Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Garcia.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Melissa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In my early teenage years, I was obsessed with playing with different kinds of makeup and experimenting with my hair. My parents didn’t approve of it at first, being that I was so young. They were old fashioned, they didn’t think that a girl my age should be using makeup but they would give me complete freedom at home to express myself as long as I didn’t step foot outside the house. Once my parents realize I wasn’t into beauty to make myself look older or for attention they started encouraging me as they’d realized this was my passion, this was my art. Since I had an idea of the career I wanted to pursue, I looked for a beauty school I could start while in high school. I was the only one in my high school to enroll into the Beauty program. Through that program, I was able to start cosmetology school and graduate by the time I was done with high school. I stumbled upon a lot of bumps on the road trying to get my cosmetology license due to my legal status at the time. I wasn’t able to take stateboard exam until five years later.
When I was 18, I started assisting/managing a hair salon. After two years of managing and assisting at the salon, I realized it wasn’t it for me. I went back into the foodservice industry while also freelancing as a makeup artist l. When I turned 21, I got my “dream job”, to be working for my favorite makeup brand as a makeup artist. The store also had a waxing bar at the boutique, finally after five years of pushing for my license, I was able to take my stateboard test right before my hours were about to expire. I passed my exam and I finally became a cosmetologist. That’s when my love for eyebrows began! I switched roles at the boutique from MUA to brow extraordinaire. My love for brows quickly grew and I continued learning the latest techniques. After another five years of working at the brow bar, I decided to quit to become an independent MUA. That’s when I started MielBeauté, and my journey as a self-employed pro makeup and cosmetic tattoo artist. I am extremely grateful for my families encouragement as it ties into where I am today. The encouragement and support from my parents is what helped me realize my passion at an early age and push myself to get to where I am now. I can’t wait to see how far I can take myself.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the main challenges of this career is building a steady clientele, which takes hard work, determination, and patience. Although our hours are flexible and often work well with family schedules, We commonly work nights and weekends to accommodate our clients’ schedules.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a self-employed makeup/cosmetic tattoo artist. My specialty is brows. I pride myself in the work I do to fix someone brows, as they can completely transform someone’s face. What I’m most proud of is the relationships I have made with clients I’ve had. I’ve been apart of someone’s big life moments and I have a lot of one on one time with almost everyone I work on.
Pricing:
- Microblading $550
- Lash lift $150
- Brow wax w/ color $45
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopfemm.com
- Phone: 408-244-7336
- Email: beautybymiel@gmail.com
- Instagram: @mielbeaute
Image Credit:
Jon Kopaloff
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