Today we’d like to introduce you to Dennay Haughton
Hi Dennay, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up, I’ve always been intrigued by art. School projects and assignments that required artistic expressions were always my favorite. Throughout high school, I was enrolled in Art and Clothing and textiles classes where I was able to fine tune my skills of drawing and painting as well as fashion designs and sewing. My love for makeup started in the 9th grade when I realized faces are just like canvases. Though I did not have all the required products and tools to create my looks, and I was not very good at the looks I created, I was always delighted at the skills I had learned by merely indulging in content I saw on You tube.
At about age 16, I migrated to the United States to reunite with my family and complete school. Now, I had more access to the products I needed to create more looks. Makeup became a routine for me. Though i did not wear makeup to school, my weekends were reserved for glitters and glams. It became a mode of expression and I enjoyed every single moment of it. Not very long after I arrived, I secured a job babysitting my family-friend’s baby whose mom indulged in makeup as well. We became very good friends and she taught me many things while allowing me access to her extensive collection of makeup. So you can imagine just how diverting my job was. For my 16th birthday, she gave me a full face makeover, and boy was I amazed! This is where my full pledged love for makeup began.
As you can imagine, my leisure pursuit had now strictly become makeup, makeup and more makeup! Subsequently, I rekindled with a childhood friend from Jamaica. We became very close and I discovered she was now a professional makeup artist. I became her model/muse and she would create many looks on me for practice and content. By observing her work, I was able to perfect the art of doing my own face– and might i add, I was very good at it. Jessica Jarett had now become my makeup role mode. For the next 5 years, I alternated between myself and Jessica to get my makeup looks done. In March 2022, my friends and I decided to go to a concert and of course I recommended Jessica to be our makeup artist. I was first to get my face done. She did my base and then told me to scoot over so the next person in line could get their makeup done. I was confused. My face was only half done. She told me she was giving me full access to all her makeup products and she was tasking me to finish my look. I did, and that was all the confidence boost I needed. She complimented my looks and made it elucidated she no longer needed to do my looks going forward.
Later that year, she informed me she would be leaving the country indefinitely and she thought it would be a good idea for me to become a makeup artist myself. She told me she would recommend me to all her clients as I am the only person she knows who can replicate her looks. Though i was confident in doing my own face, I did not think I was ready to be a makeup artist. Months had a passed and i still had not make a decision. In November 2022, i ran the by my friends and family and they encouraged me to pursue it. I was not confident enough so I took a refresher makeup class in December. My instructor was very impressed by my skills and encouraged me to start right away. Still, I was not confident. My friends and family- especially my mom, played a major role in my practice. Majority of my makeup kit essentials also came from them as Christmas gifts. On February 17th, I took my first paying client.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like anything else in life, being a makeup artists has its struggles. For me, the biggest one was acquiring clientele. For the first few months when I started I either did a lot of free faces or did faces for a discounted price. South Florida is very saturated with makeup artists so the makeup world is extremely competitive. Social media and my friends played a vital role in securing clientele. I had to post a lot, do a lot of challenges, keep up with everything that was happening while also asking friends and followers to repost and recommend my work to people. Starting out as a makeup artists, my appointment calendar was very dry. It wasn’t until about 4/5 months in, until I started seeing a steady influx of clients and also gaining returning clients.
Another struggle of mine was time. Typically a face takes between 45 mins to an hour. But as a new makeup artist my looks were taking 1 hour and 30 mins minimum. That turned away a lot of clients from returning and made it very hard to retain clients. Since I started doing makeup, I have taken 3 classes which helped me to develop new skills which eventually made me faster.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
When I just started makeup, I rented a booth in a salon. I quickly realized I preferred a more private space and decided to share a space with a friend of my mine who does hair. This is where i began to retain clientele and was able to grow the most in the beginning of my business. I stayed there for 10 months then I move onto my own space in January of this year. February would be my anniversary so I was very excited to complete my makeup suite by then. With the help of my family and friends, i was able to finish just in time and hosted a grand opening.
2024 has been a highlight year for me. As a makeup artist who had just been in the field for a little over a year, I was able to garner a lot of traction and landed my first celebrity gig in February. Soon after, I landed another in March. These two gigs helped me to grow tremendously and I was able to find my niche in makeup as a “Soft Glam MUA”. Most makeup artists have a signature look. A signature look is a makeup style that represents your personal style and is unique to you. It’s a look everyone can recognize is your work. Since becoming a makeup artist, I’ve taken about 3 makeup classes to fine tune my signature look which is the Soft Glam. It’s very important as makeup artists to have a signature look as it sets you apart from everyone else and essentially cuts down your makeup time.
I work a full time job so I only do makeup part time. Part time being, late afternoons and weekends. Weekends are when I get an influx of my clientele.
February 2025, will make 2 years since I’ve been doing makeup and I am very proud of my growth. My work has become better, my clientele has grown and I continue to learn how to make my business grow. When I just started my business, it was called The Glam Lab Mua. In February 2024, I changed the name to The Glam Lab Beauty Studios with hopes to garner new skills to offer new services. One of these services will be lashing which I will announce on y anniversary.
Pricing:
- Full Glam $100
- Soft Glam $95
- Naked Glam $85
- VIP (Mondays and holidays) $110
- Same Day Walk-in $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theglamlabmua.as.me/schedule/7cef1174
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glamlabmua/
