Welcome to Sheena Rae Beauty
First blog post! YAY!
Hi loves! Welcome to Sheena Rae Beauty. I am new to this whole blogging thing, so please be patient with me while I try to wrap my head around this.
My first blog post I wanted it to be a little bit about myself and my journey to being a full-time, self-employed makeup artist. So lets get this show on the road shall we!
Hi, my name is Sheena and I am a 23 year old makeup obsessed woman. I get asked all the time, “How did you get started in makeup?”. Well I Have a long story for you.
My journey with becoming a makeup artist started when I was just fifteen. I got a job at Shopper’s Drug Mart as a part time cosmetician. I continued working there till I was eighteen. It is crazy to think about now because makeup wasn’t a big thing for me until I had turned 18 and started going to the bar. (Legal age in Alberta is 18.)
College Life
I moved away for college in 2015 to Calgary, Alberta. While I was living there I was pretty lonely. I spent so much time in the books, studying to be an architect that I never got the chance to be sociable. Also was a crazy woman and was working a full time job. While I was studying, I loved to have something on in the background as sound. It was one day when I had discovered Miss Tati Westbrook. Now, if you guys are just as makeup obsessed as me, you will know who Tati is. She is an OG makeup guru on YouTube. Till this day, she is still probably my favourite.
She quickly caught my attention with her swatches and testing new makeup products. What I love about Tati is how she proved that drugstore makeup can still be great makeup. You didn’t have to have a high price tag to be an amazing product.
I would go to my nearest drugstore or Walmart and start scanning the makeup isles to pick up all the products that Tati had recommended. My collection of makeup started growing and growing. I would spend countless hours in front of my mirror practicing makeup looks, trends and new products. It was shortly after that I saved up my tips from my full time job and bought myself a DSLR camera and tripod.
My First YouTube Video
It is so crazy looking back at that video and seeing how far I have come in three years. I finished college, got my Architectural Technologies diploma and quickly moved back to Edmonton, to be with my family. I put down the camera for a few months but the love for makeup didn’t stop. On my days off, I would spend so much time walking around Sephora to find the newest and latest products for me to try and test out.
Becoming a Freelance Makeup Artist
I hate to say it, but becoming a makeup artist kinda fell onto my lap. Not saying I didn’t have to work for it, because trust me, I have been working really hard for 4 years now to get where I am today. I was practicing makeup looks and posting so much that people started asking if I would do their makeup. Then I began practicing on different faces and learning about different face shapes. I decided on taking this hobby of mine to become a money making side business while I was working my full time job.
In 2018, I decided to become a certified makeup artist. After doing countless hours of research, I had heard of the program called Glam Class Pro, taught by two amazing women from St. Albert that I look up to. I took the jump and after completing 36 hours and passing my final exam, I have officially became a certified makeup artist.
That when it all changed for me. The passion grew and this little “side hustle”, had become almost a full time job for me. It started to become more than just weekends for me. I started using my sick days and vacation days to start being able to say yes to amazing opportunities during the week. It got to the point where I had to sit myself down and say, I cannot do both. It is time to decide.
January 24th, 2020 became the day that I was officially my own boss.
Now, it wasn’t an easy journey to get here. People still think I am crazy for giving up being an Architectural Technologist. But, the way I look at it is that, my business was growing more that I could handle. It took so much hard work for me to get to where I am today.