Today we’d like to introduce you to Nia Tunsill.
Hi Nia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to introduce yourself.
It was in 2008 that my love for makeup was born. My dad had given me money, and I took it and went to MAC Cosmetics. I found out about MAC Cosmetics from being a Tumblr user. Back when Tumblr was a thing. The girls that I followed on Tumblr had makeup that was so nicely applied. I also watched a lot of OG YouTubers like MakeupShayla, so I was always inspired. I was interested in makeup once I started using these platforms. Anyway, I remember purchasing setting powder and foundation, going home that evening, and practicing makeup on myself. Oddly enough, my first time applying makeup on myself was not horrible. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible. You couldn’t tell me a thing about my MAC Cosmetics products; you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t all of that, that I wasn’t a part of the elite. From that point on, I visited MAC Cosmetics frequently, adding to my makeup collection and practicing on myself almost daily up until 2011.
2012 – 2014: My makeup skills were impressive at this point. I was applying eyelashes, and various eyeshadow looks on myself. I began thinking, “I could do makeup for other people.” So I did. I used my older sisters as my guinea pigs. Whenever I wanted to do makeup, they were always available. I felt in my element. I enjoyed it. It wasn’t my skills on someone outside of myself that I was impressed with; it was the reaction from my sisters that sparked a fire within me. It moved me. I realized I didn’t want to do makeup only to show my skills. I wanted to do makeup to make people feel good. It was their reaction that I wanted more of. That’s what mattered most to me and still does to this day. After getting comfortable with my sisters, I began doing makeup on other people. I never thought about charging to do makeup. I enjoyed it, so being paid never crossed my mind until my clients started paying me between $20-$40. I accepted it. I laugh now because I considered that to be a lot of money for doing makeup.
2015 – 2017: I got on Etsy one morning and began designing my makeup business cards. I felt official when I received them in the mail. Back then, I wasn’t ‘MyMuse by Nia’; I called myself ‘The Glam Babe’ The cards were cute and floral, and now that I think about it, looking back at the design, you would have thought that I was a florist. Nothing about the cards screamed ‘makeup artist,’ only the name. That’s hilarious to think about. I also made myself an Instagram and began posting my work. I started charging to do makeup, between $40-$60. I also booked my first wedding. Though I was proud of myself, I didn’t like the pressure of being a bridal makeup artist. I thought, “This is too grand. I don’t think I am meant to be a bridal makeup artist. It’s too much” That was my first and last wedding for a while. Around this time, I was working at a hospital. I hated it. I was there for many years; I felt like a robot with mundane routines. It was such a damper on my spirit to show up daily and do something I wasn’t passionate about.
2018: Without any job lined up, I left the hospital. I applied to work at Sephora at The St. Johns Town Center, and surprisingly I was hired. I say surprisingly because I didn’t have any experience, on paper, that is, with doing makeup. I still say to this day that my charming personality and winged eyeliner got me the job. I loved being a makeup artist at Sephora and enjoyed the people I worked with. I had the job that many young makeup lovers wanted. I felt so blessed! Being at Sephora didn’t feel like a job. I thought, “How could something this fun be considered a job? Jobs are meant to be fun?” I loved every minute of it, but then I realized Sephora wasn’t enough to pay the bills. I thought, “I’m no longer a teenager. I’m in my early twenties now. I need a real job.” I had to leave.
2018 – 2019: I started working in Corporate America and stopped doing makeup for a few months, then I started back. I dedicated my weekends to doing makeup and scouting for models to try new looks. I spent more money on makeup products than I was earning money from doing makeup. I didn’t mind it, though. I was happy to try new makeup looks and products while familiarizing myself with different skin tones/textures.
