Today we’d like to introduce you to Shana Armstrong.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My career as a makeup artist was something that kind of came about naturally for me. Being a young girl growing up in small town USA, Pine Bluff, Arkansas to be exact, I knew that I was going to create a life for myself a bit bigger than where I was from. I was a kid that loved all things creative, whether if it was musically, theater, or in the art room; there was where I felt the most free. I’m grateful to also have parents that saw that I was talented and comfortable in the creatives spaces I carved out for myself and encouraged me to do whatever I felt was right for me and my life.
As a little girl who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the very early developing stages of my life, which caused limited mobility on the right side of my body, I had to learn fast that in life, I was going to face some challenges, whether if it came from the partial physical limitations and or how society was going to try to write me off and tell me what I can and cannot do. Long hours of physical therapy, recovery from reconstructive surgeries on my right foot, and road trips to and from the children’s hospital that was almost an hour away from my hometown was where I challenged myself creatively before I ever picked up a foundation brush. My love for reading allowed me to dream and escape from the physical pain I was dealing with my condition, so at times, I would try to draw what I imagined what the narrative would be like from the books I read that didn’t have pictures. So, with that, I grasp the concept of colors, placement, and textures once I started to take drawing and painting more seriously. As time went on, the art class was my sanctuary, and I tried to soak up as much information as possible from my teachers, fashion magazines, television, and movies.
But, there was one book that I received from my late grandmother Dolly Mae when I was a teenager by the talented Reggie Wells, who was the makeup artist for Oprah Winfrey, Chaka Khan, Iman, Whitney Houston, and the list goes on called Face Painting (African-American Beauty Techniques from an Emmy Award-Winning Makeup Artist) that changed my life and sparked my interest like nothing before. The verbiage used, the rich colors I saw jumping off of the images used to tell his story and explain techniques and styles of makeup artistry was some I knew I wanted to know more about and put to use.
Fast forward to 2003, getting ready to graduate high school, and I had the idea of attending The Fashion Institute in San Francisco (now in Los Angeles) to get the tools I needed to build my career in Fashion Business Management, but life’s plans changed, and I stayed home to get some courses under my belt at my hometown’s HBCU. Hit a few roadblocks there, and that’s where I knew I needed to out of Arkansas…FAST! I came to Houston in 2006 to complete my college career and build my life from the bottom up. Created a few small businesses while going to college, and I had the opportunity to be on my first music video set with a friend and learned very fast that I enjoyed being a part of the creative part of the process than sitting pretty in a bikini. I started to build my kit and created a YouTube page shortly after that. My friends and family were some of the brave souls that allowed me to work on my craft before I ever thought to approach a company for a chance to work for them. More books were purchased and read, late nights of practicing color theory, product placement, and writing papers for business school was happening all at the same time. I was also extremely fortunate to befriend some talented local artists, photographers, models, and those in the nightlife industry that kept me on speed dial to provide my skills when needed to help build my name in the city and around 2007, that’s where Maykup Junkee Artistry was created.
I graduated college and obtained my degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, but while doing so, I was working 40+ plus hours in beauty and skincare and building my name and business as a freelance makeup artist. Gave the nine-to-five life a brief shot because just as much as I loved being a creative, I loved the world of business and entrepreneurship equally. But, with that I saw very early on I was not built for the tedious and super-structured world of corporate America and picked the makeup brushes full time from there. After a few times of trying, I finally got my shot at the chance to work for one of the biggest beauty brands in the industry, MAC Cosmetics, and I was with them for about seven years. That was a time to really bask in the beauty industry, and I was a student of learning how much of a machine the beauty industry is and can be. I flourished as a certified artist and built some beautiful relationships with like-minded artist and took everything I learned with the company and applied as much as I could to my brand, Maykup Junkee Artistry. That allowed me to build my name in the spaces for photo shoots, commercials, social media content, and now movies.
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?
After my career with MAC came to an end, I kicked my passion into gear and took another route with another growing brand and was able to travel all over as a representative for them at some of the biggest beauty and trade shows across the country, but once that came to an end, I was hitting the creative mental burnout and started to lose my passion for the artistry. Because alongside what I was trying to create as a businesswoman, I was trying to build and maintain the platform that I created before there was even a such thing as a content creator in beauty and lifestyle branding. So, at this point, I’m trying to find my space in this evolving world of social media and business. I went back to the drawing board and found myself enjoying education in beauty and skincare and became an account coordinator for an up-and-coming skincare line.
Unfortunately, life had to hit reset, and after being out of that crazy part of the beauty industry for so long after being out of it and enjoying the more slower pace of my makeup career, I decided to step away from working for any other brand completely and working for myself ONLY. At this point, I’m about 13 years or so into my makeup career, and I had to finally take that leap. Plus, little did we know Covid-19 was going to change the trajectory of how we interacted with the world, especially for individuals like me who relied on working with the public and human contact for a living. This made me appreciate my industry more than ever before. A lot of us had to rebuild and go back to the drawing board as artist, whether if it was teaching virtual classes and or getting jobs in other industries that weren’t related to the beauty industry at all.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a full-time makeup artist and educator at this point in my career and I provide my makeup services to the everyday lady, mentorship to those who want to get into the makeup industry, and my skill set to those in the entertainment industry.
I specialize in beauty and glamour makeup looks, styling hair when and if needed, and male grooming when and if needed on television and movie sets, and I think what sets me apart from a lot of other artists around me is that despite some of my physical limitations, I can still deliver beautifully crafted makeup looks and as long as I’ve been in this forever evolving industry, I’m not above learning from those newer to this craft. As long as we’re living and open to growing, we can be a student and a master at the same time.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The beauty industry is a fast pace, forever evolving, and taxing industry, and with that being said, you have to still be grounded and connected to the world around you. I learned very early on in my career that I was blessed with the talent that I have that can put me in the room with people from all walks of life, but alongside that, I enjoy learning about people and interacting with those around me. My running joke about being a professional makeup artist is that we are underpaid therapist and I’ve been the family to some of my colleagues that they’ve never had and the friend or sister to some of the clients in my chair.
I’ve cried tears of joy, sadness, and everything in between with my clients. I’ve assisted in my nursing mom’s pumping and feedings while creating the perfect eyeshadow looks and applying lashes at the same time, lol. Whatever has to be done to satisfy my clients and to maintain that trust and relationship that has been built, I’ll do it. That’s what I feel plays a major part in my success and LONGEVITY in this industry.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/MaykupJunkee
- Facebook: Facebook.com/MaykupJunkeeXO
- Twitter: Twitter.com/MaykupJunkee
Image Credits
Byron Duncan
Call Me Choko
