00:00These are my confessions.
00:03I'm about to tell you what it's like to be a MUA.
00:09Hi, my name's Ryan, and I'm about to spill all the tea
00:11on what it's like to be a true makeup artist.
00:14I got my start as a makeup artist in Tallahassee, Florida
00:17at a MAC makeup.
00:19I was just shopping in the store,
00:21and the manager was helping me.
00:23I had my face done really nicely.
00:26She offered me a job on the spot
00:28because it looked like I knew what I was doing.
00:30Keyword, looked like.
00:32I would say one of the biggest misconceptions
00:34of being a makeup artist is that you have to be a professional
00:38or have had prior experience in order to be a makeup artist.
00:43I didn't have any previous experience.
00:45I was just shopping.
00:46I think that if you have the passion,
00:48if you have the creativity, and have the tools,
00:51then you can do it.
00:53A second misconception is that you're always wearing makeup.
00:56I, at least, enjoy having a natural face.
01:01Like, right now, I don't have any makeup.
01:02I have on mascara and a lip, and that's it.
01:05I've had a lot of different experiences being a makeup artist.
01:09One of the craziest things is learning that strippers pay the most money.
01:17I love them.
01:18Shout out to my strippers and Cardi B.
01:20They come into the store.
01:22They tell you that you can just do whatever you like,
01:26and then they buy every single product that you put on their face.
01:31Get ready to count because they only pay in one.
01:36They share a lot of secrets on what it's like to be a stripper.
01:40They gave me dating advice.
01:42They would tell me what it's like to be in the industry.
01:44It was really interesting.
01:46I got some really interesting insider information.
01:50Customers confided in me as if I was their therapist.
01:54We'd start the makeup application by me asking how their day is or how they're doing.
01:59It would end with me knowing every single juicy detail about their lives.
02:04Customers would come in and steal samples.
02:07That's disgusting.
02:09Why would you want a sample that was on 50 million other people's lips?
02:15Sometimes they would return empty boxes trying to get free lipstick.
02:20They would return products that weren't made by the brand.
02:25Like, what?
02:26My favorite part of being a makeup artist was just the relationships that you build.
02:32You have people who trust you to do their makeup for, like, big major events, like their wedding.
02:41And they'll never forget you.
02:43You just learn so much about different people, and I love the connections that I made.
02:48I think the job really brought out my creativity.
02:51I already had it, but it was, like, deep down inside.
02:54I was in college at the time and studying economics.
02:57It really made me rethink my career.
03:02It's a big reason why I am here today at Refinery29 as a producer.
03:07Thanks so much for watching.
