Tag Archives: makeup

Episode 14: Through the Eyes of NiSi- Part 1: Its not just Makeup- The ”Beauty” of Bridal Series

The Month of March is dedicated to providing the knowledge of what goes into servicing Brides as a Makeup Artist.

Press PLAY to listen to this week’s replay.

I’m always grateful for photos of me working but this photo tells it all. I was tired, my hair sweated out but I did my best to put on a little bit of a face… I showed up.

Story Time: Picture this, you are booked for a wedding. You arrive the night before because the location was a bit far to drive when there’s an early start time. You get to the hotel, hoping to get a good night’s sleep and then you notice that this room isn’t the cleanest. Luckily you haven’t removed anything from your luggage but for the next 30 minutes, you sit in the chair, you stand in the middle of the room, you pace back and forth because you notice there are some little bugs on the nightstand and on the bed. The hotel is sold out and there are no rooms you can be changed to (if you would even want to). After talking to a friend, you decide you will drive over a hour away at 1am to get at least a few decent hours of sleep because you have an 8am start time.

The picture you see above is me working through being extremely tired, I couldn’t get my hair right, and wishing I had a hat or head wrap. However this was a photo of The Bride and I, after I had done approximately 5 people’s makeup in the bridal squad. After this photo, I was on my feet for another 5 hours; making sure that I was available to assist the Bride with whatever was needed. She did not know anything about my night until a few days after the wedding (and that’s mainly because I wanted her to be sure to get her money back).

My job is to make sure that my Bride is not stressed and that she feels and looks amazing. There was no need for me to call her at 1am to complain. I made necessary arrangements based on the options I had available. I am grown and have common sense, I did what I needed to do for me to be as close to my best as possible.

Focused!

Being a Bridal Makeup Artist, is not just about Makeup; there’s so much more that goes into it.

With every client, with every bridal party; lessons are learned. Processes change, contracts get updated, more emails are added to make sure we’re all on the same page, and so much more. I don’t want to be stressed, nor do I want my Bride worried about anything (if I can help it).

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you’re beginning your search for a Bridal Makeup Artist:

1. Book your Makeup Artist as soon as possible. You have to do your research when it comes to deciding on makeup artist for your day.  Most Bridal makeup artists are booked months or even a year, in advance. You are not locked in (in most cases) until a contract is signed and a deposit has been paid.

2. Not every Makeup Artist is a Bridal Makeup Artist, a lot goes into the planning and wedding day timeline.  Make sure that whomever you choose is professional, understands your vision and has a contract. Not everyone is yours truly, I’m naturally a helper so I am more of a Makeup Artist/ Assistant. I feel like if I am there, I am going to help as much as I can. I’m not going to stand there and say, ” I’m here for makeup and that’s it.

3. Choose a Makeup Artist that you feel comfortable with. Don’t choose someone that will easily get on your nerves. Choose someone that can provide the vision that you have for your beauty services. Choose someone who you and your bridal squad can vibe with. Choose someone that is professional, has a contract, customer friendly, available (mainly during business hours) to answer questions and concerns, transparent, understands your concerns, etc. Planning a wedding is stressful in itself, almost like a second job; choose vendors who keep things as easy breezy as possible for you.

Having experience in doing plays and fashion shows has shown me (as a model, actress, director, etc.) what can go right and what can go wrong. I’m used to someone having to change bras, spanx…. I’ve seen it all.

Next week we will have my business partner, Courtney Haynes of Courtney K Beauty on the radio show and on Facebook Live to provide more tips and information. Click below to set a reminder. Join us on Facebook, Wednesday at 8pm EST (press Get Reminder below) to go more in depth on what all goes into being a Bridal Makeup Artist, what you should look for, etc.

Be sure to leave your comments and any feedback in the comment section below.

Like for real, we want to help people understand what all goes into this business.

SPONSOR:

Topshelf ARTistry by NiSi

NEXT SHOW – MARCH 9th AT 10AM EST– www.WDRBMedia.com

You can stream the show on iHeart, iTunes, Streema, TuneIn, etc.

Make sure you check in next week when we continue our series on Bridal Beauty and what goes into being a Bridal Makeup Artist.

