October 15, 2016

Meet Manhattan Beach Makeup Artist: Summer Elliott

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Summer Elliott.

Summer , please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
From a very early age, I can remember loving makeup and the art of makeup. My favorite thing to do as a child was to go to my grandparents house because my Grandma had a room with a beautiful vanity that was filled with makeup. Before the days of YouTube and Periscope, I would pretend I was making a “tutorial” as I tried on all her different lip colors and blushes. I would spend hours in that room wishing I had one of my own.

I truly believe all those hours spent playing with makeup in my Grandma’s room led me to this place in my life but it took me some time to get here. I became a single mom of twin daughters in my early twenties. To provide for my daughters I took jobs waitressing and bartending but quickly moved to “IT” & Management positions in the “corporate” world. I did well for myself and loved what I was doing but I knew that I wanted to do something more creative and wanted to own my own company.

Six years ago I got married and that day was life changing in many ways. I had never felt more beautiful and confident than I did on my wedding day and I thought it would be so amazing to be able to make other women feel that way on such an important day in their life. In that moment the dream of my company began. Not long after getting married we found out that we were expecting another set of twins. After my daughters were born I knew that I wanted to go back to school with the vision of starting my own bridal makeup and hair company. So 3.5 years later that’s what I did.

After researching different schools, I enrolled in a prestigious M.U.D. (Makeup Designory) Professional Makeup Artistry School in San Diego. Going back to school in your mid-thirties, with four kids was definitely challenging, but I would not change anything. I was pursuing my dream and my daughters were able to witness that. Every night I would come home tired, but excited. The education I was getting was the best and for the first time, I LOVED what I was doing. I will be honest, there were times that I struggled and I am sure many of the instructors and others in my class deemed me as “most likely not to succeed,” because when it came to doing the trendy makeup applications, I was not half as confident or good as the others, but I refused to give up. I would call everyone I could and use them as a model and practice until I got better. And I did get better and much more confident.

After I graduated, I started doing bridal makeup and assisting other artists in the bridal business. I rarely said “no” to jobs both paid and unpaid and quickly began to build my portfolio. It did not take long until the dream of having my company was coming to fruition. Living and working in Los Angles allowed me to meet and work with other amazing artists in the industry and expand my skills from mainly bridal makeup to doing makeup for films, music videos, commercials and print work. It was a wonderful learning experience and allowed me to grow in my profession working with celebrities, being on movie sets, collaborating with other makeup artists, hair stylists and directors, but what I love and always seem drawn to is bridal makeup.

I will never forget the day when I sat down with my husband and told him that I was overwhelmed with e-mails from brides wanting to book me but they were wanted both makeup and hair. That was when I decided it was time to finally branch out and do exactly what I wanted to do with my company and offer makeup and hair. I put a plan into action and I reached out to the hair stylists that I felt were the very best in the area but could also represent my brand and asked them to join my “team.” I was also getting large wedding parties and double booked on weekends at the peak of wedding season, so I brought on resident pro makeup artists to help me with those larger parties and before I knew it… My dream was now a reality.

Since starting my company my work has been featured in several magazines, films, commercials, music videos and print work. I have won several awards and I am traveling all over for work. I am thankful I can combine my skills and experience from the corporate workplace into what I am doing today. One of the most incredible opportunities I’ve had is the chance to give back and volunteer with “The Miss Amazing Pageant; an organization that celebrates girls and women with special needs. As well as several different women’s recovery centers and shelters for women coming out of the sex trade industry. I have begun to see that doing someone’s makeup and hair is so much more than just making them look pretty for a day. It’s about making them feel amazing and giving them confidence and helping them see themselves the way we do. The best compliment I will ever receive is when a woman looks in the mirror after having her makeup and hair done by me and is in love with what she sees. I feel that I have the best of both worlds. I have a job that I love and I get to watch my kids grow up and be there for the special moments in their life.

Has it been a smooth road?
I wouldn’t necessarily call it a struggle, but I think as an artist it’s easy to get locked into doing faces a particular way so I have to remind myself that each face is different and a canvas to create a fresh look.

Any predictions for the industry over the next few years?
I truly believe that we will begin to see many cosmetic lines begin to incorporate skincare into their makeup as well as that makeup being organic. We will also begin to see a lot more women embracing their age. That “invisible” feeling a lot of women feel when they hit 50 is going to become a thing of the past. This is one of the biggest and best sociological turnarounds in the history of beauty and cosmetics.

What advice do you wish to give to those thinking about pursuing a path similar to yours?
Definitely network! Los Angeles is an amazing city filled with amazing talent and if you are able to meet and collaborate with that talent, your career and life could change.

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