Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiffany Cataldo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tiffany, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I started my journey in beauty 20 years ago and quickly fell into hair. I went to cosmetology school as a young, new mom because of my passion for makeup. Back when I graduated cosmo school the makeup industry was difficult to get into and people didn’t have their makeup done for every occasion like they do now. About 7 years into my hairstyling career I developed carpel tunnel and was told by my doctor to take a step back, which I had no problem doing at the time because it wasn’t my passion. I started bartending full time and just quickly got comfortable doing that and feel into a routine. Fast forward to 2016 and I was ready to start my makeup journey again and Wicked Makeup was born. I didn’t start out with a ton of products or clients or an LLC but I was ready and knew that everything else would come in time. I started getting pretty busy with weddings on weekends and was still bartending full time. I got burnt out, quickly. And knew I needed to make a change. I was prioritizing bartending over taking weekday pm clients but knew that wasn’t where I wanted to be. I made the decision in Feb 2020 to leave bartending all together to solely focus on my business and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well like I said, I went to cosmetology school and graduated in early 2004. I tried working at all the makeup counters because that was all that I knew back then but my aesthetic and visions didn’t quite fit most of the makeup counters back then. I applied to MAC about a bajillion times but back then so did everybody else so it was a really hard store to get into. In 2016, basically with the rise of Instagram and makeup demands I decided to take the leap and start my own business. I started freelancing for a couple of Wedding Organizations that contracts artists for weddings and that’s kind of how I fell into doing weddings. It took me a while to find my footing in that space because I wanted more than just your traditional “no makeup, makeup” style of wedding clients. I slowly started getting more and more alt clients and knew that these were more my style of to be weds. I like to think I specialize in more non traditional or offbeat weddings with a focus on alternative and queer weddings.
I pride myself in being inclusive of all ages, ethnicities and genders. Makeup shouldn’t have any bounds based on any of these criteria and I love when I have a client that reaches out because they felt the inclusivity vibe from my website as soon as they saw it.
I do also love to do Halloween makeup! And although it’s a shorter season for me compared to my wedding season, I wish more people would reach out for character creations or Halloween style facepaint for other events throughout the year

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’m extremely reliable, which I feel like shouldn’t really be cause for praise in this industry, but unfortunately, a lot of “professionals” aren’t. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received an inquiry on the week of or sometimes even the DAY OF a wedding because the wedding professional cancelled last minute. I have never cancelled a wedding, I have never not shown up for a job or a client that has an event and needs services. Once your contracted in with me, I will be there rain or shine no matter what. Even my friends know that if they have a life event happening on a weekend and I’m already booked then I most likely won’t be able to make their event or at the very least will be there after I finish up my clients.
I do also have a ton of clients who tell me that I’m the most responsive vendor that they have, my booking process is super easy, and that they feel comfortable around me and I’m easy to talk to which I think all help to play a part.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Referrals! Or even better, if I’ve already done their makeup as a bridesmaid in somebody else’s wedding

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.wickedmakeupboston.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedmakeupboston/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/wickedmakeupboston/

Image Credits

Sydney Woods Photography
Mariah Lavache Photography
J. Nichole Captures
Mariah Lavache Photography
Mariah Lavache Photography
Captured by Ginny
Larissa Bazile Photography
Espy Creative
Erik Torres