Meet Kate (Maeve) Broadhurst | Makeup Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kate (Maeve) Broadhurst and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate (Maeve), what is the most important factor behind your success?

Looking back over my life & my career…I would say that there are two equally important factors in the success that I have had: Tenacity & Authenticity. I am 38 and feel like I have lived 100 lives already. I had no formal training when I started, but I had 2 amazing mentors. They took me under their wing and shaped the artist that I am today.

My authenticity as a person, an artist and a mother is extremely important to me. I approach my art with a unique perspective. I am adopted and the question of “who am I” plagued me for years. I thought I had to have someone tell me where I came from to tell me where I’m going…but nothing could be further from the truth. I learned that I am who I work towards being…and that authenticity comes from a place of doing a lot of deep soul work. I will never walk into any room thinking I have it all figured out – and will always look to other creatives to see what else there is for me to learn…what else there is for me to give. Being in a room with other creatives and making art…each bringing their own authenticity to the project is an indescribable feeling.

I strive to evoke emotion when people see an image…to cause a person to see a version of themselves they never dreamed possible…to take the utterly absurd and make it a reality.

Getting to where I am today was anything but easy. Roughly 8 years into my career, I lost everything I owned and had to rebuild an entire life & career from scratch. I actually did not do a single person’s makeup for almost 2 years after. I wanted to give up too many times to count. But every time I did – my community came together and reminded me that yes things are hard – but I can do hard things. I have a determination to never give up despite all the odds that I have faced. Rebuilding your life and entire career after a traumatic event takes a whole lot of tenacity. All of the things I have had to overcome have taught me to trust my instincts and to lean into all of the hard work I have done that made that moment possible…to stay present and do what I do best.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a Makeup Artist, I am so thankful that I started my career in such a diverse city that is Washington, DC. I had every client ethnicity under the sun and cutting my teeth in that environment gave me the eye that I have today. I failed a lot. I got it wrong a lot. We all do – but I kept going back. Kept asking for raw feedback – no bullshit – what did I need to do better. And each time…I got better. My first fashion show was Betsey Johnson…my first job when I moved to LA was with Blink 182 for 4 magazine covers of Alt Press. Notable moments in my career include working with Paris Hilton, campaigns for Mini Cooper and Hawaiian Airlines. In the last year alone I have worked with artists on Victoria’s Secret PINK, Talbots, the Jacquemus runway show here in Hawaii and was the Key for a show in NYFW. I embark on my first film next week! This summer makes almost 19 years as a makeup artist and I am constantly in awe that this beautiful dream is my life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ah! Which city, haha. I have lived in a LOT of them. I currently live in Honolulu and one of my favorite things to do with visitors is drive them around the East side of the island starting in town. It is on the most beautiful drives…the way the road curves and hugs the ocean and also the cliffs is a feeling that I cannot describe. My favorite place is out on the West Side of the Island – but sorry you’ll have to visit me to find out about that one, it’s a local secret. I am a sucker for a speakeasy and seek them out in every city I am in. Here in Honolulu it’s Wild Orange, NYC is Beauty & Essex and LA is Sayer’s Club – although I heard it closed which makes me sad. A day with me in NYC would start with drinking coffee while walking the Highline at Blue Ribbon Brasserie, then hitting GoldBar and Beauty & Essex.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

There are so many people in my story to thank…

As I mentioned earlier, I had the honor of having 2 incredible artists take me under their wing. Joy Thompson and Carl Ray. Joy took me under her wing and pushed me into trusting myself, encouraging me every step of the way – and never sugar coating anything. Carl…well Carl brought me to events with him as a second artist, treated me as his equal and has been one of my dearest friends and mentors throughout my highs and lows.

All of my friends that let me practice on them in the beginning and continued to insist upon paying my rate to show me that they knew my worth – even if I was just figuring it out.

I have a fairy godmother that is responsible for getting me an entire new kit when she heard how I had lost all of my belongings a few years prior. Because of her support and love over the years – I re-built a career bigger and brighter than I could have imagined. She also answered the phone very very late at night before I keyed my first NYFW show and talked me off a ledge haha.

Thank you to Auntie Kim & Jade (design powerhouse behind Lotus & Lime) for having me as your Key Artist at your NYFW debut, Nella Media Group and Sight & Sound Productions here in Hawaii for welcoming me into so many amazing opportunities.

Website: www.katebroadhurstbeauty.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/katebroadhurstbeauty

Twitter: @MakeupMomMagick

Facebook: Kate Broadhurst Beauty

Other: TikTok: @katebroadhurstbeauty

Image Credits
T&C Photography Theel Productions Hunter Abrams Melanie Shih-Lan Tjoeng