September 12, 2016

Meet NoHo Makeup Artist: Alix Mimran

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alix Mimran.

Alix, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I don’t really know where it started. Makeup was always just there. My grandma would bring me bags of her old makeup and I would play around with it on my little cousins and myself. I have been creative my entire life; whether it was dance, fashion, makeup, or art I was into it. Makeup became more prominent while competing in dance. Stage makeup is the gaudiest makeup out there and that’s where I began my makeup career. Doing my own makeup and my fellow dancers for shows and competitions. Dancing was my main focus growing up and makeup was just another creative outlet that I did for fun. After graduating high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. College seemed too mainstream for me and dancing isn’t the most stable career. It never really occurred to me that makeup was an option until I had a conversation with my mom about what to do. She suggested beauty school, which would have been a great idea but I have a phobia of hair (strange I know). From there I got the idea of going to school for makeup. I did some research and found that Los Angeles was the only place that offered the training I desired.

Within a few months, I was enrolled in Joe Blasco Makeup Academy in Hollywood. At age 19 I uprooted my life in the Bay Area and moved to LA. Being a makeup artist wasn’t my dream job, but I was lucky to be able to earn an income doing something creative, while I danced on the side. Not too long after I graduated from makeup school, it became increasingly more popular. As social media started to grow, being a makeup artist suddenly became trendy, making it an extremely competitive market. For this reason, I wasn’t able to jump right into production like I thought I would. Instead I, like most makeup artists, started my career by working for a makeup company inside of a department store. I started as a counter manager for Benefit Cosmetics inside a Macy’s then moved to MAC inside of a Nordstrom. Working for MAC molded me into the diverse and polished makeup artist I am today, but working in a sales environment really takes away the fun of doing makeup. I left MAC and joined the freelance team for NARS Cosmetics so that I could focus more on my personal business. Finally, after 8 years of being in the business, I am finally getting consistent work on my own. One day I was dedicating my life to sales at a department store and the next day I was getting calls for production work. It’s almost like it happened overnight- if one night was equivalent to 8 years. It took a lot of sacrifice; I did a lot of free work and work for trade before I finally got paid my actual rate. Even now it’s still a constant grind to get the next job. It’s all about persistence, social media, and networking.

Has it been a smooth road?
Living in Los Angeles with no support system is difficult. I had no family and no friends when I first moved. L.A. is also not the cheapest place to live; for a long time I was balancing 2, 3, even 4 jobs just to get by. Jobs that had nothing to do with the career I actually wanted. I worked as a bagger at a grocery store, sold electronics and cell phones, I even worked at a frozen yogurt place.

Have you ever felt like giving up?
There are plenty of times where it gets tough in this industry. Especially being an independent contractor. Many times I wanted to find a more stable job or go into a different field altogether. Lack of steady work in the makeup industry is actually why I decided to go to university. I enrolled in Santa Monica College and then Transferred to California State University Northridge. I changed my major four times, but initially, I decided on majoring in Deaf Studies because I am fluent in Sign Language and it’s a lucrative market. It didn’t work out for me so I changed majors again to a more cohesive major with the field I’m already in, which is Cinema and Television. Ironically, now that I am almost done with school and am fully immersed in both school and work, work is taking off. Basically, now that I don’t have a lot of time for work, I am getting jobs left and right. Quitting isn’t in my vocabulary, but second guessing my path is a constant battle.

What would you tell someone who is just starting out?
DO NOT GIVE UP! I’ve seen untalented people gain success from simply persevering through the stress and being persistent. Everyone in LA is learning on the job, even the most highly paid celebrities are constantly growing. Nothing is easy and most things don’t get handed to you, but it all pays off in the end–hopefully, I’m nowhere near the end, but I’m assuming.

Is there something you are particularly excited about or working towards?
I can’t wait to get to the point where I can make changes in the industry with my art.

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