KELLY'S WORKTO CONTACT KELLY FOR HER SERVICES, PLEASE LIKE HER FACEBOOK PAGE AND SEND HER A MESSAGE: https://www.facebook.com/kellyshanemakeup?fref=ts OR LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST WITH YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND I WILL BE SURE TO PASS IT ALONG. | Jamaican-Based Freelance Makeup artist Kelly Stephenson, recognized her love for makeup as an art back when it was still seen as a last resort. Straight out of high school, she began training formally and informally on a local as well as an international scale and has vowed to never stop learning as one can never know too much in an ever-changing and ever-evolving industry. I have known her for a while and I admire her humility and ever growing talents. meet The Artist: "My name is Kelly Stephenson, I've spent as long as I can remember dabbling in something 'aesthetically' creative. I always did enjoy painting my nails and my doll's hair, bedazzling my schoolbag and that sorta thing, maybe no more than the average little girl but it was always something that I could actually focus on when other things simply lost my interest. Upon choosing subjects to go to the 9th grade, I tried to stick with the arts but it was my teacher's opinion that it really didn't make sense because I couldn't draw. Never mind the fact that I actually loved art, she left it at at 'Kelly can't do art, because Kelly can't draw'. A year later when choosing subjects to go to the 10th grade, there was a section on the chart where we should put our career choices and for my first choice I put Nail Technician because that was something I really loved and I'd do it on weekends to make pocket money, I got a foot bath for my 13th birthday and I started off with just a foot file, my polishes and Johnson's foot soap until I made more money and bought more stuff. For my second choice I put Archaeologist and was later informed that I have to switch them around because doing nails just isn't a career and it can't be put as a first choice. My mother, being the goddess she is, marched straight to my school and cursed the teacher out on my behalf and all the other kids that wanted to do whatever the hell they wanted to do. My first introduction to makeup itself was in the 10th grade by my older cousin Laura Pryce, who isn't a makeup artist but used to watch YouTube tutorials by Julia Graf (Misschievous) and from there I was hooked even though I couldn't actually apply it. I started doing beauty makeup through doing SFX (Special Effects), which to some people is pretty backwards but though I could do face burns and flesh rips on my relatives and of course on myself but they were never as realistic as I'd like them to be because (to me) they were just gross and gory with no real beauty behind them. I remember going to the gas station with my mom once with a black eye, bloody nose and a busted lip just to see if it was realistic enough and I will never do that again, people were actually very concerned. I was and still am inspired by great SFX artists like Rick Baker, Stan Winston, Dick Smith, Ve Neill, Jamie Grove etc and beauty makeup artists like Renny Vasquez, Kevyn Aucoin, Kabuki, Sam Fine and Alex Box. I spent maybe the first 2 years unable to do proper foundation and eyebrows and I couldn't apply lashes until 2014 but when I really practiced and got into it, I grew a deep love for beauty makeup. Actually, until taking a Catch The Beat Class by Renny Vasquez I wasn't very good at hand-applied foundation but I was pretty good with airbrush because of my training with Todd McIntosh, I used to airbrush every client and pretend I was just that artsy but really I couldn't do hand-applied, haha. I've found that mention of celebrities clients will get you more work than your actual portfolio and so far I've worked with two celebrities (Tanya Stephens, Cecile) doing full makeup, I've done male grooming on quite a few, but doing makeup on celebrities was never really a concern for me because I've always felt like (creatively) a celebrity doesn't offer you much freedom. They have their image and they'll never really stray far from that, so you'll find yourself doing the same makeup over and over until you can pretty much do it in your sleep lol. However, the exposure and traveling is really good but I've known both ladies pretty much all my life so I can imagine my experiences might be a little bit different. One is my biological mother and the other, my chosen 'other' mother for as long as I can remember. I've also found that people question products alot, most people want to hear MAC but unfortunately for those who care, I don't have a favourite makeup brand. I really love water-based foundations because it's really easy for me to change the consistency to fit the client and I use all sorts of products from L.A. Girl to Yves Saint Laurent, they all make specific things I like so I may end up using the L.A. Girl pro conceal on some Black Opal or Iman foundation, set it with Nars and top it off with YSL Lol. I really have no favourites, they're all the same basic formula. I'm not in a position to give advice, because I'm young and upcoming too but advice I give myself is 'never stop learning, learn what you can from who will teach you' and I think it's a big enough industry for all of us, it excites me to see it grow but I do find it a little annoying when people enter the industry thinking it's a cash cow because it really isn't. It's an industry that allows you to travel and meet new people and explore different cultures which is beautiful but essentially as a makeup artist you provide (to some people) an important service and you shouldn't lose sight of that." |
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About The Editor:Cleopatra D. Henry - Jamaican born fashion designer who gained a degree from The University College of the Cayman Islands in Accounting and is now pursuing a degree in Fashion Design at the Art Institute in New York City. Fashion designer, model, student, mentor, pioneer. Visit: Cleopatra D. Henry for portfolio. Archives
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