To follow: @tashareikobrown
Famous customers: Tracee Ellis Ross, Alicia Keys, Gabrielle Union, Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya
Best Makeup Tip Ever:
I love making my own custom rollerball to depuff and hydrate my skin in the morning. It’s a luxurious, inexpensive self-care morning ritual. I use a whiskey ice cream scoop mold (very cheap), and after filling it with water, I add jojoba oil, essential oils, and strained chamomile tea. The results are firmer, glowing skin that often allows me to skip foundation afterwards. That said, if I wear or apply medium coverage foundation, I still have to powder to set the foundation. My tip for making it look very light and clean is to go back and whip some foundation onto your cheeks, forehead, and chin over the powder with a loose-bristled brush. You’d think adding more coverage would make it really heavy overall, but whipping some foundation onto the powder infuses some shine and texture into the skin.
A defining moment or memory you’ve had since entering the beauty industry:
Two memories stand out in a career where I consistently live beyond my wildest dreams every day. It’s very rare to have a client on stage at the Oscars. I went back several times, but the first time so clearly stuck in my memory. I worked with Florence Welch. She was also performing with Elton John at his annual Oscars party, so we had a lot of logistics to sort out during the day, including having a police escort to both red carpets with a change in between. We were moving very quickly. A door closed and locked behind me, and I ended up walking all over the red carpet, casually drinking champagne. Later, I stood just behind the main curtain backstage doing touch-ups, and watched the front row and theater. It was the first time I took a break all day and took it all in. That’s when the moment went completely downhill. Later that night, I had the same feeling standing right off the stage watching her and Elton sing “Tiny Dancer.”
Filming with Jill Scott was also a dream. I’ve seen her perform “He Loves Me” countless times in countless countries around the world. She moves me every time. No matter how hectic backstage is, when the chords of the song begin, I run right behind the curtain. Touring is hard on the body and hard on the mind. You live on the road without a schedule. You move from country to country and from city to city at irregular hours, in the middle of the night, by plane, by bus and by car. Hearing her sing “He Loves Me” when the tone switches to opera restores me every time. Every once in a while, I’ll come out and watch someone in the audience stare at her, and the expression on her face reminds me… that while Jilly is a dear friend and client, I work with living legend Jill Scott.
What advice would you give to artists starting out?
Have your own point of view, your own aesthetic and your own style. Be authentically and unapologetically you in your art. Good customers will find you and like you. It’s a terrible place to be as an artist when your art doesn’t fully reflect your instincts and you are aware of it. You cannot fully create and thrive in this space. Be you. The world needs more you.
What beauty products can’t you live without when working on your clients?
I use Chanel’s Baume Essential Multi-Purpose Glow Stick on every face every time. It’s like painting with light. It restores a glow to skin that powder or foundation can dull, so it’s also the perfect trick to hide fuller coverage looking like bare skin. I like to apply it where the sun would naturally hit – the tops of the cheekbones, the bridge of the nose and the chin. I will even apply a dab in the center of the eyelids to “wake up” the powder eye shadow. A little on the neckline prolongs the glow and makes the face glow look so natural. I don’t like the face to look too heavily made up, per se, and eyeliner can sometimes be a little too much when you’re trying to strike a delicate balance with a bolder lip. However, I also like the definition around the eyes. Enter Le Volume Stretch by Chanel Mascara. The 3D printed brush allows me to go all the way to the lash line, so I get my definition without the buildup of extra product. The eyes pop out, and it really wakes up the whole face.
