Becoming a Lynchburg Big Wig
Chantay Salido, Professional Makeup Artist & Owner of In Your Face Makeup Art
This is Chantay, owner of In Your Face Makeup Art, practically perfect in every way. We met a few months ago at a Tuesdays Together event at Vector Space in Downtown Lynchburg.
I had been invited to speak about productivity and I remember her meticulously taking notes. I recommended some of my favorite books to her and then I went on my way. A few days later we met for coffee and I did my best to share my business mistakes in hopes that she could learn from them.
The time came for me to prepare for the Lynchburg Big Wig photo shoot and knew I'd need my makeup done. I called on Chantay and ask her if she'd be willing to help me and she was so gracious to donate her time to the cause. I had gotten a bit overwhelmed with tying up loose ends before 5 so of course I was late getting to her place. I had every intention on being early but well you know life happened. Once again Chantay was incredibly gracious and did my look in under 30 minutes.
I'll be honest, I've never had a white person do my makeup and like it. I can't tell you how many spa parties I've been to where women "play with shades" on my face and I end up looking like some variation of a clown or drag queen. My features are big...I get it lol. Big eyes, big nose, big lips but I was hopeful Chantay could work her magic.
Trust and believe I'm not to keen on before and after shots but I HAD to show you Chantay's handiwork. The makeup didn't feel caked on, my lips stayed popping for hours and most of all...I felt beautiful. In 26 years it was the first time a white women in beauty made me feel like I didn't need to apologize for being black. She actually had my shade and I didn't need to supply a thing. Seriously WHAT A GEM!!!
So before I headed out to my photo shoot, I pulled out Veronica aka my wig and I took a selfie with this sweet soul. You may not know this but this beautiful woman helped establish the MAC counter in Roanoke. She teaches classes for Sylvian Melloul International Hair Academy and she's probably the best kept secret in Lynchburg. She's working on getting her site up but until then you can find her on Facebook.
Chantay, thank you. Thank you so much for using your artistry on me. I only wish I'd known you years ago. You would have definitely done my wedding makeup...hands down!
Big Wig Studio Phpto Shoot with CJ Harris & Susan G Komen Board Member Jessica Clarkson
With my face "BEAT TO THE GODS" thanks to Chantay I headed to the studio of THE BEST FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER IN LYNCHBURG, no really the best, CJ Harris. If you know CJ it's incredibly rare to see him in front of the camera but he couldn't resist supporting me...and Veronica lol. Oh and after the shoot I literally built him a website in less than 30 minutes because it blew my mind that he didn't have a site. It's just a landing page for now (baby steps haha) BUT he's booking mini shoots for $100 this spring. Get on it! www.gh3photography.com
Over the month of March I'll be documenting my adventures as Veronica and I seek to raise $1000 for Susan G Komen. Wish us luck! It's March 1st and now I can officially say...I'm a Big Wig!
