A lovely day to you all! Welcome back to SugarRush by Portia.
Today the Spotlight’s on Stephanie Nimoh of MakeupByNimoh! Now this lady is near and dear to my heart. We were both born in the BEST region in the US, SOCAL aka Southern California. We also attended the same church as little babes! Then, Stephanie and her family moved to Northern Virginia. Because the West Coast is the Best Coast, Stephanie has recently relocated to LA!
There is no greater feeling that seeing a childhood friend seizing the moment and killing it in their field! Let me tell you, this lady is GIFTEDDD!!! This is why I am SO SO excited for this spotlight!
Now, a little about Stephanie and her business:
MakeupByNimoh was founded in 2014 during Stephanie’s freshman year of college when her best friend pushed her to create an Instagram page. She began freelancing in 2014, but actually started pursuing full-time artistry after she graduated in 2017.
Vendor Spotlight Questions and Answers with Stephanie of Make-Up By Nimoh:
What inspired you to start your business?
I was always really good at doing my makeup on myself in college. So when my friends and I would go out, I would always receive compliments on my makeup. My best friend would always tell me I should consider doing makeup on others but I would always brush it off. I couldn’t ever imagine doing makeup on anyone else besides myself. So one day my best friend started my Instagram page. I was in economics class! I knew from that point I had no choice. When we’d go out, I’d practice doing makeup on my friends. Then I’d post it on my page. Within 6 months I landed my first bridal party.
What is your favorite thing about wedding makeovers or make-up in general?
My favorite thing about wedding makeovers is how special the moment truly is. As soon as the bride sits in the chair, you feel her energy and she feels yours. It’s so important to create a calm, peaceful moment for her right as she is about to walk down the aisle. Her nerves are probably through the roof, the environment in the room may or may not be chaotic; but you as the artist have that one last chance with her. To provide a sense of peace moments before she walks down the aisle. That’s a big deal to me! I love seeing the happiness that overcomes the bride as soon as she sees her face in the mirror. Knowing that I played an important role in one of the most special days of a woman’s life is just so magical to me. I love it.
If you could give two pieces of advice to a future bride/groom, what would they be?
Two pieces of advice I would have to give to a future bride/groom are:
*Don’t try to cut corners. If there is a detail or piece you want to be/look a certain way, please take the proper steps needed in order to achieve the look. This goes for photography, makeup, decor, and SO MUCH MORE!
*Please PLEASE hire a wedding planner. I truly see the difference in weddings that have a wedding planner, and those that do not. There is a difference down to the energy & feel of the wedding on the day of.
If you could give two pieces of advice to someone looking to break into the wedding makeup industry, what would you tell them?
–Practice your skill in bridal makeup. It’s very important to understand that wedding pictures last a lifetime. In the next 25 years, people will still be looking at these pictures. So it’s very important to learn how to create a look that is not only gorgeous and tailored to the bride, but one that is timeless and will still be in style 25 years from now.
-Being kind will take you to great lengths. When it comes to weddings, they can come with a lot of stress. Remaining calm, patient, and kind allows you to dodge blowouts that can easily be avoided the day of the wedding. You will always be remembered by the way you handled situations versus the situation themselves.
To close us out, can you share with us a favorite client story?
A favorite client story of mine is a situation that happened a couple years ago. I was a young artist and barely knew what I was doing lol! My professionalism and kindness has definitely taken me to farther lengths than I could imagine. So, my phone had broken the day before a huge bridal party. The venue location was two hours away. How was I going to get to the location without any GPS? I decided to go old school and print directions on Map-quest. Needless to say, I still got lost and ended up getting stranded in the middle of nowhere the morning of the wedding. There weren’t many strangers who were kind enough to allow me to use their phone to find my way back on route. I ended up arriving to the location an hour and a half late. Can you imagine?! I was mortified! How could I be the reason the most important day of someone’s life goes left! The bride and her party were very understanding, but I wasn’t towards myself. Long story short, I was still able to knock out my assigned members of the bridal party in perfect timing! But no amount of apologizes could revive me from this humiliation in my head! When doing the faces I made sure to ask what each individual’s favorite products were. As soon as I got home, I ordered those exact items including extras I predicted they would like. I created care packages + thank you notes and sent it to their front door. They were completely surprised and really grateful for the kind gesture. Although that was a hard moment for me to live down in my career, I will always remember how I bounced back from it.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the wonderful, talented, Stephanie Nimoh! Isn’t she something special?!
Check out some samples of Stephanie’s work below:
Of course I had to throw in a photo of Stephanie beating my face! LOL
To see more, check out MakeupByNimoh on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook!
Toodles for now, SugarBees! <3
