What a start to the year! What a week it's been! It's crazy to think how quickly this has all taken off, and I assure it's not been easy. But that's what makes it fun, right?
This is how I have felt this week:
Between a full-time job, with OT, and then coming home to yet another computer screen...I think my eyes may pop out of my head! ha!
But honestly, I have loved every second of it! I'm living MY dream! I'm working on MY dream! That is worth all the eye bulging and late nights, forever!
Hey You! I just thought...you may be new here! Welcome! I'm glad and honored to have you here! Let me start this off right and introduce myself! I'm The Wing Woman, but you can just call me The Wing Woman.. :P Just Kidding! I'm Haylei! I started becoming a makeup artist, without fully knowing it, 3 years ago when I joined an amazing company called Younique. <3 They forever have my heart for the work they do and mission they have. I joined that company for $99 and got an amazing kit of makeup that was valued around $250. What a steal, right? I was completely sold with their liquid foundation, and head over heels for it because it was literally the best thing I had tried. Light as air, and did not break me out in rashes or acne. That was a huge battle for me. Sensitive skin, and I searched high and low for a foundation that wouldn't break me out...I'm talking like hundreds and hundreds of dollars searching for that one bottle that would be the gold mine. Then, BOOM! Found it and haven't looked back since! So I thought, "if this foundation is this good...how good are the rest of their products?" So I bought a collection...loved it so much and wanted more. What about this kit? I had never done direct sales, and was way turned off by the people that did...but there was this pull to this company I had, and I couldn't understand it. So I joined for the makeup, the discount and low key kinda wanted to make a little money. I mean, who doesn't want to make money, am I right? So I took the jump.
Here we are, 3 years later and I've enrolled in a Makeup Academy, something I NEVER EVER thought I would do, but then again...I didn't know I'd ACTUALLY LIKE makeup! Seriously. I was the person that made fun of the YouTube makeup tutorials...because, again low key, wanted what they had. THE SKILL. I had zero knowledge of 80% of what I do now 3 years ago.
It took me almost 3 whole hours to do my first smokey eye and contour, and I came out not looking like a clown! *insert applause here.* Huge accomplishment and that was the day I decided, I'm going to keep pushing those boundaries. What else can I do? What else am I scared of doing?
A lot actually. I was scared of a lot. Brows, WINGED LINER, any other eye shadow then purple and brown. What are these brushes? lipstick?? Do I have to wear it? oh god...I got it all over me..oh crap it's staining me. Why is it staining me!? OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE!? How do I get this off!? *Google lip....lip...what is this...Liquid lipstick*
Little did I know that once you put this on, you must be careful while it dries. Don't get it on around your lips..it has to be ON your lips or you're basically screwed. It stains. It smudges. It doesn't correct well. Then it's on your finger and you go to scratch your nose and now it's smeared on your nose. You wish the hair from your face and you accidentally touched your forehead...now you have another smudge and basically you just need to take your whole dang everything off because now it's on the mirror and the dog and your shirt and by golly how did it get on my FOOT!? WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT!?
I. was. a. mess.
But guess what? Those liquid lipsticks, are my all time favorite lip product, by far. I own every shade of Younique's line. I wear them just about every day.
Stellar is my favorite...and Snarky. They go with EVERYTHING. They're perfect. But that story above, made me learn all the things that could go wrong obviously, but also learn the RIGHT way to do it. THAT is the beauty of this industry. Learning as you go and doing it scared.
Now let's talk about another fear...Halloween Makeup.
There was no way on this green earth that I would ever be good at Halloween Makeup...and if you had told me I would be, and that I would be taking classes for Special Effects Makeup, I would have 1000% laughed right in your face and told you bye, Felicia. Lies!
Welp, here I am, doing Halloween Makeup and loving every second of it. Enrolling in a SFX class to learn even more, from the best of the best. And all it took was last minute, deciding to dress up as a kind of Harley Quinn for my serving job Halloween night (2017.) Then I decided to test the waters the following year and decided to do a creepy face (2018.) Fast forward to this past year and I wanted to do a little mash up. I LOVE mermaids, but I loved with skulls too. So I smashed them up and created the Skull Mermaid (2019.) I even did an amazing pumpkin on a client! It was my favorite!
And here I am, a licensed Makeup Artist..something I NEVER thought I'd be saying.
I have an arsenal full of makeup, which again, is something I NEVER thought I'd be saying either.
The key here: Never say never.
While we're at it, let's talk goals and dreams.
What do I want to do with my makeup empire with Younique that I'm building?
What do I want to do with my MUA business?
It's simple and two fold as far as a business aspect goes.
1. I want to own a coffee shop.
That's been my dream since I was 15. I have the name picked out and everything already. The coffee shop will employ single parents, and have a daycare for those that have children under school ages.
2. That coffee shop will completely fund an adoption agency.
It will be for families that can't have children, while also providing a safe haven for unwed/teen mothers to adopt out their babies.
I will be successful enough that I will make a ZERO profit from the coffee shop. I will pay the employees above fair wages because we will have the capacity to do so, as well as fund that adoption agency.
THAT is the ultimate dream. THAT is the ultimate goal.
Bet you didn't see that coming did you?
Everything I do, has a mission behind it. But this one is the ultimate one. And I can't wait for the day I get to write one of these blogs and say that we are building the coffee shop, that it's opened and that we've made someone else's dream come true by adding a sweet bundle of joy to their family.
But until that day, and until next week...I'm just Haylei, The Wing Woman and leader of The Freedom Catchers...and that's all I need for now.
Remember, Just Wing It.
<3
Love Always,
Haylei