What if Beauty had no Boundaries?

I had the immense pleasure to be a part of the Danessa Myricks Australia Tour, and to get to know her as a person, and as the true artist that she is. Not only was I left immensely inspired, my mind opened to all the creative possibilities I have yet to explore, but also touched by the warmth and humility she communicates in every interaction. Finding inspiration everywhere she looks, Danessa believes that inspiration is all around us, and that “we are all powerful creators with extraordinary imaginations!”

The Back Story

Starting off in a publishing firm that shut down, Danessa was forced to change careers, and took the opportunity to follow her ‘creative bug’ and make a fresh start as a makeup artist. With no formal training in makeup, no resources, and no support, plus two children to take care of as a single mother, this was a bold move on her part. Although many were critical of her decision, she was determined to put in the hours, learn from scratch, and somehow make ends meet. Starting with a $200 makeup kit from a local supermarket and makeup books by Kevyn Aucoin and Sam Fine, Danessa knew that educating herself and getting all the practice she could, would be the key to moving forward. The path would be challenging, and believing in herself was not easy at this stage.

She was terrified on her first ever freelance job for bridal makeup. She quickly learned that as long as you know a little more than the person you’re helping, you’re the expert. From working other jobs to support her family, to driving cross-country every weekend for over a year to practice her artistry skills on various gigs, to undercharging a huge company for her first editorial piece – like any real success story, hers is a story marked by strength, hard work, and persistence in the face of hardship and challenge.

She quickly learned that we are all creators and storytellers in makeup artistry – be able to tell an interesting story, be flexible, and find your vibe – and you’ll be successful.

Besides the looks that she creates, her commitment to doing what she loves, staying authentic, and making a difference to other artists worldwide is what’s truly inspirational about her.

Danessa Myricks

Danessa’s biggest challenge in her career and how she overcame it

As someone who travels globally to train artists, runs workshops at industry events like The Makeup Show, creates editorial work for brands, and promotes her professional makeup range “Danessa Myricks Beauty”, Danessa has her hands full! She usually jet sets to at least one, if not two or three countries per month! A single mother with two children and a business to run, her biggest challenge has been balance.

“Some seasons have more balance than others, but I’ve had to be very conscious of taking care of myself and those that are closest to me. It’s been difficult, but it’s all about achieving balance by making communication with my loved ones a priority, especially when scheduling and planning my trips so that I’m around for what’s most important to them.”

She’s truly a multi-tasking superwoman!

Danessa Myricks Work on International Workshops

Social Media for Artists, Creatives and Business-Owners

As someone who focuses on posting regularly even if she has to do it at 3am, Danessa understands the power of social media, embraces it as a form of advertising and uses it strategically for her business. She tells me that in our current world, if you’re not online, you’re invisible. Social media is a powerful part of business in our world so that you can really communicate who you are, what journey you’re on, and what makes you unique.

“As an MUA or business owner, you need to strategise on how you want to show yourself to the world. 99% of my engagement comes from social media, and it’s the best way to advertise and showcase what you’re capable of.”

Danessa’s Monochromatic Creation on her Australia Tour

Where is our industry heading in 2019?

Whilst trends are always changing, people’s comfort levels have transformed due to social media, which has encouraged creative exploration, individual expression, and showcasing of talent for the everyday person. It has created a new “normal” as we all tap into our inner artists. She sees a lot of bold colours and textures on the rise, with people using beauty and fashion to make a very individual statement about who they are and what’s important to them. For example, incorporating neon colours into corporate office wear.

Danessa’s discovery of her ‘Signature Look’

Known as the queen of multi-dimensional skin and glossy eyes, Danessa tells me that her signature style has only really evolved over the last 5 years or so, even though she’s been doing professional makeup artistry for the last 19 years. It takes time to find your unique style. After many years of trial, experimentation, and working in various facets of the industry (from editorial work that went on billboards and magazines, to everyday soft glam and bridal), Danessa started to discover her own style.

Danessa’s Signature Looks – Multi-dimensional Skin, Bold Colour, Glossy Eyes

So many people are creating the same types of looks, so we have to find those distinguishing elements that will make our work stand out. She really focuses on shape, contrast, texture, tone, lighting – the things that many don’t consider enough.

“For me, it’s by bringing a face and an image to life. You have to ask yourself, “How much shape can I create and dimension can I bring into this? So that the entire look is interesting.”

