Today we’d like to introduce you to Destini Darby.
Hi Destini, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My love for makeup started just a few years ago, before that my makeup went as far as eyeliner, mascara, and chapstick. To fully understand my makeup journey, I’ll start with the birth of my son June 2012. He was absolutely perfect. Everything I wanted in life and nothing else mattered. Unfortunately, just a few months later, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (a type of blood cancer). I was 24 with a brand new baby and undergoing chemo. It was tough. Motherhood alone is a challenge but for a brand new mom, it is harder and adding on cancer just seemed to be too much. I beat it. You’d think that was the end but it is not. The toll it took on my body, my self-image, and my self-esteem left scars and issues I fought off daily. I lost myself and I found depression, anxiety, and anger. I had my second child, a girl, in June 2016. I suffered postpartum depression with her and it just made everything worse. I went from a happy social butterfly into a depressed hermit. I had to do something different. I found the wonderful sport of Roller Derby. I fell in love. I was drafted into a home team just six month after I started. We skated at revention center, sold tickets, had league sponsors; it was a big ordeal. I had seen some girls wear “war paint” on bout days and decided I wanted to do the same. Every bout my rookie season I would create a new extravagant look to wear.
After a while, I started experimenting more with makeup outside of derby. I got good at it very quickly. People would always comment on my bout makeup looks and my normal day-to-day or going out makeup. I would always be asked if I could do other’s makeup. I always pushed it to the side thinking, “no way would I be able to do another person’s makeup.” Finally, I caved and did just a partial makeup application on someone else. The look on their face when they saw it done moved me in a way I hadn’t been before. My love for makeup turned into a love for doing other’s makeup. I told my boyfriend the day before Thanksgiving 2019 that I wanted to start doing makeup. He isn’t a big fan of makeup but said he thought I would be good at it and to do whatever makes me happy. The whole night and next day I researched in-person classes along with online classes. I found the perfect online program that fit my needs as a mother with a full-time job and offered payment plans (it was a lot of money to fork up). I registered the very next day.
From there, it has just exploded. I didn’t dip my toes in the water, I jumped. I still have my regular salary job but I do makeup whenever I find the chance and book jobs with clients. I have done bridal & bridal party, photoshoots, makeovers, Halloween makeup, and even makeup lessons. You’d think with all that, I’d have my portfolio done and ready but every time I finish a makeup application I am overwhelmed with feelings when the person gets up from my chair and they see the enhancements of their natural beauty shine through. The way they stand and look at themselves just transforms and I forget about everything else. I end up begging photographers for images or snap a quick cell phone photo as they are leaving. A portfolio is important for getting more work but at the end of the day I’m not doing it for a huge client base, I’m doing it for the love of makeup, how it enhances the beauty a person already has, and the effect it has on the person.
Alright, 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 has been a somewhat smooth road but definitely has had it’s obstacles. The biggest one is being able to find the time to do makeup. I have two children, a full-time job, two puppies, and coaching three kids teams right now (softball, tball, and baseball). I have a very supportive partner who will take over running the house and parents that will hangout with my kiddos for me to run to gigs or even just go to my makeup room and do makeup. Practice is very important to makeup; learning techniques, mastering them, and being able to execute them faster. Which brings me to my other obstacle, my perfectionism. The makeup I do has to be, to my eye, perfect. If it isn’t, I will continue blending and adding, until it is. Which takes time. A makeup application shouldn’t take too long but I reach that too long point and keep going. This takes me back to needing to speed up the techniques I know. Thankfully, I’ve gotten much better at this with making myself sit and practice atleast once or twice a week. It doesn’t seem like much to do but we are at the field until 9 or 10 pm 4/5 nights a week, up for work at 5 am, and at the field all day on Saturday. It is worth it though and I remind myself if I want to continue this journey and do what I love, I must practice.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My normal day to day job is sales in the construction industry. I started in this just a couple years ago as a front desk employee and busted my butt to land a couple promotions and specializing in data/job management and quoting. I work in a couple different programs that others don’t know how to work in. On top of the quoting I do for local jobs, I manage job information for the south Texas region, and I also manage another program for the entire nation which some home builders prefer for billing and order submission. My B.S is in Spanish with a minor in business but I’ve used it very little in my career. I went from working in a gun store to managing a program for a junior college and now to my current job. People always ask if it is hard to jump into a new industry and my quick response is “it depends”. It depends on your motivation, drive, and ability to understand information quickly and retain it. You have to be willing to dive in and do the extra to learn the industry. In the beginning when you are being hit left and right with things you have no clue about, it is hard; you just have to learn from it and take it with you as you move forward. However, if you can do that then no, it isn’t hard. What sets me apart from others is all the same, my willingness to learn and give it my all no matter what it is or how hard it may seem. This is what has gotten me to where I am today with my job and with my makeup business/passion. I love to learn and I do it well.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Finding a mentor in the beauty industry is very difficult. There are so many different paths you can take and so many people who push product just for the money. My advice would be to watch YouTube or get on social media and just look for someone who you vibe with. Someone who has/had the same goals and priorities that you do. I stumbled across mine by watching YouTube videos on different makeup applications for different shapes of eyes. I’m always watching how to videos, even though I know how to do them, I like to see different techniques to see if there is one I like better than the ones I use. I was watching this “suggested” video and I just fell in love with the influencer. I kept watching her day after day. I loved the makeup she would do, I loved her stance on the beauty industry, I loved how she would talk about other things in life that are more important. It’s like she has become my life coach.
There are others I follow and talk to but I look to her the most. Networking is also hard because there are so many artists out there. I’d suggest the same thing for networking as I would for finding a mentor, look for people you vibe with. Doing makeup gigs, especially bridal, I work with hairdressers and photographers. I have found the ones who are my favorite and when someone books me and asks about hair or photographers, I always suggest them first. It makes it much easier to work with people you have worked with before, work well with, and enjoy working with. They tend to be people who are as “out there” as I am. I also network with other makeup artists as they are good source for products and techniques but also can refer you if someone is booking them on a day they are not available. Not everyone is going to like you and you aren’t always going to like them but the beauty industry is large so find those that are a match for you.
Contact Info:
- Email: trippsmakeup@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/makeupbytripps
- Facebook: Facebook.com/makeupbytripps
