January 8, 2017

Meet Mimi Johnson of The Glamatory in Smyrna

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mimi Johnson.

Mimi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a midwest transplant that moved here for college. I’ve always been a free spirited, art-lover that enjoyed beauty and fashion. While working in corporate America, I traveled a lot on my job. I was young and single and took lots of trips with friends and became the “designated makeup artist” on each trip. That’s when I started falling in love with makeup. I started doing makeup out of passion, and then that passion turned into profit. I soon was doing bridal makeup, working in tv/film, and with commercial companies. I took a leap of faith years later, and left my corporate job in 2010 and had an “Emancipation of Mimi party”! I enjoyed my freedom as a freelancer and entrepreneur. Then in 2012, I had my son who is the love of my life, and at that point, I knew I needed to change things and have more structure. I also saw an opportunity to have a better place for makeup artists in Atlanta to call home as well as for women in Atlanta to become educated on makeup and also be able to get slammed up by some of the best makeup artists in Atlanta. This is where the idea of my store was birthed.

Great, 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?
For the most part, I’ve had so much love and support shown that definitely helped me along my journey. But it hasn’t been all peaches and cream. I, along with a friend who became my business partner, dumped our savings into the store because it was very hard to find funding for working capital and inventory as a start-up business. It was quite expensive. Also for me, it’s been a learning experience learning to be a boss over many operations like finance, management, sales operations, and etc. It’s not easy, but we manage. And at the end of the day I smile because our customers love the store, and so do I!

The Glamatory – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a professional makeup artist and beauty influencer. I’ve worked on shows like The Real Housewives of Atlanta, been published in major publications such as Essence, and have been a brand ambassador for companies like Colgate.

The Glamatory is an Atlanta-based beauty boutique featuring exclusive brands, makeup artistry services, and a high-end beauty atmosphere. We retail and use brands such as Kevyn Aucoin Beauty, Inglot Cosmetics, Becca Cosmetics as well as our very own line of makeup! We service our customers with some of the best makeup artists Atlanta has to offer! Shop with us online or stop by for a glamorous experience.

We’ve been recognized as one of the best beauty boutiques by The Atlantan, featured in the AJC, and Mimi has been recognized as one of the best makeup artists in Atlanta by Jezebel magazine. We’ve even has the pleasure of serving several celebrities and reality stars such as Angela Simmons and Kenya Moore to name a few.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There have been several, but one of the biggest so far is collaborating on a lipstick line with Angela Simmons! It’s also been surreal to see myself on tv as I’ve been on The Real Housewives a few times as well as a show on Oxygen.

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