Meet Danessa Myricks: Makeup Artist, Entrepreneur, and All-Around Boss

What if beauty had no boundaries? That’s the question that Danessa Myricks seems to pose with her eponymous makeup collection. In a sea of beauty products made for one singular use, all of Danessa’s creations are multifunctional. Take for example her cult-favorite, Vision Cream Cover, which works as a foundation, concealer or tinted moisturizer, depending on how you use it. Read on to learn more about this self-taught makeup artist and her inspiring journey as an entrepreneur.

You’re a makeup artist who does so much more than just makeup. How would you describe your job?

I’m a makeup artist, photographer, product innovator—I guess you can just say I’m an artist.

Have you always wanted to become a makeup artist?

Makeup wasn’t what I always wanted to do. I worked [at a publishing company] previously, and at that time, I was just going through the motions of doing the job you’re supposed to do to take care of yourself and your family. It really wasn’t anything that I was passionate about. It wasn’t creative. I knew that I wanted something more.

The publishing company that I worked at hired makeup artists and photographers all the time. I’d see the makeup artists come in and they just had a different energy about them. They all looked and felt creative, and they got paid the same day. It was also amazing to see the transformation—to see them take a face and totally recreate it. So I was like, “Okay! I’m a makeup artist. I wanna do that!”

What was the biggest turning point in your career?

I think my career really started when I stopped copying other artists. In the beginning, you find a person who’s great, and you try to do everything exactly the way they do it. When I let that go—when I let go of what people thought was “good makeup” and just did what I felt—everything changed.

What has surprised you the most about your journey as an artist?

The beautiful thing that’s happened as a result of me creating my own personal identity for my work has been that [it] has resonated globally. One of the most exciting moments was my first international invitation. It was so incredibly exciting for me to see people who don’t speak my language at all, who cannot communicate with me with words, [but who] feel so inspired and give me so much love. It was really overwhelming—I cried onstage. It really just goes to show that when you’re true to who you are, your tribe will find you.

How do you spend your time nowadays?

I balance my time now between consulting for other brands, developing products for my own brand, and spending the rest of the time in the studio. I love to shoot at least three to four times a week just to stay in the action of doing makeup because there’s where all the ideas come from. I have the great pleasure of being able to create all the imagery for my brand myself, which is really exciting for me.

What inspires you to create makeup?

What inspires me to create makeup has nothing to do with makeup. It could be a book that I’ve read or a song that I heard on the radio, or it could be a place that I’ve visited. It could be a movie that I saw that created an emotion. The emotion, that’s really where the ideas come from. Anything that makes me feel something is inspiring.

Why did you decide to launch your own brand?

Because my background in makeup was about multifunction, I thought that was a sweet spot for me. It was what I understood, it’s how I did makeup. I wanted to create a line that was just that—where anything you pick up gives you endless opportunity for creativity.

ColorFix is that product in our collection that represents the meaning and the purpose behind the brand. It’s that true multipurpose, multifunctional product that can do everything. It has a super broad shade range—over 60 shades—and we’ve already come up with well over 150 uses for ColorFix. For me, it’s the anchor for our brand. It’s what our brand has been created for—to make innovative products like that.

Your brand is beloved for its inclusive shade range. Why was that important to you?

I was never able to go to a store and buy a foundation to put on [when I was growing up]. My mother would take me to costume stores to get cake makeup that was as close as possible [to my skin tone] for me to wear. I wanted to fill that gap first, but as an artist, I found great joy working on multiple skin tones. Every face was important to me. so I knew that I couldn’t be that single-minded. I wanted to make sure that people who looked like me were included, but I wanted to include everyone.

Why do you think your brand resonates with so many people?

What connects my brand with so many people around the world is the fact that there is something for everyone. Whether you’re male, female, vegan, whether you’re light or dark, whether you’re a no-makeup makeup gal or you’re a drag queen, everybody can explore and experience the brand in a very exciting way.

Explore the full Danessa Myricks Beauty collection.