Meet Christina Said

We were lucky to catch up with Christina Said recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christina, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

As a first generation college graduate who single handedly built up a makeup business that turned into a full time job, it’s safe to say that I have a very strong work ethic and desire to always keep working towards my goals and make loved ones proud of me. From seeing my dad work long hours at multiple jobs to seeing my mother do everything she can to keep the household afloat, it instilled a need and desire to always keep working towards the things I care about and to always keep going no matter the circumstances. While it’s important to give yourself grace and take time to yourself, I’ve always grown up with the mentality of “there’s no time to waste” and always having a drive to achieve whatever it is that I set my mind to. The desire of always wanting to make my parents proud after all the sacrifices they’ve made for me and coming to an entirely new country and leaving everything they knew behind in order for me and my siblings to live a better life has to be one of the top motivators for me. Furthermore, being that I have a younger sister, I have always felt the responsibility of wanting to not only make a difference in her life, but wanting to be that role model for her and always make her proud of her older sister and potentially help guide and motivate her to chase her goals as well. I learned this trait from my older brother who instilled this drive in me as well- seeing him begin working from a young age and always having the determination and eagerness to learn and grow truly motivated me to want to do the same. From a young age I was determined to do what I wanted to do, not necessarily knowing how I would get there, but always taking every opportunity I could that could possibly get me to where I would like to be, and I think that’s what got me to where I am. From working events like New York Fashion Week to simply being able to be a part of countless brides’ wedding days, I’m truly grateful for where life has taken me thus far.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My name is Christina and I’m a 24 year old Egyptian bridal makeup artist from New Jersey and I have built my brand on simply a passion of mine that I was able to build from the ground up and turn into a business. When I was as young as 16 years old, I would come home everyday from school and figure out new makeup looks I wanted to try on myself in order to learn how to do new, creative makeup looks and simply because I enjoyed it. As soon as I picked up my brush everyday, it was as if every issue I was experiencing at the time slipped away. It truly felt as if achieving a new look that I had in mind that particular day made all of my problems disappear. I also got a lot of enjoyment out of being able to do makeup for my friends’ proms, homecoming dances, and just for fun or when they asked me to. From purple cut creases to rainbow and Coachella inspired makeup looks, I tried it all and eventually discovered my niche of soft glam bridal makeup. I did my first bride’s makeup at just 19 years old. I remember how overflowed with joy I was that day and I really felt everything starting to come together then. I truly began doing it since it was something I really enjoyed, not even wanting to be paid but just to simply play with makeup without being completely aware that people are actually able to do this as a job. I slowly started getting asked more and more to do people’s makeup for events and weddings and being asked what my rates are. From then on I really started taking it seriously and feeling like I can really make something out of this passion I had. When you build something off of passion and not necessarily the desire to make money and it ends up turning into that, it is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world getting paid to do what you love to where it doesn’t even feel like work. What I love most about my job though is how I get to make others feel. Apart from the creative aspect, being able to do someone’s makeup, handing them the mirror after and them tearing up and telling me that this is the most beautiful that they’ve ever felt is a feeling that is so priceless and indescribable. The feeling of knowing that you not only made this persons day on the most important day of their life but being able to physically see how you were able to impact their confidence and see a smile cover their face is something I love more than anything. I go to work every day praying that others get to go to their jobs and experience what I get to through doing what I do. Eventually, I would like to mix my two worlds of teaching (my degree) and makeup by teaching makeup classes (coming soon!) to others and get to experience the two things I love at once through doing this. Makeup is not only something I was able to build a business on, but something that started as a passionate, creative young girl simply doing what she loves most.

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

Looking back, the most important qualities I would say are very necessary in a journey like mine would be passion, creativity, and curiosity. I would say passion because of the love I had for makeup from a young age and how much enjoyment I truly got out of it. When you really love something, you can do it over and over every single day and it never gets old, and that’s how I knew this was something I could do every day and still love. Creativity is super important as well because without it, I would’ve never been doing crazy makeup looks in my bedroom as a high schooler. But because of my creativity that I expressed, I was able to teach myself how to do new looks that I had in mind and also replicate ones I had seen online and really liked. I have always really enjoyed art as a kid so this was always right up my alley and I’m glad I was always able to allow myself to express that and not being scared to mess up and try again. Curiosity is very important as well because I was always eager to learn new things. Through having a passion and drive towards something, you also are curious to learn more about that thing and how to reach it and how to learn everything you can about it and just get better and better at it. I have always been curious to learn new things especially in regards to the beauty industry which is ever changing- there are always new trends and new products and techniques to try and I have always been curious to try them and get better at them no matter what. Even now, I am often taking masterclasses to further my knowledge and keep up with the ever changing makeup industry.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

I would say my biggest area of growth has to be my confidence! I speak for many artists when I say this but this industry can be a bit overwhelming and a bit like it’s over saturated especially in the tri-state with so many great artists and when you can’t help but compare yourself sometimes. Although, I can confidently say I can have any person of any skin concerns, skin tone, etc., sit in my chair and I can glam them up without feeling insecure in my art or my ability to be able to do makeup on quite literally anyone! This is something I pride myself in as a makeup artist because I feel as though this is honestly the bare minimum as a makeup artist to be able to do any persons makeup. I truly feel as though over time I have mastered my craft to where it is like second nature to me. I think back to a time where I would attempt to do a certain look and would have to try many times before being able to get it down which was really discouraging and I would tell myself to just give up, which I’m glad I didn’t. Now, despite still learning and growing as an artist, i feel the most confident in my work as ever and it is a really great feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://makeupbychristina.co/
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/makeupbychristina1

Image Credits

Kat Espinoza
Jully & Alex
Bassem