Meet Shawna Gaspar

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shawna Gaspar. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shawna below.

Shawna, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?

My favorite form of self-care is taking time out of my day to do things I already thoroughly enjoy, but “glamorizing” it. Other than the average beauty maintenance appointments like getting my nails done or receiving a facial (which I admit- I do thoroughly enjoy), I love doing little things for myself; applying a face mask in a silk robe, playing music from a vinyl instead of a playlist from my phone, & putting my favorite soda in a wine glass. These little things help me romanticize my alone time, therefore majorly helping my mental health when I have no plans. Taking my everyday routine and making it a little more special each day is a huge priority to me- to overall appreciate myself and my mind a bit more.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My name is Shawna, I’m a licensed Skin Therapist and Professional Makeup Artist for 2+ years in Greenville, SC.

I graduated from the full-time esthetics program at Paul Mitchell; focusing my studies on makeup application, color theory, facials, and body waxing.

I’m currently located at AO The Space where I take all of my clients to get glam for their prom, engagement photoshoot, graduation, and weddings!

The calming, holistic approach The Space contains with their nail artists, skin therapists, hair artists, + more creates the best atmosphere for our clients looking for a beauty retreat both physically and mentally. Our ultimate goal is for our customers to leave feeling confident, relaxed, and beautiful.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three areas of knowledge that overall helped me become the beauty professional I am today would be media trends, social awareness, and diversity.

Social media is a huge part of our world- but especially the beauty industry. There’s always a new product influencers tell you to run out and buy, the makeup routine followers beg for you to share, the new “cowboy copper” hair color or “blueberry milk” nails you should get- the list goes on and on. While some trends can be wild or oversaturated; keeping up with them is an integral part of this career. If you’re not a social media enthusiast- assume your clients are. Stay updated with the algorithms so that when your client walks in and asks for the ultimate “it girl” hairstyle going viral on Instagram- you’ll understand not just the hairstyle, but also gain the trust of an understood client.

Social awareness means more than just holding a door open and smiling when you say hello- social awareness is acknowledging when a fellow industry professional is stressed and may need words of encouragement before a client; social awareness is also helping a child climb onto a chair for a hair cut, asking the parent if they’d like a drink while they wait. Acknowledging social situations with confidence that you can make a conversation memorable or an experience go better than intended will only make you a better licensed professional.

Lastly, diversity. I can’t express enough how important it is to have diversity in the environment you’re in. Not only does it make you an empathetic, knowledgeable individual to witness other cultures and backgrounds; it makes an incredible makeup artist. To come up to someone of any race or ethnicity and guarantee you can do their makeup catered to their skin type and tone is an extremely important skill that will have everyone involved feeling confident, respected, and beautiful.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

While I doubt Kylie Jenner is reading this (never say never though), she is by far- my dream client. I have fantasized and replayed hypothetical situations in which I’m a celebrity makeup artist working on set of films, magazines, New York fashion week, and even the Met Gala runway thousands of times. I would love to work with the A24 filming company that brought us the films Moonlight and Pearl, as well as the hit series Euphoria. I’d enjoy working with popstars such as Rihanna, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Chappel Roan, and Taylor Swift. Pop culture has always been a huge part of my life as a film, music, and fashion lover- so it would undoubtedly be a dream come true to work with anyone in those fields.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Runway photo : Murphy Photos
Bridal photo : Carly Forrest Photography

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