Meet Samantha McKenzie of Sammie Slays

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha McKenzie.

Samantha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
If you’ve ever known Samantha then you would know that I’ve been slaying my face for years chilee lol. I’ve always had a passion for makeup, style, and skincare ever since I was young. It was inevitable that one day I would decide to turn my personal love for makeup and skincare into something lucrative and share my talents with others while simultaneously making a good coin!

It all started in 2017 after I left my last corporate job, it was then where I decided that I never wanted to go back to working for someone else again, and by then my makeup artistry grew far beyond an average level. I then decided to go to school for esthetics where I can combine my love for skincare, makeup and grow my skill set. I completed Elaine Sterling Institute’s year-long aesthetics program in Buckhead, Georgia. Along the way, I connected with other entrepreneurs, heavily networked and mentored with prominent professionals in my field.

After graduating school in 2018, I became a board-licensed Esthetician and Certified Makeup Artist. I began my professional career working as a Makeup artist and Esthetician at Kissable Lips Cosmetics beauty salon, perfecting my craft while starting to build my personal brand as Sammie Slays freelancing. Since then, I’ve taken my talents to new heights expanding my resume and becoming a notable makeup artist in an array of media including music videos, TV/film, magazine print work, fashion runway, etc.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road definitely wasn’t smooth chilee lol but that’s to be expected when you take on the risk of becoming an entrepreneur. Some of the struggles along the way started in the very beginning with school and having to drive an hour every day just to get there or going to school full-time and being a CNA opening up my own private in-home care service, so time management was a challenge. It came to a point where managing the in-home care business and going to school full-time became overwhelming and in order for me to concentrate on finishing school I had to hire employees to help with the workload which added on extra financial responsibilities. But even with that, nothing compares to the financial risk with being an entrepreneur and investing in your self. Having to buy all of your own supplies and tools, makeup products, paying for graphic designs, paying for logos, paying for promotion, marketing and continued education to up your skillset, all in the hopes of gaining clients/bookings and seeing a return on your investments. But at the end of the day, God helped me to grow my clientele and to have success. And honey, it truly is a blessing to do what you love every day and make people look and feel beautiful.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I started doing makeup as Sammie Slays professionally in late 2017, and became a Licensed MD Esthetician in 2018. What I’m really known for is my full glam make up artistry. I specialize in a variety of media and production including TV/film, magazine/printwork, music videos, bridal, pageants, male grooming and fashion runway in which I do travel. In addition, I specialize in skincare, performing procedures and treatments ranging from basic facials to microdermabrasion, chemical peels, full-body skin treatments and full body hair removal. What I’m most proud of is all that I have accomplished, I find Peace in knowing that God will always lead me exactly where I need to be and because I concentrate on myself and perfecting my craft I’ve been blessed to build up my clientele, social media presence and have an extensive professional resume in such a short amount of time.

What were you like growing up?
You remember that girl from school that was extra as hell, always dressed up, wore heels everyday, hair done, nails done everything did lol that girl was me. Growing up, I was very flamboyant, outgoing and loved the dramatics. I expressed myself through my aesthetics. I was beyond the average girly girl, I was always dressed up no matter where I went, kept my hair slayed, makeup beat for the gods, and had a boss like mentality even at a young age. My personality was heavily influenced by my Jamaican culture which led me to be very creative and not following the normal makeup and style trends because of that people always seemed to gravitate towards me which helped me grow my Sammie Slays brand.

Contact Info:

• Email: samantonne@gmail.com
• Phone: 678-383-1159
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sammie.slays
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/sam.antonne

Image Credit:
Nathan Pearcy, Chase DaVinci, Tyson Arts Photography, MarQuest Photography

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