We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alia Jackson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alia, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
Back in 2015 I was graduating with my cosmetology license. I was a girl who lived in the Midwest who had dreams of working on the coasts. During the time when I was working to get my entry into the school, I had told the administrator that my dream was to be a make up artist who worked behind the scenes on production sets and red carpets. I explained that I wanted Makeup to be my full-time job. Many times, people don’t see the vision that you see for yourself when they don’t understand the road that it will take for you to get where you want to be. I was told multiple times if I wanted to be a full-time make up artist that I would have to move out of state. My whole life would change and I would have to basically forget my life in the Midwest and find it somewhere else. Which at the time was the financially not an option for me. Normally that would discourage someone and make them reconsider what they want to do with their life, for me it gave me the ultimate challenge to become what it is that people told me I couldn’t be. I signed up for fashion week in my city as a volunteer to go in and do make up back stage and gain the experience that I needed to get my foot in the door. From that point on I gained relationships that put me in rooms that I thought I would never be in . This spring season 2024 I was named the new Editorial Beauty Director of Omaha fashion week, a milestone that I never thought I would see, or even thought was capable for me to achieve. Don’t ever let somebody tell you what you cannot do. God has the final say so and it is ultimately up to you to make the decisions and to make the moves that needs to be made to put yourself in the positions that you want to be in. If I would’ve moved out of state would things have turned out different? Absolutely, but I created a path for people in my city to follow on the same road if they choose. At the time I didn’t realize that I was opening a door for so many others and sometimes you can get caught up in your own career and in your own dreams, that you forget that your journey is a testimony and may be a wake up call for somebody else. Always believe in yourself and put your best foot forward. Do not compare yourself to the people that you see on social media. Somebody else’s life is not your life to live. Be patient with yourself and give yourself room to grow and when the time is right, the curtains will open on your show.
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?
I have been a licensed cosmetologist for 10 years and a make up artist for 16 years. Currently my wife and I own a barbershop, salon, and tattoo parlor in the heart of our city. I specialize in make up applications along with master classes and private make up parties. I also focus on silk presses, color, Dreadloc Retwist, and a plethora of other services.
The most exciting thing about being in the beauty industry is the fact that you are able to see your clients and feel their vibe when they walk in and when they walk out seeing the difference and their aura because they feel good about themselves. As a young girl, I struggled with low self-esteem, and when you get older, you can see in people when they don’t feel confident about themselves. In this industry, you literally become a therapist in a safe space for your clients and I love building that trust with my clientele. In my suite I have a bay window where the natural light comes in. I have a TV where they’re able to watch anything that they want. And it just allows them to be able to escape from their regular life and come to a place where they can be pampered and taken care of. It brings me joy that I can bring someone peace for a short amount of time.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that were very impactful on my journey was self-discipline, time management, and building a type of presence when walking in any room. Self discipline when it comes to any career is so detrimental to the process and becoming a successful person in life.. It takes a certain amount of maturity. Time management is a huge process that absolutely has to be mastered. If you’re late, you’re fired. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re early, you’re on time. If you use that mentality you’ll start out on top every time. When building a presence in the room, first impressions are everything. Walk into the room with confidence, your head held high, but not arrogantly and allow people to know that you are about your business and require respect.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
My dream is to be able to collaborate with some of the major Makeup brands in the industry, such as Hourglass cosmetics, Laura Mercier cosmetics, Two-faced, cosmetics, Patrick Ta, Juvias Place, Thread Beauty and so much more. In the celebrity world, my absolute dream goal would to be the make up artist for Rihanna or Beyoncé at least once. If that happens, I would truly die happy. For collaborations anyone can reach me at [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Themagneticbeauty
- Other: Tiktok @alia.theartist
Image Credits
Photographers Heather hooton Charles Maurice Keysha Cole
