Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Hayes.
Natalie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My foray into media makeup artistry for TV/Video/Film began in 2010 when I was searching for a new career path after closing a business I owned/operated for many years. At the time I was dating a director who was very intuitive and insightful. He recognized that I’d be a good fit for this career path and made a deal I couldn’t refuse– if I would invest in the training + supplies, he would hire me for all of his makeup/hair jobs! Seeing that he was constantly busy directing commercials + corporate video projects for national + international companies, I jumped at the prospect. Having a highly artistic background, this career path was a natural fit. Fast forward to today where I’ve have the privilege of doing makeup for 50+ episodes of TV, tons of commercials, music videos, 2 feature films, lots of corporate industrial jobs, live news broadcasts, runway, etc. It’s been a wild ride and I’ve done makeup on many celebrities, famous athletes, and people I never would’ve dreamed of, in the beginning, even including a U.S. President!
Has it been a smooth road?
Freelance is honestly a bit of a beating because you never know what you will make from month to month. So you really have to love this art form + be willing to network a lot to survive on your own. One challenge is staying fresh in the minds of producers and photographers who will hire you. They tend to hire the last makeup artist they worked with so if you have to turn down a job and get out of the “rotation,” so to speak, you have to sometimes work to get back into the forefront of their minds again. Also, being undercut by people who want to do your job but have not invested in training to properly learn the art form is a challenge. Producers know there are always people willing to do it on the cheap, which drives down the market value of the profession, These types of people will lie about credits + experience and also quote half or less of the standard rate. Because there is no licensing credential in GA, anyone can call themselves a makeup artist and literally hang up a shingle today and try to get jobs doing it. By not getting educated and also by undercutting rates, those people drive the value of our services down for everyone.
How would you describe the type of kid you were growing up?
As a child, I was very imaginative and my mom especially encouraged that by saying “you should never come to me and tell me that you are bored. There’s absolutely no reason to be bored.” So I was encouraged and expected to think up new and interesting things to do. I had a million ant farms and wrote a family newspaper, recorded my own “radio station,” etc. My mom’s side of the family especially was/is very artistic and my grandparents were skilled oil painters and made so many things by hand (grandpa built his own Airstream trailer and grandma made all the decor for it, for example). Their creative energy is a big part of my upbringing. Anyhow, I was and am still more introvert than extrovert and I’m not sure how much of that had to do with being mostly an only child whose parents worked full-time, or what…but I never did or do have any issues finding ways to self-entertain. HAHA
Is there a specific memory from when you were younger that you really miss?
One of my favorite childhood memories involves my late Uncle Fred. He was the black sheep of the rest of the family, but I was his little angel and we had such a cool relationship. Anyway, as a kid, I had these crazy warts on my hands. They weren’t huge but there were several that bothered me and mom couldn’t figure out how to get rid of them. Well, one Christmas Eve I was visiting relatives and sitting on Uncle Fred’s lap and he saw my warts. I told him how much they bugged me but there was no solution for them. He whispered, “I’m going to do a special secret magic trick and your warts will be gone within one week.” I was amazed and didn’t know what to think, but I believed him completely. So he took a shiny penny out of his pocket and said: “show me on your hands every single wart.” I did and as I did, he touched each one with the penny. Then he said, “Ok, this is our secret ceremony so you can’t tell anyone what we are up to, but we’re going outside.” So I followed him outside and he dug a small hole in the earth in my grandparents’ front yard with his finger and he buried the penny. He said, “ok, it’s done. As long as you don’t tell anyone, warts will disappear in the next week.” Well, I did not tell a soul and I kid you not, those warts completely disappeared, just as he said and within a week, never to be seen again! I didn’t understand why at the time, but as an adult, it taught me the power of positive belief, and sending thoughts and energy out into the universe or your body in this case. WOW!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
On the makeup front, there are exciting things happening with my book (“Becoming Set Ready,” available at the Apple store) and the related curriculum materials for education I’ve put together for cosmetology students + practicing professionals. Additionally, I’ve gotten into producing for video mainly and it exercises the part of my brain that loves organizing tons of details and thinking 10 steps ahead. The future is bright!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.MakeupHairArtist.com
- Phone: 404-889-4845
- Email: natalie@makeuphairartist.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AtlantaMUA/
- Other: @HayesMakeupHair
Image Credit:
Photographer: Nai-Tsang Cheng
Photographer: Jenna Lee Studios
Photographer: Tanya Aloisio
Actor: Louis Gossett, Jr.
The Chrisley Family
