What motivated or inspired you to create your brand?

I actually didn’t want to have people do my hair so I learned to do everything on myself.

Is your personal brand separate or cohesive with your work as a makeup artist?

It’s definitely separate from who I am because if you hang around me then you’ll know I’m very calm and laid back. I am huge movie person and I love watching movies and chilling. I’m not a rowdy type of person and I don’t go out all the time so when I do it’s kind of a relief. I feel like I work too much so when I get the opportunity to go out I really love to have some fun. I’m also glad you asked this question because I have so many girls in my inbox who just write to me like I’m this big person and I just think to myself, if only they knew, I’m just normal. I love the energy they bring and the lovely things they say about me which gives me a lot of motivation to just keep going.

How do you manage your time?

First of all, I have a full-time job and I just switched to the overnight shift. Switching to overnight has been so much better for me because I have so much more time on my hands because when I was doing the day shift I was really stressed out. I felt like I couldn’t get anything done and I couldn’t take any clients because I was never available. Now that I am overnight, I go in at 11pm and get off of work at 9am so I have so much more time on my hands to create looks and  to take appointments. Changing my schedule has helped me to grow my appointments. I also have time to myself from Thursday to Sunday unless I take appointments.

What do you think was the catalyst to your immense growth? Or what made everything click?

Last year was the time when everything really started to grow. I started to not only be consistent but hashtags has helped me a lot in the business. I reached a larger audience and tagging brands and makeup pages has helped me as well because they repost my images which opens it to a larger audience. The past year is also the year that I really got good with makeup. I wasn’t doing shadows like the ones I am doing now. I used to study Youtube and I’d be on there everyday and hour just studying looks. I would look at little details like how they would move their head and just every technique they would use I would practice. Watching the videos really helped me grow. A lot of people pay to go learn makeup but you’re not going to learn as much as you can learn for free. Take your behind to Youtube because it is free and you can just practice. This is my biggest piece of advice because everyone always asks me what I recommend and it’s simply just to practice and you have to have patience as well. I would mostly practice on myself and then I also had a neighbor downstairs who I would practice on as well if she wanted to have her makeup done. I would also practice on my cousin. People don’t understand that if you don’t have patience then this isn’t the right industry for you to pursue. There is an artistry to makeup and you have to perfect your craft. I used to actually draw and now I’ve turned that skill into my face. The crazy thing is I don’t even really know how to draw anymore. I haven’t practiced drawing in so long now I feel like I don’t even have it anymore.

What did you learn over time that are huge no’s?

I honestly don’t know because  I don’t have any regrets. I feel like everything is a learning experience.

It’s just a whole learning process. There is nothing that is perfect and nothing happens overnight.

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who may be interested in going in going into makeup?

I would say again to just practice and have patience. It is the only thing that I feel that you need to succeed. Once you have practice and patience down then you are good to grow in your craft.

How long did it take you to build up to where you are now and price your services effectively?

It took me a year to get to where I am now and just last year I started with 2,000 on Instagram and I gained 6,000 followers in a year which I feel is good a good start and everyone builds at their own pace.

I also have somebody on Instagram that I really go to as a little makeup mentor and she helps me out with a lot of questions. Her name is Keke Adams and she is a makeup artist located in Newark so I go to her about everything and she will tell me to price things higher or even fix certain things that she notices. For example, I had no idea about setting up wedding contracts. I had a client that wanted to book me for a wedding and she brought up a wedding contract and I’ve never used them before that time. I went to Keke and she explained to me that it would help me and the client. She already had her wedding contract made so she helped me put my wedding contract together.

I used to charge $40 for faces but as I got better I wanted to up my prices because I felt I was worth the money. My prices grew with how much I grew in my skills. I also have to buy double of any product that I want because I have to buy one for myself and then also some for my clients so that’s a lot of money and I was only charging $40 for a face.

How long did it take you to build your kit to service your customers?

What I would do is every other month I would go and buy a lot of foundations like 8 different shades and I would mix it to match the client’s skin tone. The next month I’d buy a bunch of different concealers and that helps me to build my kit as I refill different products every other month.  Makeup is expensive but it does take a bit of time to go through the product so I make the money back easily. There are some things I have to get more frequently like beauty blenders, brushes and makeup wipes

Do you have any favorite makeup brands or hair products?

I love Maybelline foundations for clients and I also like Makeup Revolution. There are a lot of drugstore products I use on myself and clients like L.A. Girl Pro concealer, Absolute New York and I also have a lot of MAC. I love NYX lipgloss and I also have a lot of the Crayon Case. My go-to foundation right now is Makeup Revolution and every time I get a new foundation I always end up going back. I also love Juvia’s Place and I have a lot of Anastasia lipglosses. AC cosmetics is also good because their translucent powders are great for melanin girls.

On wigs I recommend Mane and Tail and Aussie for curly textures. On natural hair, I use As I am and Cantu. A huge tip too is using hair masks. I will mix egg, avocado and honey for protein and I’ll add castor oil for my hair masks.

Comment down below if you relate with DaiJah’s journey!

Boss Watch will feature creatives, entrepreneurs, influencers, digital professionals and anyone who is moving their passions from an idea into a reality. Boss Watch is for anyone who aspires to live a fulfilled life and just needs a little bit of inspiration to know that they are not alone on their journey towards self-realization. Boss Watch is for anyone who has made it through the growing pains of realizing their dreams and is now looking to share wisdom or just find new people to increase their network.  Is this you? If so, then feel free to leave a comment or email cnkstylebook@gmail.com for a chance to be featured on the next Boss Watch.