Today we’d like to introduce you to Betsy Ginnane.
Hi Betsy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always had a passion for art and come from a line of artists in my family. I always loved to collect and create beautiful things. Makeup sparked my interest in high school. I never thought of it as something I could make a career out of at the time, but that all changed when I got a job at Clinique.
I thought it would be a fun side job while I was going to college to eventually become an art teacher. I ended up putting that aside and worked full-time for Clinique for several years. I learned a lot through them! They provided a lot of education and training on skin and makeup. Eventually, I wanted something more.
I decided to branch out on my own. I began networking with photographers in the area to build a portfolio of my works. I decided to further my makeup career by leaving Illinois and moving to Florida to attend Joe Blasco Special Effects and Beauty makeup school.
Once I received my certification, I started networking in the area, starting from scratch trying to get any job that I could get. I was drawn to the fashion industry. I ended up meeting some amazing people who have helped me so much in my career! I ended up working a lot of fashion and hair shows around Florida. I worked shows for Peter Coppola for 3 years and L’Anza hair care for 1. Eventually, things slowed down for me in that industry once I met my husband and started a family. Since then, I have been more invested in the bridal industry. I started networking more in St. Augustine/Jacksonville areas and found myself doing makeup for a bridal runway show in Jacksonville.
I started doing Bridal Expos and pop-ups, promoting my biz any way I could. I linked up with a bridal team called The Bardot and I worked with them for about a year doing makeup. Currently, I am choosing to further my career by getting my esthetics license. I want to be able to broaden my services and prep my brides for their big day as well. Skincare and makeup go hand in hand and I am super excited for what lies ahead! I am so thankful for the people I have met along the way.
I feel like everyone in this industry is so supportive of everybody else. I am so blessed to be able to have a career that I LOVE and be able to make my own schedule and support myself. Working with amazing vendors to create such a beautiful experience for someone is such a great feeling. I am so happy that my pallet is makeup… as it can truly do amazing things… not just physically, but emotionally too.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been smooth. Moving to a new state and starting over was scary in the beginning. I didn’t know where to even start to try to find work. Also, once I changed directions with the type of work I was doing from shows/photoshoots to more bridal, my husband lost his job.
We didn’t have that cushion anymore financially so I was just working and working like crazy, taking any makeup job that came my way to try to make money, advertising my works as much as possible. It was a super stressful time, but the hard times are when we learn the most and can bring so many blessings.
If I had not hustled so much throughout that span of time, I would not be where I am today. I worked really hard to network myself and it paid off.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a professional Makeup Artist. I specialize in beauty makeup. I am most known for my work in the bridal industry.
What I am most proud of is creating a career for myself that I love while being able to create my own schedule and focus on my family as well. What I think sets me apart from others is my attention to detail. I am a perfectionist when it comes to makeup and beauty.
Not one face is the same… which means not one makeup application is the same. I strive to achieve perfection not just for my brides, but all my clients.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
ABSOLUTELY! Where should I start?? There are so many who have been a huge part of my career.
My best friend Brittany Jacobs. She worked at Estee Lauder while I was at Clinique. We became fast friends. She is the reason I even heard about the Special Effects school in Florida, as she considered going herself. She decided to stay local and go the esthetics route as a foundation to her makeup business and has created a fantastic career and continues to be a huge support system and cheerleader for me.
Keely Bellamy also played a huge role in my career. She is a beautiful person inside and out. I met Keely at a photoshoot as a model for a photographer’s workshop. I used to model with her as well as do makeup for some of these shoots. We also became fast friends. Keely also owns and runs a charity called Survivor Glam Squad. She and her team travel around giving makeovers to cancer survivors, as well as a little photoshoot to help celebrate their win from cancer and make them feel like their most beautiful selves as they may be healing from treatments.
I worked with Keely for several events doing makeup for the survivors. She also was the one who introduced me to the team with Peter Coppola and got me in with the hair crew. She always contacted me for anything she was doing. A lot of my promotional work is because of Keely. We traveled to Savannah together to promote an up-and-coming skincare line as well, in turn I was able to meet even more amazing people.
Anthony Neste is another one who made a big impact on my career! This guy… has always been so amazing to me. Anthony is a former HBO/ Sports Illustrated photographer who I feel kind of took me under his wing a little bit. He switched his style of photography more to glamour/fashion and I was his go-to girl for makeup for quite some time there whenever he had a photoshoot. He really helped me build my portfolio in the beginning. He also worked with Keely a lot so we were always doing things together. It was an honor to work with such talent and I learned a lot about the industry from him. And what a great guy. He and his family always made me feel like part of the family.
Jessie Dabrowski @JessieDeexx has been an amazing inspiration to me. I adored her makeup and photography skills and I actually contacted Jessie in hopes she would be one of my makeup assistants for a Peter Coppola show. I was floored when she said she would do it, as I was expecting a big fat NO since she was so amazing. Of course, we became friends and I still adore her and her style to this day. She has since focused her creative skills on photography. Jessie has connected me to a lot of people and brought me a lot of opportunities. Besides working shows, we also worked together styling fashion boutiques and photoshoots. Jessie always recommends me when she’s able and I truly appreciate her friendship and talent.
The Bardot. While my time at the Bardot was short, I met SO many amazing girls there who I am happy to be able to call my friends and teammates! Everyone I met at the Bardot also has their own business, whether it be a hairstylist or a makeup artist. Working with them as a team has built up a level of trust between us and I still call on them when I have a large group to take care of or if my client needs a recommendation. I am so happy I have them to fall back on for help when I need it.
Lauren Burks. Known as Braid Bar of St. Augustine… I met Lauren through the bridal industry. We ended up working lots and lots of weddings together. Lauren has this amazing personality that just makes you drawn to her. She is inspiring and uplifting… and always will make you laugh. Lauren has helped me so much in my career as she was and still is more established in her career than I, and she always recommends me to her clients. I am so appreciative of every referral. We also have worked bridal expos together and I also am on her team with Rodan and Fields skincare. She is always there to share her wisdom with me!
Lauren Roeck Metzinger- A fellow friend and makeup artist who I use all the time to help me with my larger events. She is always cheering me on and always has my back. She is also currently attending esthetics school with me to potentially grow our businesses together.
The best cheerleaders I have are my sister and my husband. My sister has been there through it all and always supported me when I needed it. She allowed me to live with her when I first moved to Florida and went to makeup school, making no money at all… There’s no way I could have supported myself at that time. I am super thankful and appreciative of that.
My husband always has supported my career, even when it meant me leaving for long weekends to do a show and leaving him home with the babies. He knew I was trying to build my career and knew I loved it. He never once tried to deter me from growing even when it was slow and life got stressful.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.betsyspromakeup.com
- Instagram: @betsys.pro.makeup
- Facebook: @BetsysProMakeupArtistry
Image Credits
Jessica Neste, Jessie Dee Ashley, Steeby Lauren, Jared Bowser, Jessica Overholt, Nicole Leone, Myckenzie Russell, Anna So, and Lisa Silva
