Today we’d like to introduce you to Susie Lynn Zuniga.
Susie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Oxnard, California, yet despite living in the state of glitz and glam, I wasn’t introduced into the world of beauty until a family trip to Tennessee. You read that right Y’all!
My Mamaw Sue (grandmother) gifted me my first set of real makeup after watching my face light up with amazement as she went about her morning beauty routine. I still remember looking at the Wet N Wild compacts filled with powder and blush like they were magic. Even at seven years old I knew the “power” they held.
I’m forever grateful that my parents didn’t try to reason with me too much when I told them me doing my sister’s makeup during one of our road trips to the South was necessary. She was four at the time! My dedication to all things beauty was clearly here to stay. My mom’s friends and the girls in my neighborhood became my first clients paying me in compliments.
Following high school, I earned my Esthetician License and pursued my dreams professionally as a freelance artist in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. A year later, I keyed Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week by BOXeight and since then have had the honor of seeing my work in commercials, music videos, weddings featured, published in magazines and the latest season of America’s Next Top Model.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think anytime you truly pursue your passion and dreams, it is anything but a smooth road. While the beauty industry has continued to grow rapidly and there are endless opportunities, when I first began my journey I had no idea where to start.
I had studied all the major fashion magazines, makeup artists, photographers and books I could get my hands on, but it still was difficult deciding which move to make next to get to where I wanted to be. How do I build my portfolio? What does TFP even mean? What truly goes into a kit? How do I build my clientele? These questions and more swarmed around in my mind often.
Although my schooling for my Esthetician license was structured and laid out, the career of a freelance artist can be the opposite. Being completely self-taught, it has been trial and error and relying on tried- and true- techniques I’ve learned along the way.
From doing makeup in the middle of the desert and making sure my model’s face or kit didn’t melt away, to navigating my way through the bustling streets of New York for the first time to glam a designer for a major show, to meeting and getting a legend, Nancy Cartwright (the voice behind Bart Simpson) camera ready and making sure the talent’s lips were the perfect shade for their Pretty Little Liars promo. I have had a fair share of pinch-me moments, but I have also had to learn to adapt to any situation, quickly.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I specialize in beauty, bridal, and editorial makeup. While I’m California based, I have had the privilege of working coast to coast. I travel to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Orange County often. No matter who sits in my chair, they can expect the red carpet treatment and to truly be listened to. Enhancing their features, so they feel like the best version of themselves is always my goal.
There’s nothing more I love than a clean, flawless face! I believe every woman wants their skin to look like skin but yet like a million bucks and why shouldn’t she? With attention to detail, makeup for me does not just stop at the face, it is head to toe. Top notch service no matter the occasion is one of the reasons I’d like to think the majority of my clientele has been through word of mouth and I couldn’t be more grateful.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It is a toss-up between doing makeup for Stacy Igel of Boy Meets Girl for one of her first NYFW shows and getting the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing glam squad for the model’s first shoot of America’s Next Top Model Season 24.
New York Fashion Week is everything you would expect it to be and to be among the chaos of it all with such a talented and sweet girl boss was a true Carrie Bradshaw moment for me!
I grew up avidly watching ANTM with my sister and telling her how incredible it would be to do makeup for one of their epic shoots someday. To do just that and the fact that there was no age limit for the models for the first time ever and Tyra Banks returning as the host that same season was something I will never forget.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.susielynnmakeup.com
- Phone: 805-216-8855
- Email: susielynnmakeup@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @susielynnmakeup
Image Credit:
Amber Jean Photography, Margaux Brooke, Hannah Westby, Priscilla Poblano, Rubina Dyan, Olga Ly, Jackie Tohn, Sarah Krick and Angelo Sgambati
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