Celebrity Make Up Artist, Alexis Oakley on Her Successful Career
When she was 18, Alexis Oakley graduated High School in Missouri, and then moved straight to Los Angeles. “I attended makeup school which lasted five months. Once I finished that program I began to assist celebrity makeup artists that I admired. I assisted for about three years (I still will on occasion) and that taught me so much.” She learned how to interact with clients, the in’s and outs of the industry, and makeup techniques from some of the best in the business. While she was assisting she began to get a little bit of her own clientele. "My first celebrity clients were Jessica Alba and Paris Hilton. After getting a few big names in my book I began to hustle and network like crazy. This in itself can be a full time job, but it truly does pay off. I now have clients such as Avril Lavigne, Lisa Rinna, Teddi Mellencamp and more.”
Deep down Alexis always knew she wanted to become a makeup artist. “I honestly didn’t know that it was a real career path for a very long time. I have always loved makeup. I remember I started watching makeup tutorials on Youtube when it just had started. At the time I was obsessed with Bethany Mota and Blair Fowler (who both follow me on Instagram now which is such a full circle moment).” She would recreate the looks they taught over and over again. She says that Lady Gaga was a huge inspiration to her as well and she would recreate so many of her earlier looks, pretending to film it for a tutorial. “When I was a Junior in High School my mom brought to my attention that there are people that have a career as a makeup artist. And as soon as I found that out I knew that it was what I wanted to do.”
The advice Alexis would give anyone working in the makeup/beauty industry would be to work hard and be nice to everyone. “There are no short cuts, you have to play the long game. There is always going to be someone else in the world that can do makeup better than you. So you have to make yourself stand out and show why YOU are the better choice. Network every chance you get and never take no for an answer. I mean that. I have been told no more times that I can count but you can't let that get to you. Just let it fuel your desire to make something bigger and better happen. Promote yourself on social media as well! I get so many clients from Instagram.”
When working in the beauty world and expanding your portfolio as a make up artist, Alexis suggests to have fun and not take anything too seriously. “The amazing thing about makeup is that you can take it off, it isn't permanent. There is so much room for mistakes to happen. Practice on yourself, your friends, anyone who will let you. And say yes to every job. I have done so many jobs for free in exchange for experience. Obviously you should know your worth, but you have to practice and create new looks on different faces to better you and your craft.”
In the beginning of her career, Alexis admits she would get nervous when working with clients. “But now I am very confident in my work. Not in a cocky way — but I know that that person would not let me touch their face if they did not like my work. You can't take anything personal. That is definitely easier said than done. But there have been times when a client doesn't' like how I did something. But you have to be easy going and accommodating. I put my emotions aside and just focus on making them happy!”
In five years Alexis pictures herself doing exactly what she is doing now, just on a bigger scale. “I love doing red carpets, tours, and shoots. I just hope to expand my clientele even more. I would also love to be able to do more teaching. This year I have had the opportunity to go back to my old makeup school on two different occasions and speak about my career and give advice. It has been so amazing to see how hungry they are to get into this industry. I love it so much.”