Conversations with the Inspiring Lauren Reid

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Reid.

Lauren, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a semi-tomboy kind of girl who was born and raised in a small hippy mountain town in northern Arizona (Flagstaff, AZ), so one almost always wants to know how in the world I ended up doing makeup, of all things. It especially becomes a topic of interest when they find out I have a college degree.

After high school, I moved to Tempe to go to the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU (GO DEVILS!) I was on an academic scholarship and didn’t want to waste it, so I secretly went just to appease my parents. The joke was on me because I fell in love with university education during my very first semester. I made it through, graduated with honors with my B.S. in Marketing, and was so graciously given tickets to IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) as a gift.

I had been so stressed about the cost of makeup schools; now that I had earned a college degree I had thoughts like, “How in the world am I going to take that large of a loan to pay for makeup school when I seriously just got a college education for less?” To be honest, I was most scared that I was going to be too impatient of a person to do makeup.

To make a long story a little bit shorter, I found a school at IMATS that I could afford tuition for in Newport Beach, CA. I told myself if I love it, I will fork out the investment for the “top dog” school. I went a couple months later, probably cried in class, learned a lot about technique and hygiene, had my end of the class photo shoot where you had to create 3 looks building on top of each other and then, I graduated with my certificate. While I was there, I realized that in addition to what I learned, the only thing that was going to make me any better at the type of makeup I was interested in (beauty makeup) was to keep practicing.

Back to Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ I went. I started doing freelance marketing for clients to pay my bills while spending every free minute of my day and night reaching out to anyone and everyone I found online to start working on my makeup portfolio. Of course, I didn’t have much to show, so it took A LOT of free work and a lot of NO’s before I started making much traction. Eventually, I got so busy with paid makeup work that I kept having to reschedule all of my meetings so I decided to quit doing my freelance marketing jobs.

Almost 7 years later, here I am.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t easy by any means. I have had to make extreme sacrifices — I have missed a lot of things in life — relationships, friendships, birthdays, holidays, homes, sometimes my health, and other personal goals in life.

Like I said, when I was first starting, I heard NO a lot. I don’t blame them, as I didn’t really have much in my book to show. But luckily, I was taught growing up that if one door closes, kick it down and walk through anyway! If you want something, you have to work your ass off for it. Stay the course.

Along the way, you are going to compare yourself. You are going to feel defeated. You are going to have your worth questioned. You are going to feel taken advantage of. You are going to feel like you are just another number but whatever you do, just don’t lose faith in yourself or your dreams.

Follow your heart. Follow your passion. Stay humble. Work hard. To wake up every day and feel excited about what you do is oh so worth it in the long run.

What should we know about Lauren Reid Makeup Artist? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I get hired to do makeup (and men’s grooming) for private, commercial, and corporate clients for television, film, print, and live events.

According to the people who grace my makeup chair, I am most known for working quickly at making them feel like the best version of themselves without making them at the same time feel insecure in their skin. By this, I mean that I am able to transform a face by enhancing your best features without leaving you feeling like cake-face and self-conscious of how much makeup you appear to be wearing, and I do so in an acceptable amount of time. Although I do not skimp on a single step of the makeup application, when you are done in my chair, you will feel and look naturally beautiful, radiant, and confident.

With that being said, I am most known for beauty makeup and glowing skin. From a no-makeup look to a smokey eye, it seems my vibe always circles back to “natural beauty”. I can probably attribute this style to 1) my love of everyone’s natural beauty and 2) not wearing much makeup myself.

I am a non-intimidating kind of person with a huge heart and who just wants people to feel comfortable in their skin. I genuinely think I was put here this lifetime to inspire people to feel beautiful as who they are, right here, right now. So, I am most proud of the fact that when I have someone in my chair, not only do I feel good about what I am doing, but THEY feel good about themselves. My job is a daily win-win.

What really melts my heart is the look in someone’s eyes when they see themselves after we finish. Those moments of self-adoration and increased confidence are what happily move me to do what I do, regardless of how much sleep or a life I might be missing out on.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I have general advice: Show up every day like you WANT to be there. If you’re on time, you’re late. Leave your baggage at the door. Don’t be too good to do something, but always remember your worth. Assisting is fun; 7 years in and I will still happily assist! Remember that the show is never about you: it’s about your client (unless you’re assisting then your show is to make the lead artist’s show flow well). Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t ever be afraid of the word no. If you are self-serving you might make short-term gains but you will never make lasting strides. Stop seeing other artists as competition — there is so much work to go around and we should be building each other up. On that note, if people refer you, always say thank you! Don’t underestimate yourself but be humble enough to know where you stand.

Things were way different when I started. I knew very little about anything when it came to productions and working on real jobs, so every day was a huge learning curve for me. Social media wasn’t really a thing so makeup artists weren’t as popular or widely accessible. I reached out but I had a very hard time finding someone coming from a place of abundance or compassion, so I never had a mentor.

If you’re wanting to find a mentor, I suggest just reaching out to who inspires you in your line of makeup artistry interest and let them know who you are and what your goals are. If you have questions, you can ask me. I know how scary it can be and am happy to help if I can!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laurenreidmua.com
• Phone: 480-433-4817
• Email: laurenreidmua@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurenreid_mua
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/laurenreidmua
• Other: https://blog.laurenreidmua.com/

Image Credit:
Lauren Reid, Brad Olson, Bob Upton, Ashlyn Kudransky

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