Interested in free advertising or being a guest on the show, click HERE to schedule a time to chat or feel free to email me at: info@NiSisEyes.com with the subject: Through the Eyes of NiSi radio show

Always with a Brush,

NiSi

Through the Eyes of NiSi: Episode 7- Resolutions, Manifestations and Vision Boards

Have you wrote your vision and made it plain? Have you wrote down your goals or created a vision board?

January 1, 2022 at the strike of midnight, I had a glass of peach wine and my son, Bryson had a watered down soft drink as we said to each other, “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” Not long after, it was bedtime. We woke up later that day, no resolutions made, business as usual on a weekend- relax, chill, clean up, etc.

I’ve heard it called Re-solutions, so many people make the same resolutions year after year because the last ones didn’t last through the first month. Are you making resolutions? Throughout years past, I’ve had goals. Most times, the few days leading up to January 1st, I look back through photos to remember all that I’ve accomplished in the year prior. It’s very heartwarming to look at that list with a sense of accomplishment.

So in 2021, I:

  • had my artwork, Topshelf ARTistry by NiSi featured nationally with Sarah Norman’s platform
  • had a long-awaited photo shoot with DRL Toons
  • held/shot a gun for the first time
  • was blessed to have more time with my mother, as her Multiple Myeloma went into remission
  • spent more time with my immediate family- Mom, Dad, Tina, Nick
  • wrote more poems, painted more art
  • Lead/Assisted with more Bridal makeup
  • became part of a bridal beauty team
  • rode on a motorcycle
  • traveled to Atlanta and New Jersey as a Makeup Artist for 2 pageant Queens
  • launched beauty/makeup classes
  • started the process of recording music and my poetry
  • co-authored the book, Yonitry

Click the links below to stay connected to these businesses and artists:

Faith Fitz You, LLC– Official clothing brand launched January 1, 2022

All Things NiSi

Toni Jones

Vision Board tips

Courtney K Beauty

Black Girls Rock workout– Tuesday/ Thursday at 11am EST/ Sundays 10am EST

Let’s create our vision boards together! Comment below if interested.

Be sure to leave your comments and any feedback in the comment section below.

NEXT SHOW – JANUARY 19TH AT 10AM ESTwww.WDRBMedia.com

Interested in free advertising or being a guest on the show? 

Feel free to email me at: info@NiSisEyes.com with the subject: Through the Eyes of NiSi radio show

Always with a Brush,

NiSi

Life as a MUA…She Almost Hit me!

If you follow me on social media, you may have heard me say that people’s experiences directly affect how they react in certain situations. Well the same applies when it comes to clients and their Makeup Artists.

I met a young lady through a referral, unfortunately we didn’t meet face to face right away due to COVID-19. Her wedding had to be postponed due to unrelated COVID issues, but we would soon meet for her bridal makeup preview.

The day finally came for us to get together to test out a makeup look for her special day. Luckily we were able to meet a few times prior. My clients sometimes become good friends, acquaintances and business connects; I love that. Your makeup artist (especially your bridal MUA should be someone that you can trust and feel comfortable with). We had a blast but I quickly learned that I needed to be on guard.

They usually say don’t mess with a black woman’s hair, well you may not want to mess with a woman’s eyes. One might ask, how are you to do eye makeup then?

Welllllllll, this is how it all went down.

Now when I do makeup, I start with the eyes so if there is any fallout, there’s less to clean up and I don’t waste product; however, that may have been to my advantage in this case. So we moisturized her skin, added primer, moved on to the brows and started working on her eyes. We were doing good, laughing and talking, and keeping it moving. I added a liquid eyeliner and some natural looking eyelashes.

