Meet Brenda Magallanes

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brenda Magallanes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brenda, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?

While I was going to Esthetician school, I was juggling a lot! I was at school all week from 9am-4pm and then I’d rush to work or see a client and I wouldn’t end my day until 10pm— sometimes even midnight! I was stretching myself so thin trying to juggle so much that when I finally finished Esthetician school, I realized I had reached my limit. I was burnt out and unmotivated. I had worked so hard for my esthetician license only to feel like throwing it all away.

When I found myself feeling this way, I had to take a step back from doing so much. I paused so much of my social media presence for my business and I minimized my hours at work. It took me a month or two of getting back to a routine and doing things I loved that helped me bounce back from burnout.

My mind finally realized I didn’t have to be on a constant grind and I could get back to enjoying moments of my life. I started building a routine for myself that didn’t revolve around my school hours anymore and went back to the gym, making time for family and friends, and enjoying long morning and afternoon walks with my dogs. It took some time, but slowly doing these little things and making small changes really helped me overcome the burnout I was experiencing.

Now, as a way to avoid it I always make sure to never take on more than I can handle and always give myself days off to maintain a good work-life balance.

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 started my journey as a lash artist and business owner back in 2021 during the pandemic. I used to get my lashes done and I decided I wanted to take a training and do lashes too.

Developing the skill took time and gaining momentum took even longer— but I was determined to keep growing!
After leaving my long-term and very unhealthy relationship I began to pour so much time and dedication into making my dreams a reality.
I was taking clients in my living room for a few years as I was learning and developing my own lash styles and techniques before finally moving into a studio.
In late 2023, I enrolled into esthetician school and by 2024 I was renting a lash station part-time. While I attended school, I began focusing on content and social media for my business and within a few months my business was growing tremendously.
By the time I finished esthetician school in late 2024 I was ready to go all-in on my business as a lash artist and my clients were ready for me to be available with full-time hours. (shout out to my clients who have been with me since day 1!)

Now in 2025, I currently have my own esthetician room as a licensed esthetician where I offer lash extensions, facial services and lash lifts. The journey to get here has been long and challenging but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I’m so grateful to have amazing clientele that travel from all over Los Angeles just to get their lashes done by me. It really does feel like a dream come true sometimes.

As a lash artist I specialize in wispy and natural lashes and my clients come to me because they are looking for lash styles that do not overwhelm the eyes or look too bulky. My style of lashes cater to clients who want a “natural yet noticeable” look and I love creating these sets for them.

I also provide facial services and lash lifts which are perfect for clients who want to focus on a more natural look. My facial services are ideal for anyone looking to achieve any skincare goals they may have or tackle anything they may be struggling with.
I love offering these services together because clients can focus on achieving clear skin while having beautiful lashes.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back it really boiled down to dedication, consistency, and drive.

I was really just showing up for myself every day and showing up as the person I wanted to be as a representation of my business. The drive isn’t always going to be there but that’s where dedication and consistency come in.

Your business cannot grow if you do not show up to put in the work. There were days that I didn’t want to take clients and I didn’t want to post on social media, but that was not helping my business grow, and that was not helping me in achieving my dreams and my goals.

When you want something to be achieved, you need to consistently be present in making that happen because it doesn’t just fall on luck and it doesn’t just happen for us in one day. It takes a lot of time and dedication and sacrifice and if you really want something, you have to be willing to do those things.

Even when you get to a point that you are comfortable, there is always room for growth and there’s always room for development and even when you think that you have reached the top, there is still room to reach higher and you just have to want it. It’s going to feel scary sometimes but thats part of the journey.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I think it’s better to be well rounded and invest effort into all areas and all parts that need improvement. In this type of field, as a Lash artist, you can have the best skill, but if you don’t know how to showcase that nobody is gonna know how skilled you are.
What I learned when I was starting, my business was how important social media was and how big of a role it plays in advertising yourself.

When I was in school, I challenged myself to post every day for one month on my business page. After a month of doing that and staying consistent with that, I really learned how to start managing my social media and how to
use it to my advantage. Prior to that I wasn’t social media savvy, but I had to learn, and I had to teach myself because nobody was going to know who I was if I wasn’t utilizing the tools to show them.

By doing this and consistently posting and being better about managing my social media, I was able to grow my clientele and grow my following and have people book with me who were finding out about me through social media.

This really showed me as a business owner that even if you don’t know how to do something you need to learn and you need to teach yourself because that is how your business is going to thrive. Your business cannot grow if you as an individual are not growing, and sometimes having a business will push you to learn more about yourself and it becomes a journey of self discovery as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://luxestheticsla.glossgenius.com/
• Instagram: @luxesthetics.la