Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Lé-Terrado.
Hi Christine , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was a real estate agent at the time and was looking for a PMU artist to get my brows tattooed, I ended up taking a class in permanent make up instead! I wasn’t totally satisfied with the class I took so I ended up taking a couple more classes after spending days of searching for the best trainers in the industry. Even with numerous people telling me I was crazy to quit my career in real estate and do brows for a living because I wouldn’t make any real money.
I continued on with my journey anyways. I knew this was my passion when I would spend hours on end practicing my craft, sometimes until 2am. The OCD in me would not let me sleep until I perfected what I was doing. After a couple of practicing on latex and pigskin, I was finally comfortable to work on clients. I would charge close to nothing just to get my portfolio started. After 6 months of being a PMU artist, I started getting inquiries about training but I always replied to them that I was new and am not knowledgeable enough to train anyone.
Every month, a handful of people would continue to inquire about training. 6 months later, I decided I was ready to become an instructor. I took a couple more training classes (I’ve spent over $10,000 altogether on classes), created a manual and put a student kit together for my future students. I am now officially 3 years in with 2 years of training experience, owner of Lélux Beauty & Academy. By the way, the money looks pretty real to me. 🙂
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road was definitely not smooth. A lot of people doubted me and my career change. I fully quit doing real estate in order to put all my focus on my new career. Both my husband and I were not working and our daughter was 10 at the time. We were living off the little bit of savings we had, which I ended using most of it on training classes. This had to work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a Permanent Make Up artist and educator. I specialize in cosmetic tattooing on brows and lips. I also specialize in training! I’ve been told many, many times that I double as a therapist lol. So many women have cried on my table, sometimes they’re tears of joy after getting a brow makeover and sometimes the tears come from telling me their struggles in life. I’m an empath so I end up crying too and we just cry together. I’ve built friendships with my clients and I love and appreciate each and every one of them.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Never compare yourself to other artists. Only compare yourself to who you were yesterday. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do, that is only a reflection of themselves. Not all money is good money, choose your clients wisely.
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@le-lux.com
- Website: Le-lux.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leluxofficial/
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/DQ5HkQodDjb
Image Credits:
Briana Lee