Disclaimer: I love a good lash, however I’m not big on the Snuffleupagus looking lashes. I like lashes to look very natural. Most of my clients are everyday women, who don’t wear a lot of makeup (if any) and have found the love of their life and wanting to add a little extra glam on wedding day. We want everyone to see this whole package when the doors open, not just her eyelashes flapping. Her fiancé wants to recognize his/her fiancee walking down the aisle and we aim to make that happen. I digress…

Once my client got used to the eyelashes and being sure she could see clearly, I was ready to move on to eyeliner for the bottom waterline and mascara. If you’ve sat in my chair, I try to get in and get out when it comes to that bottom waterline. No one likes it and that’s when we learn how strong your tear ducts are. I always give a warning that I’m about to go there so that my client can prepare themselves. Sometimes the trick of looking up and the opposite way of the eye I’m working on works, but sometimes it doesn’t. My client almost grabbed my hands as I got up to her eye. She said it was a reflex, I just didn’t want to poke her in her eye. We had a couple tries and gut busting laughs.

Y’all listen, when I tell y’all she had to sit on her hands and we had to count to 3 to get the eyeliner on that bottom waterline. I wish I had a picture but I can’t put her out there like that. I am glad I lived to tell the tale.

Every tip and trick doesn’t work for everybody and you are constantly learning from each experience. Not everyone is okay with things coming towards their eyes. Sometimes you have to get creative, sometimes that area may take longer than for others, sometimes people will cry puddles just at the thought of anything being that close to their eye. My point is I AM CONSTANTLY LEARNING no matter how long I’ve been doing makeup.

Just know, when it was wedding day; we still had to count to 3 but those hands had to be put away first. We had a good laugh and she looked amazing; I just didn’t want a black eye from simply trying to make her comfortably flawless.

Want to hear more about my life as a Makeup Artist? Let me know in the comments below and ask whatever questions you may have.

Always with a Brush,

NiSi

Through the Eyes of NiSi- Episode 3 Say Thank You (continued)

Let’s continue the discussion…

Photo by DRLTOONS
Photo by Chip Foust- as seen in Sophisticate’s Black Hair. Hair by Nikia Gorham Teague
Photo by Lamar Yaz Photography
Photo by Derek Palmer Photography
Photo by One Click Photography

Above are just some of the modeling photos that have been taken by some amazing photographers over the years. If you’re looking for one, just let me know. If you have any questions regarding me being a full figured model and/or being Ms. Full Figured North Carolina (or any other pageantry system), please do not hesitate to ask.

2018 Ms. Full Figured NC 1st Runner Up and Ms. Social Media

As I said in the show, be sure to follow BL and stream more of his music on all streaming platforms. The song ‘Gotchu’ is also on Da Brat’s new mixtape. BL is doing big things so make sure you follow his journey as well. Here’s his newest video.

NEXT SHOW- DECEMBER 22ND AT 10AM EST– www.WDRBMedia.com

Make sure you check in next week when we discuss Topshelf ARTistry, poetry, and Yonitry; I’ll be reading excerpts of a couple of my poems.

Interested in free advertising or being a guest on the show? 

Feel free to email me at: info@NiSisEyes.com with the subject: Through the Eyes of NiSi radio show

YouTube Channel

Purchase Yonitry on Kindle

Purchase your signed copy of Yonitry

Photo by CL Reeves Photography

Don’t miss out!!

The time for gift giving is just around the corner (or for some, it’s just another day to show love)… I’ve got some REALLY SPECIAL things coming up over the holidays! I hope that you’re on the VIP list so you know what’s going on before everyone else, so if:


💄Want to see product reviews and get tips on what works best for me and my clients (before you buy or if you have it and don’t know what to do with it).

💄 You’re still trying to find a foundation that doesn’t make you look orange or casket ready


💄You need one- on- one help to learn how to apply makeup that fits your face 


💄you want to be the first to receive special promotions just for being apart of my journey.

I’VE GOT YOU!

You’ll start seeing a lot more of me soon, especially if you follow me on Instagram, Facebook and my YouTube channel. If you want me to personally reach out to you with the beau-tea☕️ before everyone else, join my VIP list!

You’ll want to be in VIP! You’ll be the first to know when I go live, when I’ll open up classes and one-on-one sessions, product reviews, and special promotions.

So, RIGHT NOW…go and save your spot on the VIP List!

Click HERE (it takes less than 5 minutes)!  

Always with a Brush,

NiSi

P.S. Just in case you love art in all its forms, you may want to be apart of my Topshelf ARTistry Connoisseurs (faces aren’t the only canvases I paint). Click HERE!