2019 – 2020: Imposter syndrome kicked in, and I stopped doing makeup. I began doubting myself and my skills. I compared myself to local makeup artists. What I loved was turning into something I hated because I felt that I had to be perfect at it, and if I wasn’t excellent at it, then what use was it in doing makeup? I set these high, unrealistic goals for myself that, at the stage of life I was in, were not achievable then, so I viewed myself as a failure. I turned down great opportunities because I felt I needed to be better. The funny part was that no one told me I was a bad makeup artist. I did. I began forming these preconceived notions without any solid evidence. No matter how great those around me felt I was, I didn’t believe it. It was so strange to me that I believed I was a good makeup artist when I was new to the makeup world, then to now believe, as a more established makeup artist, that I wasn’t.
2021 – Now: I am heavy in my faith, so in 2021 I began praying to God to ignite the fire for makeup within me again. At one point, I started thinking, “This is so minuscule. Am I bringing something like this before God?” I had to stop and check myself. I realized it honestly didn’t matter how insignificant and small I thought it was. God didn’t view it that way. Anything I care about, He cares about. The more I prayed, the fewer negative thoughts I had. He replaced my negative thoughts with what He had to say about me. He said that I was talented, so I believed it. In 2021 I prayed, set my vision before God, and began doing makeup again. Now in 2022, God is working it all out for me. He is deeply invested in my makeup business because I allow Him to be. The difference between then and now is that I did not involve Him. The thing is, God doesn’t force Himself on us. He gives us a choice to either accept or reject His help. I released control, and I allowed God to take full control. I have major goals and big dreams for my makeup business that can only be carried out with the help of God and my great faith. Now, I am confident in my skills and who I am as a makeup artist. Comparison and imposter syndrome do not live here anymore. I am not concerned with being the best makeup artist. I am concerned with staying consistent and staying in my lane – There is only one Nia. There is no one like me, and that is my power.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Not at all. As I stated before, imposter syndrome kicked in full speed. I was not ready for what came with that. I’m so thankful to have made it past that way of thinking and living. I had, and sometimes to this day, have weekends when it’s slow and weekends when it’s busy, and I’m overwhelmed. I have my moments of doubt, too. I start to think, “Am I on the right journey?” But those moments are so short-lived. Every experience, both good and bad, has led me to now. This is exactly where I am supposed to be. The struggles that I encounter make all of this worthwhile. It teaches me to trust God and remain persistent.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m Nia Tunsill, and I’m a Jacksonville native with over 10 years of experience in the makeup world. I specialize in natural and soft glams. My goal for every client is to magnify their natural beauty, not to cover it, but to create a sophisticated, clean look while enhancing their facial features.
What am I most proud of? That’s a great question. I am most proud of my tenacity and my ability to withstand challenges. I’m an incredibly resilient woman; my strength is my superpower, which keeps me going. This journey has not been easy but giving up and throwing the towel in is something I will never do.
What sets me apart from others? Ah, I despise that question. To say what sets me apart from others would mean that I’m critiquing and closely analyzing someone else’s work. I don’t care to do that. I stay in my lane and critique and analyze my work. I’m confident in who I am and my skills, so I don’t need to state what sets me apart from any other makeup artist. My work speaks for itself. I wake up daily, pray over my hands to perform amazing work with the talent God has blessed me with, and get the job done. That’s it.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5 – 10 years, I would like to be in the makeup world full-time, traveling, doing bridal makeup, and whatever God places on my heart. In January 2023, I will be stepping fully into the bridal makeup world. As I mentioned before, I wasn’t too keen about being in that world of the overwhelming experience I had in 2017, but a few months ago, it was placed on my heart to step into the bridal world again, to give it another go. Even then, I still wasn’t sure, but after much prayer and countless signs from God, I felt that going into the bridal world was the best decision. I knew I had made the right decision because shortly after I made my decision, in September, I received an Instagram message from a local makeup artist requesting my assistance with a bridal party. That was all the confirmation I needed from God. I locked in my first wedding for January today, so I’m excited and look forward to the journey. My website, mymusebynia.as.me, will be updated within the next month with bridal makeup packages, so stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mymusebynia.as.me/schedule.php
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niatunsill
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyMuseMakeupArtistry
Image Credits
All images taken by: Nia Tunsill (MyMuse by Nia Makeup Artistry)
