there . I really love doing more special effects now tho, I kinda got bored of doing the regular makeup as I do it soooo often. I love the special effects because I get to really pour my creativity into that, and I love the process….i enjoy creating and I enjoy the process of things…it always amazes me the steps you have to take to get to a final piece of work. I find it to be extremely therapeutic, I can sit for hours just creating a piece and never get really bored because your mind is always active in this state . No 2 artist are the same , you may be inspired by someone but you’ll always add your own twist to it. I love that about art.
Outside of the special effects makeup I enjoy making my clients feel and look their best. Alot of them may come into my chair not feeling 100 but by time they leave their confidence is through the roof, I like that , cause it’s a feeling I’ve experienced myself way too often, not feeling confident…so I like women especially to always feel like they’re the shit!!
I think for me what sets me apart is my versatility for sure . I think I’m an extremely well rounded artist in terms of makeup , as I said anything makeup related im going to get done .

I’m really proud of how far I’ve been able to come as an artist, I’m actually self taught, never set foot in a makeup school. I always say I have a lot of raw talent that just needs to be harnessed a bit, it’s always good to have that educational foundation. Right now in Barbados we have something called the “ Wuh Gine on People’s Choice Awards” and I’ve won the award for Makeup artist of the year for the last three years, I’m the only person right now to win that award as it was only introduced (the category) three years ago (lol)

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I’m just trying to be the best at what I can do. I Enjoy being expressive through my job and my life. It’s something I wish I could’ve done more of growing up.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Just being able to be me. Not worrying about not fitting in. I can just be me how I like , and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Tresbellebytennille