Meet Mishel Brown | Makeup Artist & Esthetician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mishel Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mishel, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
To be fluid. So much has happened in the past 5 years that I could have never planned for: A global pandemic, industry strikes, devastating wild fires. Makeup work in Los Angeles has been so volatile these past 5 years and I’m really grateful that I’ve learned to be fluid and to diversify. I’ve been able to overcome these challenges by being flexible, working multiple jobs, and continuing my education in the Beauty/Makeup world so that I’m bringing my best to the table when the work flows in.

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.
I started doing makeup when I was pretty young because I was involved in theatre. I loved performing on stage – I got my degree in theatre from USD, actually – but I always had an aptitude for makeup. When I moved to Los Angeles, I was 30 years old and I didn’t want to do the starving artist thing and pursue theatre professionally here. At that point, I had already been doing makeup professionally for 5 years and so that’s the direction my career went when I landed in LA.

I had already lived in New York (where I was in a theatre program), San Francisco (I was working at Neiman Marcus and doing makeup there in the cosmetics departments), & San Diego (where I got my degree) when I moved to LA and I wasn’t certain that I was going to stay here because the first 2 years were very difficult for me. I was fresh off of a breakup, I didn’t know anyone in LA, and I was living in Silverlake but working in Beverly Hills, so the hours I spent in traffic everyday were soul-shattering. Eventually, through work, I found people I loved and I ended up moving to the west side, which greatly improved my quality of life because I wasn’t spending hours in the car each day.

I started out doing makeup on myself mostly, but then it expanded to my fellow cast members when I was in plays and I was always doing makeup on my friends. I think that the best thing that ever happened to me professionally was being hired at a department store and doing makeup there in the cosmetic department. Of course working in department stores had its own set of frustrations; Having to work in a corporate setting as an artist is really difficult. All they cared about was how much we sold and how much contact information we could acquire from clients, etc. I didn’t care about any of that. I cared about my craft. I loved doing makeup and I loved meeting new clients, and I loved the challenge of having no idea who was going to sit in my chair next. I worked at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco for one year, Saks Fifth Avenue in San Diego for 3 years, Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills for 5 years, and I moonlighted with various different makeup/skincare brands in Barneys & Saks in Beverly Hills for several years too. All of those years spent at makeup counters in luxury department stores provided me with the best training I could have hoped for as a makeup artist. I got to practice doing makeup on people of all ages, all ethnicities, and all genders. It was a masterclass in the art of doing makeup. And it was incredible practice for me in terms of how to deal with clients. I got to sharpen my people skills and navigate my way through a lot of challenging situations with all kinds of different people.

One of the things I am most proud of is my ability to connect with my clients and help them to achieve their beauty goals. All of the theatre training I had plus all of the customer service experience I had helped me to be able to get really good at connecting with people and figuring out how to meet their needs.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned throughout my career is to remain open and fluid. Things can often change on a dime and almost nothing goes as planned. Being overly prepared is important in this business because you have to be ready to do whatever is asked of you by a client and being able to deliver for your clients is one of the best feelings in the world as a creative. It’s also the thing that gets you repeat business.

None of my career has been easy and there have been a few times where I’ve wanted to give up altogether (especially in the past 5 years), but I’m so grateful that I’ve stuck with it. I’m so grateful that even when business was almost nonexistent, I pushed forward and used that time to diversify and do other kinds of work, and/or to continue my training/education to sharpen my skills even further.

The most important thing about me and my business is my unwavering dedication to diversity. I have done makeup on so many different kinds of folks and and I am so proud of the fact that I am able and prepared to do makeup on anyone of any age, gender, ethnicity, and/or ability.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh god there’s so much to do and so much that I love in LA, but here are some of my faves:

I’d take them for dinner at Dear John’s in Culver City, for sure. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in LA (I’ve been going there since before it changed ownership). It’s small, dark, old timey, and delish. Always sit at the bar.

We’d definitely spend a day going to The Broad. It’s probably my favorite museum in LA. First we’d grab bagels from Courage Bagels (worth the wait) on the way there, then we’d spend hours there at the museum. After that, we’d take the Angel’s Flight down to Grand Central Market and eat a late lunch/early dinner. I can spend hours in GCM.

On another day, I’d take them sailing. I recently went sailing with Young Yachting Charters out of Marina Del Rey, and it was the most magical day. You can bring all of your own food and drink and you can be as involved or as uninvolved in the sailing as you want. I grew up on boats, so sailing feeds my soul and I love that it’s so easy to do here in LA.

On a different day, I’d take them to Descanso Gardens in La Cañada and grab a coffee or tea and walk around the gardens for a couple of hours. That night, we’d stay in and watch movies and get takeout from Phorage. Phorage has the best pho in all of LA (outside of SGV). I’ll die on this hill. They have 2 locations: one in Culver, one in weho.

One day, we’d go hiking at Runyon when it’s not too busy. My partner and I live right at the entrance of Runyon Canyon, so we can easily jet up the hill when the crowds are soft. That evening, I’d take them to my favorite natural wine shop in all of LA, Bar & Garden. It’s in Culver City. It’s the most affordable natural wine shop and they do tastings on Thursdays and Fridays. And they have lots of Non-Alcoholic options so you can bring folks who don’t drink too. After the wine tasting, we’d head down the street to get food at Father’s Office In the Helms District. They have delish food and an insane selection of beer if you know any beer lovers. They have natural wines there too.

If it were summertime, then I’d have to take my friend to The Hollywood Bowl for a show. Such a nice thing to do here in LA in the summer.

I love to cook and bake, so most likely, we’d probably spend an evening or two at my place cooking and gabbing. But first, we’d go to Eataly in Century City Mall and shop for the best fresh pasta and other amazing ingredients for dinner. We’d also grab a spritz at one of the restaurants in Eataly while we’re there shopping, too.

There are so many more places I love in LA and things I love to do here, but the aforementioned are pretty high on my list.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not be where I am today without the support of my fellow Makeup Artists/Estheticians/friends in this industry. We all support each other by referring clients to one another when we’re not available, we assist each other on gigs, we do projects together, we get advice/help from one another when needed, we are a community in every sense of the word. Ivan Castro, Val Harvey, Mikey Castillo, Justin Lentz, Rachael Vang, Carly Frei, Olivia Mozila, Reni Meyer-Whalley, & Kaylin Swan, are some folks I deeply respect & love in this industry.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_mishel.brown_?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
1st personal image (me) Photo taken by The Collective You.

4th Image of the additional images – Photo by Andrea David