Danessa’s favourite Makeup Era is the ’70’s – glitter, bold lashes and bold colour. You can often see the love and influence of this era all over her work, particularly through the bold, glossy eyes that she creates, and her immense focus on colour to create the mood that an image will evoke.

Capturing Beauty on Camera

She humbly states that she’s not a ‘technical photographer’ but her work speaks for itself! Danessa talks about lighting as a key aspect to capturing beauty on camera in an effective way.

“If there isn’t enough synergy between what you did on the face and how you light it, a lot can be lost, including the overall effect. The makeup is beautiful in person but may be lost in translation.”

The challenge is in learning how to light the skin, so the skin tone stays true, and how to light the highlighter. She explains how you can read every book about the ‘rules’ of photography, but when you go experiment and practice, that is where the growth takes place.

“Your signature style with lighting is just as important as your signature style with makeup. So go and break the rules – that’s where the magic happens.”

Brisbane Masterclass Look by Danessa Myricks

Key Makeup & Photography Tips from Danessa's Workshops in Australia

My insights from attending her workshops:

1. It’s not about colour-matching someone to one shade of foundation. It’s about looking at their entire colouring (face, neck, shoulders, body, etc) and choosing a complexion colour, and a few other lighter and darker tones that you can work with to create ‘shape’ and reframe the face.
2. Whether its foundation, highlighting, or contouring, work in 3’s and in layers. The shades and tones must blend together seamlessly to create the desired shape and overall effect in a way that you can’t even see the multitude of shades used.
3. It’s not so much about changing your products as it is about changing your process– being intentional and strategic. Strategic placement of product is also crucial.
4. Think about the tools that you use, how you mix and layer your product, and how your choices will work together to create the impact that you are trying to achieve.
5. Push boundaries and break rules. Be ready to explore, try, make mistakes, and be bold – rather than being fearful.
6. Let the inner child play – carve out days where you can just get creative without any pressure to perform, and start experimenting. Some of your best work will develop here, and you may never be able to replicate it!
7. Work with intention. Take time to analyse your work at every stage, so that everything is done with a reason and purpose behind it.
8. For great beauty photography – invest in the right tools and set-up. For example, a good camera (Danessa currently uses the Sony A9), professional lights (Danessa uses Profoto lights), a grid to go over the lights, and some gold and silver reflectors for more creative work.
9. Communicate your “vibe” and your artistry through your work – whether that’s through makeup, accessories, tools or photography. For example, Danessa will mix her Colourfix colours to create ones that don’t exist. She may film the same look with different lighting and accessories, or spray some glycerin on the face mixed with her metals pigments. She turns off the lights and adds a coloured gel over the light to create a totally different mood. Essentially the same look has been used multiple times to communicate a totally different mood, and create various shots for her portfolio or social media content.

Don’t be afraid to use a retoucher for your final photographs. The retoucher isn’t hired to change your makeup, but to retouch imperfections and remove distractions. If they need to clean something up, it doesn’t take away from you as an artist – your models and muses are humans with wrinkles and laugh lines. Instagram is like a digital magazine, and the same concept goes for your portfolio or a professional editorial brief – you need to show your best work and present it in the best light.

Sydney Masterclass Look by Danessa Myricks

Danessa on Light and Shape

“The lighter areas define the shape of the face. Our eyes and the eyes of the camera always see what shade is lightest, first. So knowing that, I need to think about my makeup following the light, defining the lighter areas, the focus points and what the shape will look like. We are light-workers.

Deeper shading will look smaller and more recessed. Use it for camouflage. We don’t see the darker sides unless we look for it, because we look for what’s light.

When you know how to manipulate the deeper and lighter shading, that’s when you create magic. Understand how to master shadow and light.”

Danessa on Texture and Contrast

Reflective makeup is amplified and can be looked at on a scale – for example, low level pearls are on the lower end of the spectrum, with metallic or three-dimensional textures (like glitter or stone) being on the highest end. This is going to be the first thing people see, so intentional placement is key.

For example, if you have a bride that wants a dewy look with lots of highlighting (those areas are going to look bigger) and one of her goal is to also look very sculpted and toned, you will need to be strategic in achieving this balance.

“The more contrast between texture and tone, the more dramatic the effect. Think about all these things at the very beginning.”

