Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Lynch
Hi Brittany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I actually got started doing makeup at a young age due to the fact that I did competitive cheer and we were required to wear makeup for competitions. I was always drawn to makeup since a very young age, throughout high school I would do all of my friends, cousins, my sister and her friends makeup for school dances, competitions, or any event that they needed makeup for. When I was 18 I went to go tour the MUD academy in Burbank, CA. While I was sitting in the office waiting to speak to one of the counselors I remember grabbing my phone and googling “Success rate of makeup artists”, and the results I saw online were very intimidating and terrifying to me. I grabbed all of my stuff and walked out of there so fast, just thinking I would never be able to do it. I spent the next three years in and out of college, not doing very well, very unmotivated and not really finding my own niche. When I was 21 years old I started working at a car dealership as a greeter, I quickly promoted and got into the business development department for service, from that dealership I ended up going to another one where I moved into doing sales. I lasted in the car business for about 8 years before I moved on to working at corporate for Geico as a claims adjuster. While I was at Geico the pandemic hit and I began working from home. I was top 5% in the company for metrics that we had to meet and I asked my manager if there was any way I would be able to promote into management, I was then told I needed a bachelors degree which I had not completed. I made the decision to go back to school and complete my BA, whilst doing that I was beginning to come to the realization that while I would be okay with finishing school I really was no longer happy at this company and knew this was not what I wanted to do with my life. I stayed in school but quit and went back to the service industry until I figured out what to do next. This wasn’t a very great time in my life, unfortunately life dealt me some tough blows during this period, I had some personal struggles I was working through and ended up unemployed. I was with a friend one day doing her makeup when she told me that I should think about doing this professionally. I told her I had always thought about it but never pursued it because I was scared, after some talking with her my mindset started to shift and at this point I really had nothing to lose. Even though I was already 30 and felt like I was too old, I had literally NOTHING else and knew I just needed change so I figured why not go after the one thing I had always loved. I started doing research and found an academy in Riverside, CA called Sassygal. I drove to go meet with the owner and knew I wanted to do this. From there my plan began to pivot, I graduated from the academy and went straight into freelancing. I started to network and do anything I could to put my name out there. Since then I’ve done all types of glamming from bridal, special events, film, even had a few cheer competitions I’ve done recently which was extremely nostalgic. I also attended another academy in San Diego taught by Elenaprostyles where I learned hairstyling which I was able to add to my services this last year. I have several more goals I want to achieve, so my plan is to keep moving forward until I accomplish them.
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 journey hasn’t been smooth. I struggled financially and invested my last few thousand dollars into the initial class I took to jumpstart my career. I also dove straight into freelancing, which was incredibly challenging. I’m so grateful for my experience in business development from the auto industry, I genuinely believe it was crucial to my success. A struggle you also face as being an entrepreneur is the constant hustle to keep my calendar full, I don’t get to go clock in anywhere and have a guaranteed schedule. Everyday I have to get up and find work for me live, but I couldn’t be happier with my career. I truly love what I do and wouldn’t change it for anything.
This industry is full of ups and downs, and that alone can be unsettling. I constantly remind myself that I’m capable and that I just need to keep pushing forward.The beauty industry can be highly competitive, but I’m thankful to have crossed paths with so many incredible women. We all support each other, and I really appreciate that.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a professional makeup artist in Southern California. I specialize in bridal but I also do all types of other glam work. My expertise spans across weddings, photoshoots, TV shows, and movies and red carpet events.. I’m known for what I call an ‘elevated neutral’ look. It’s the perfect balance between understated and full glam. It’s definitely not super natural but not overly dramatic either, I’m all about doing glam in a refined, timeless way.
What sets me apart is I’m extremely passionate about using makeup to help people feel more confident by addressing their insecurities. When someone shares an insecurity with me about a feature they have I make it a priority to use makeup and work as a professional makeup artist to help them feel empowered and comfortable in their own skin.
One thing I’m really proud of is overcoming my fear of entering the beauty industry. I’ve embraced the ‘fake it till you make it’ mentality. Constantly pushing myself to try new things and doing whatever I can to make it work.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Actually yes, I definitely want to master the art of being a freelance makeup artist artist, within the next 2-5 years I would love to work a fashion week, do some destinations weddings and of course help as many people as I can feel their very best, My long term which hopefully will be within 5-7 years is to create a non profit for women transitioning out of domestic violence shelters, where I can teach them how to start their own make up artist business and become self sufficient.
Pricing:
- It really varies and depends on the occasion
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittamichellemua
Image Credits
ALICAT photography
DaniellyRY photography
ariannavpadilla
