We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maggie Hassinger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Maggie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
For as long as I can remember, I always knew when I grew up I wanted to help people. I also LOVED playing beauty shop. As a small child my grandpa would always place with me and let me practice styling his hair or putting a little makeup on him. How that looked as I grew up, graduated high school, and eventually college changed dramatically. After high school I worked as a nurse assistant while in college. Due to some personal struggles and misplaced priorities, I did not graduate college until I was 27 years old. Although I was always ambitious, I tended to live in the “now.” My priority was always work over school.
Shortley after graduating college I began working in Child Protective Services. Though my position was rewarding, it also came with high levels of stress, an unmanageable case load, and little work/life balance. When I took this position I was also healing from a very toxic long-term romantic relationship, as well as the deaths of my step dad and grandpa. The relationship had ruined my self-esteem and I was overall not in a great place.
I began seeing tutorials on YouTube and social media on applying makeup. I felt that learning how to do my makeup would help me feel beautiful again. I began practicing and became pretty good at doing makeup on myself. My friends eventually started asking me to do their makeup, which helped me become familiar with different skin tones and skin types. One of my friends suggested that I start advertising doing makeup for proms, formals, and graduations (as we lived in a college town). A local boudoir photographer, Shantise, asked me to do her makeup for her college graduation. Shortley after she asked me to do makeup for her boudoir shoots. This opportunity was pivotal in helping me develop my professional skills as a makeup artist. At the time it was something I really enjoyed doing and I had developed a friendship with Shantise. Shantise pushed me to start advertising more for makeup and created a business page for me. After working with Shantise for a while I knew makeup was something I wanted to do long term. If I wanted to do it long term I needed to get licensed. I looked around at esthetics programs near me and none provided what I was looking for. I made the decision to move to Dallas and pursue esthetician school there. In Dallas I began working for companies that specialized in bridal makeup artistry. After getting the hang of bridal, I fell in love with the industry. Typically people are super happy on their wedding day and its such a great feeling to know you helped make such an important day feel special. I few years later I moved back to my home town and my bridal business took off! I was thrilled to be so well received on my return home.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a licensed esthetician & own a makeup artistry business. Makeup By Maggie primarily serves the bridal industry. We loved to do event, photography, and production makeup as well. I think we are unique in that we are comfortable working with diverse skin tones and focus on inclusivity. I currently contract two other artists to help on weddings. We specialize in soft glam and natural makeup looks but also love a good dramatic look every once in awhile.
I am presently working on developing a curriculum to start group and salon trainings for makeup. I will be offering in person and online classes as well as product recommendation lists.
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?
I believe my ambition and drive played a big part in getting me where I am today. When I take on something I want to do it to the best of my ability.
A lot of my brides also compliment my customer service and communication skills. When you are providing a service you have to be a good listener and also know how to provide feedback when needed.
I also believe that some of my perfectionist tendencies have also helped make my business run fairly smoothly.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I have put a lot of time and effort into understanding mature and aging skin. As our skin ages there are different techniques and products that perform better with mature skin. I spent the last year honing in on developing skills for a better makeup application for my mature clients. People are waiting later to get married and it is also beneficial to be able to give the moms and grandparents of wedding parties looks that they are comfortable and confident in.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.muamaggie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeupbymaggie727/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakeupMjh/
Image Credits
Toni Weiberg Olivia Strange Rachel Reyes Melody Holland Christina Hamill
