Meet Jeannine Self

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeannine Self.

Jeannine, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up in a small farm town, I was always a dreamer. I was drawn to things that were “larger than life” there. Like fashion and a big city. Music, especially 80’s, was always my comfort and escape. I always had my record player going or had my cassettes and walkman with me if I was away from home. I was raised by a mother with mental illness that affected every part of my life. My decisions, friends, thoughts, jobs, relationships, everything. I wasn’t encouraged to do well in school since my mother was uneducated herself. So upon my high school graduation, I had no idea what I was going to do. I felt like going to cosmetology school was a great choice since it was so self-expressive (like me) and since my mom had gone herself, I knew she would support it. One week after my graduation, I found myself pregnant (my first relationship). My mother didn’t approve of my boyfriend, so at 17 years old, I found myself kicked out of the house and homeless, couch-surfing at different friends houses until their parents got tired of me. I became a teen mom and as difficult as my circumstances were, my daughter was the most rewarding first obstacle in my life.

With the help of public assistance, I put myself through Cosmetology school. I really loved it and completed it without missing a day and passed my board certification on the first try. As a very young single mother, I quickly realized that in order to support myself and my baby, I needed an already established clientele to succeed, plus health benefits and that wasn’t possible as a newly licensed cosmetologist. I found myself just looking for any job. Luckily, my mother had made her way back into my life at that time and offered to help me out by letting my daughter and I live with her. Then, I was able to pick up two jobs. One in the daytime and one in the evenings. That’s when I met a new someone. He even accepted the fact that I was a young mother. Only two months into this new relationship, my mother had yet another mental episode and kicked me and my daughter out of her home once again. My boyfriend and his three bachelor roommates allowed us to stay with them in their small dirty two bedroom apartment. Not ideal or desirable, but I had no other option. Five months into the relationship, we married. He legally adopted my daughter and we started a brand new family four months into it by getting pregnant with my second daughter. Upon having my second daughter, I wanted to be able to stay home to be a “room mom” for my girls and watch them grow, yet needed the income. So I decided that I would create a custom hair bow business. In all my girliness, it was most appropriate. I grew this business so well that I had to bring in a partner. We sold custom hair bows to people and businesses across the US.

My business allowed me to stay at home with my girls and be a hands-on mother. We built a nice big dream home all the while! After 11 years, my girls were getting bigger and I knew it was time to venture out to find my next thing. I sold my business and went to work where I was drawn to, in cosmetics. It felt like I was finally “home.” I was hired as a manager and started out at a skincare line, only to quickly realize that I was always being drawn to the makeup artistry counters. As soon as a brand new line came in to the department store I was at, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to apply and was hired as assistant manager. Creating makeup looks was what really filled me. I was so passionate about it because I could completely just express myself. I loved this job so much and was excelling fast, considering I had no specific makeup training. Just pure passion. At this point in my career, I had bought myself a nice high-end sports car. I was really living and thriving. As my girls were getting older, I kept finding myself drawn to the big city of LA. I wanted to live there more than anything. I would make trips there with my husband at least once a month. I was finding that during each trip there it got harder and harder to come back home to the central valley. My husband and I started talking about how we could make a move there after my youngest graduated with only two years to go. It always seemed like I was the one finding a way to make that a reality for us while he made the excuses. Only a few short months into my new position and 17 years in to my happily ever after, my husband blindsided me by not only walking out on me but my two daughters as well. That was followed by getting laid off of my new job, then losing my new car and not to mention, my dog died. I found myself staring at the gates of hell all over once again. I lost it ALL but I still had my girls.

I turned to a family friend, Ed, who worked in law and asked him for help. He did not disappoint. He proved to be the father figure I never had. I was served divorce papers on my birthday that year. Ed found me a divorce attorney and paid him. He bought me a really old car too. It was way better than not even having one, and I was grateful. I felt like he was my guardian angel! I needed to escape this town and the wrath of the Ex. So with my attorney’s advice, I jumped on the idea of moving to the city of angels for a fresh start at life. I didn’t know a soul and my daughter needed to finish one more year of school.

We moved to LA and shortly after, my guardian angel, Ed, died unexpectedly. It’s amazing how you survive when that is your only option. When my daughter graduated, my child support stopped and we were forced to move to something more affordable. I took the first job that was available to me when we got here and that was being a server at Hard Rock Cafe (something I’d never done). I barely made ends meet. In order to move to another place, we needed the funds for a deposit, so we were forced to put our belongings in storage and live in a hotel until our deposit was refunded from our old place.

At this point, I decided to apply for a job in cosmetics. A lady there told me that I really needed to apply for MAC Cosmetics so I did. I was hired as an assistant manager. I felt like I had won the lottery! While I grew my artistry with such a passion, I also found out that working in retail was taking a toll on my mental health. All I wanted to do was makeup, I didn’t want to meet sales goals selling their products. After taking two leaves for anxiety, I walked out not knowing where my next paycheck would be coming from.

I applied to be a freelance makeup artist for Make Up For Ever because their boutique was right around the corner from me. They hired me and on my second shift, they asked me if I would join their team permanently. How could I say no when I financially needed the money, plus it was close to home so I could see my doggies for support at lunch. Three months into this new job, the store closed down and I decided it was just time to start my freelance career. No more working for anyone else. I took that leap based entirely on FAITH. I started freelancing for an App-based beauty company in 2016 and started building up my own personal clientele as well. I pinched pennies and prayed constantly that I would be able to get enough clients each week so I could pay my rent and buy a few groceries. My faith and determination got me through. Slowly I started making connections. I had two friends tell me that as soon as I got my passport, that the work would just follow suit. I delayed with it, mostly because of the cost to apply. In September 2018, I decided that my clientele was rapidly growing and it was time. My birthday is in September and my license expired so I had to renew it in order to apply for my passport. I printed out the passport application and went in to renew my license. The very next day I got asked to go to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic to work at an 80’s music event. It’s been ten years of soul searching and striving to survive life’s obstacles since that day I lost my husband and life as I knew it.

Today I’m living my dream in LA as a freelance makeup artist, with more celebrity faces that I’ve “made up” than I can count on all of my fingers and toes. I’ve never believed in letting life’s adversities keep me down. Today I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’ve learned that sometimes in life when you think that you’ve been buried, you’ve actually just been planted. Nothing happens by chance. And so it is…..

Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing about my life has been a smooth road, I think that’s why I appreciate the smallest of things anymore. Life is about getting back up and learning from the bumps in the road. Making them “life lessons!”

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a freelance makeup artist. I go to my clients to do makeup for them. That means, if they are at home, at their office or even a hotel, I travel to them. While I do makeup for any occasion, including something as simple as a baby shower, I also do makeup for red carpet events as well as makeup for TV. My favorite makeup to do is red carpet makeup. It allows me to be a bit more creative.

Being freelance is great because my clients can stay at home and not worry about having to drive to a business and deal with finding parking or even being persuaded to buy their products. They can just sit in a robe in the convenience of their own home and let me glam them up for their special occasion.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Luckily, women wear makeup every day and for any occasion. Living here in LA, there’s always some kind of event or need for makeup. So because of this, I only see my business continuing to grow. I’m confident in my artistry, however, I’m always looking to learn more. There’s always room for growth. It’s important to stay on trend so that I can share tips and tricks with my clients.

Pricing:

• Makeup with lashes $130
• Airbrush makeup $20
• Bridal pricing available upon request
• Hourly pricing available upon request

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/beautybyjeannineself
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beauty-by-Jeannine-Self-624316684581831/

Image Credit:
Getty Images, Debra Messing Instagram, The Centric channel

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