For example, bridal and drag makeup is often very similar makeup that uses the same products – the difference is the amount of contrast that is achieved through the shades and finishes. The harder lines versus softer, more blended lines. You can create contrast in a subtle, beautiful way for a bride by considering how you are going to layer your texture.

“Your job is to look at everything, not just her face. Her shoulders, her ears, her neck, her body. Don’t do things in a vacuum. The whole look needs to be cohesive. It’s all about balance.”

Danessa loves to use the same formula (when it comes to base products) in different intensities so that it looks fluid on camera. This helps her achieve that supernatural, dimensional, multi-faceted finish.

Perth Makeup Masterclass look by Danessa Myricks

Working with her professional range: Danessa Myricks Beauty

Danessa’s makeup range is extremely versatile, because it’s been designed specifically with artists and professionals in mind. What separates the products instantly from other ranges is their ability to multi-task in an extremely specific, useful and high-performance manner, as well as the fact that the range is customisable. So an artist can create their ideal kit without having to carry hundreds of products. Being an artist herself (facing time constraints on jobs, challenging creative briefs, and being in various other scenarios on the field) has enabled her to create a range that allows the artist to be fully creative without the limitations of a conventional range.

“The range is synergistic – based on exploration and experimentation. I’ve filled the gaps based on what I haven’t been able to find or achieve in makeup, or if there is a need for something from an artistry perspective that is unfulfilled in the market. A lot of my range consists of products that nobody wants to make but everyone wishes they had in their kit!”

On a secluded desert island with only a camera and the choice of 3 products to achieve a high-fashion look, Danessa would take...

• COLOUR FIX 24 Hour Cream Colours
  
  

  

• Love and Light BEAUTY OIL
  
  
• FIRE AND ICE PALETTE
  
  

“My vision was to create a brand where there were limitless possibilities for women from all walks of life to create. As a self-taught MUA with minimal resources at my disposal, I had to be creative with the products I had access to, by maximising their usage and creatively mixing and blending colours and textures to make things work. Even with this, I found I was often limited by existing shades…. thus, the desire to create my own line of product to fulfill this void was born.”

The biggest makeup mistake Danessa ever made

She admits she’s made her fair share of mistakes along her makeup journey, and learned to correct them with practice.

A particularly painful one was where she completed the entire makeup to perfection, as per the brief, and then got a mascara smear on the cheek and eyelid at the end. Every artist out there can probably relate to this! It’s nice to know that the pros experience it too!

Danessa's source of Inspiration

In the early part of her career, it was Kevyn Aucoin and Sam Fine. But these days, she tells me, she finds inspiration everywhere – from life itself. She then takes those ideas and incorporates them into her work, whether that be through colour, texture, pattern, design, lighting, or something else.

 Danessa’s creative work

“It could be someone’s shirt, it could be the weather, a book, something I see whilst travelling…Inspiration is all around us!!”

What she loved about her Australian Tour

“Every city had it’s different nuances. There is a really relaxed ‘beachy’ feel here. Perth had the bold, creative looks and the artists used my products in unique ways. The other states like Sydney had a real focus on beachy skin, soft glam, and more traditional, bridal makeup. I absolutely loved Australia and the artistry there!”

BeauDazzled Beauty is the official distributor and stockist of Danessa’s professional beauty range in Australia.

Danessa with her muses on her Australian Tour

2019 and Words of Wisdom

2019 is all about global travel and domination! Danessa’s focus will be on connecting with artists everywhere, to teach and inspire, and also to spread the message about her brand.

“BE AUTHENTIC to yourself and to the industry, and that’s when the magic will happen.”

Danessa Myricks with Neha Hobson at her Melbourne Workshop

Danessa Myricks Beauty is used and loved by artists, celebrities, and everyday glamazons internationally! If you're in Australia or New Zealand, you can purchase her range inclusive of her newest products from BeauDazzled Beauty.

Key Recommendations for artists include:

New Colour Fix Shades; Light Work Highlighter Palette; Vision Cream Cover; Dew Wet; Beauty Oil; Cushion Color; Prism FX; Luxe Cream Palette; Halo Powder; Illuminating Veil; Evolution Powder;

Get in touch with Neha

Instagram: www.instagram.com/neha_ethicalbeauty

Email: neha@beautybyneha.com

Professional Blog: www.beautybyneha.com/

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