Interview with Danessa Myricks: how to “accidentally” become a makeup artist and brand founder

One of the most famous makeup artists in the world calls herself an “accidental makeup artist.” If we rewind time, her career began as a sales and marketing director for a hair magazine company. “I was the banal nerd girl in the corner,” Danessa tells the publication. “There was nothing cool or fashionable about me at all.” She often saw makeup artists come for photo shoots and admired their atmosphere, as well as the joy and creativity emanating from them. After several years of operation, the owner of the magazine announced the closure of the company, and Danessa had 30 days to decide what she was going to do next.

“I was 30 at the time,” she says. After a moment of reflection and a little worry about what she would do next, Danessa saw that she had the opportunity to follow her passion. That passion was (and remains!) the art of makeup. Looking back on that time, she says: “I wanted to be excited, to wake up every day and be passionate about what I was doing. Freedom has always been something that was this carrot in front of me – just being free in time in my lifestyle.”

So Danessa did what any nerd would do - she picked up books to learn all about the ins and outs of makeup artistry. Her former employer's connections eventually led Danessa to some of her first (unpaid) assignments, which soon turned into paid assignments and then became workshops that eventually led her to creating her own brand.

What were your first jobs as a makeup artist?

When I first started, I wanted to work for free. To be honest, I didn't charge for almost a year because I really needed to gain experience. And luckily there were two photographers who had shot for the magazine before and who knew me as one of the company's employees. They gave me the opportunity. Luckily, over time, people really allowed me to touch them, and I learned everything by doing.

One of those photographers, Eric Van Lockhart, was shooting various hair care campaigns at the time. He recommended me for a job at Luster Products. After this work I felt more confident.

How would you describe your makeup aesthetic?

Things have changed so much over the years. I think it's like that for everyone: when you start in the industry, you try to figure out who people think is the best. Then you simply strive to be that person. When I started, everyone was talking about Sam Fine and Kevin Aucoin, so I thought, “I need to do makeup like this.”

Obviously, I didn’t do this at first, but that was my desire. And so I made my makeup much heavier. At that time, the makeup looked flawless and there was no retouching.

One of the things that really made their work stand out was that you felt something when you looked at their finished work. It touched you emotionally. This was my aspiration. I didn't want to just paint people. I wanted people to feel my work. Because this is what distinguishes you from others and what has driven the development of your style over the years. If people don't feel anything, it's not enough.

As I've grown in the industry and learned more, my style and aesthetic have evolved over time. And now I'm really talking about complete freedom with makeup. There is no right or wrong. I want people to do what they want.

When did you realize that you needed to create your own brand?

I've done development for a lot of other brands. I think one of the accomplishments I'm most proud of was working for Benefit Cosmetics as the Director of Product Innovation and launching their iconic brow makeup collections in 2016. After that I thought, “This is great. It's truly a wonderful experience." But in my experience, not just with them but with all the brands I've consulted for, I've always felt like there was a limit to what I could create. Always creating for someone else's vision.

I wanted to tell my story. So I decided to leave Benefit and move back to New York and essentially start from scratch again. I studied photography and started developing one product at a time. And that's what brought me to where I am today.

When do you think the big breakthrough came?

I think there were several. Every moment when I thought the whole world was falling apart was a breakthrough in the next stage of my life. For example, losing a job. If this had not happened, I would never have made the decision to leave and do something different and creative.

If I hadn't been so exhausted and exhausted from working as a freelance makeup artist and consultant, I would never have taken this position at Benefit. If it weren't for this experience, I would never have been ready to develop my own products. And if I hadn't been such a terrible makeup artist after reintroducing myself to the world, I would never have picked up a camera and I would never have seen makeup the way I see it now.

How did you go from having makeup artists embrace your products to now being widely used by people all over the world?

This makes me emotional because it has been a real challenge for me to come up with ways to get our products out to everyone. Over the years I mostly talked to makeup artists, but my direction had to change. It was like starting over because I needed to make my products accessible to everyone.

Now I can see how the average person uses my products. I wanted to change the way people perceive makeup, how they use it and how they play with it. To know that a housewife in Minnesota can appreciate Colorfix as much as the biggest makeup artists in the world is something I can't even put into words.

What advice do you have for small brands looking for funding?

To this day we are completely self-financed. We have never been able to get outside funding. I work and earn money, and then decide whether it will go to my family or to my business. This is how the brand grew.

So what can I say - because this is a conversation I've had to have with myself over and over again - you can slow down if you need to, you can pause for a second if you need to, but don't stop. Just keep plowing, keep pushing, keep moving forward. The time will come. Opportunities will come. I know this sounds like cliche advice, but it's true. The moment comes in different ways, the path is different for everyone.

How much time do you spend on your business these days compared to makeup art or photography? Or is it all connected?

Absolutely right. But I'm so glad you asked because the other advice I would give is don't stop creating. I experienced a moment when I was completely overwhelmed by deadlines and all business processes. In those moments when I am completely focused on creative pursuits, I see that business is thriving. When I create, everything moves forward.

My week is divided. The first part is intense, tough - I participate in meetings, I am active in my business. Then, mid-week, I switch scripts and fully commit to the creation process. I tell myself, “You can’t stop doing makeup. You can't stop pushing your beauty ideas because then the brand won't move forward."

I work really hard to maintain that balance.