Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Woods.
Hi Sydney, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I love this question because it reminds me of God’s favor. I have always been a beauty queen. Growing up, makeup was intriguing to me. As a young girl, I was always fascinated by makeup. For the longest, I watched my mom do her eyebrows and put on some black eyeliner every morning before work. I think she unknowingly had an influence on my interest in makeup. I remember, as a little girl, around the ages of 7-10, I had so many tiny lip-glosses and miniature lipsticks because they made me feel so girly; any store my mom took me to was a chance to buy more lip-glosses.
As I grew up over the years, my likeness for makeup increased. I remember being in the 8th grade and being a mascara stan! This was at the time when a lot of girls that age were getting into eyeliner and mascara, I mean after all they are some of the most basic makeup items to use. But as an 8th grader, let me tell you there was nothing basic about mascara, I would literally pack it on my eyelashes so that it was known that “My eyelashes are popping”; makeup made me feel even more seen. Fast forward to my high school years which is when I realized that makeup was something that genuinely made me happy, like a child learning about a new favorite sport.
During 2012-2015, makeup trends were prominent. I thoroughly remember keeping up with the latest makeup trend from eyebrows, winged liners, under-eye concealer, MAC lipsticks, highlighter in the inner eye corners and on the cheeks, and more. It was something new for me to try everyday, and I think that is one of the things I love about makeup; it has so many different uses. Many of my clients have heard this story before but a fun fact is that the first time I ever did a “full face” of makeup was for my high school graduation in 2015. I wanted to go to MAC so bad, but my mom refused as she said “I’m not paying for something that you know you can do yourself”, which was such a joke to me at the time because I had never done a full face of makeup, but I had a pretty good idea of what I could do with the 6 products I had at the time. Long story short, I used what I had to beat my face! I was stunned by the outcome, nobody could tell me anything that day!
From that day forward, makeup became a real hobby for me soon enough I began to occupy my time with makeup. The summer before I went to college was a game changer for me and makeup. Youtube played a huge role in that I used to watch some of today’s beauty influencers record videos of their makeup routine at the time, as well as Instagram where I could tailor my likes and interest to allow me to come across more makeup related profiles. When I saw a product, I would go out and buy it. By the time I went to college, I knew how to do a full face of makeup with eyeshadow. I went to every event in college with makeup on, and it got to a point where one of my roommates at the time asked me to do her makeup for a party. In my mind, there was no way I was about to succeed at doing her makeup, but she pushed me “just do it” she said. I ended up doing her makeup and surprisingly it came out super cute!
From that point on, I would do my roommates’ makeup for any occasion they wanted it done. I posted any makeup I ever did on Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram and I was always sure to hashtag #shsumua so that people were aware that I was able to do other people’s makeup. Throughout my time in college, I developed a passion for doing makeovers and making the people around me feel beautiful. I developed a solid clientele while in college and learned what it was like to make money from doing something I genuinely liked. At the time, I viewed it as a side hustle.
Present day, 2021, and I feel successful within my business. There were dry seasons in my business that lasted long periods of time after I graduated college. Sometimes I would have one client a month, but I never gave up. Now I am as booked as I have ever been. I am realizing the gift that my hands hold. I am in the process of becoming a real student to the game and a master of my artistry. I am more interested in studying makeup now than I have ever been, because I want the best for my clients. By the grace of God, I have been able to network and allow my artistry to speak for itself which has put me in a position to service high caliber clients, including celebrities. If you were to ask me if I ever thought I’d do a celebrity’s makeup back in 2018, I would have probably laughed. The moral of the story is, sometimes you don’t realize who you are, but God always does. He truly has a bigger plan for me.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has not always been smooth, as I mentioned, there were plenty of dry seasons in my business. I would look at my booking schedule and simply sigh because I wanted more. I did not feel as noticed as I wanted to. It felt like a long time before I could get to where I am now, but it wasn’t really as long as it felt. It was during the dry seasons where I questioned myself the most, “Why am I good at this and I don’t have the clientele to reflect it? “Will I ever have more clients?” were some of the questions I would ask myself. Eventually, I stopped focusing on the clientele and simply working on my craft and creating the type of artistry that would naturally bring me clients. When I look back at those “dry seasons”, I can appreciate how necessary they were to my overall growth as an artist.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a self-taught, freelance makeup artist. I am most intrigued by beauty that is snatched and lifted but also easy on the eyes. “Easy on the eyes” is an old saying used to explain something or someone that is beautiful or attractive. My glam style is one of elegance and class but still very accentuating as I want my clients to look and feel like an enhanced version of themselves. According to my clients, I am known for my “makeup style” which is what I explained just now. They come in and tell me that they love my work because it makes one look beat but still very natural, and although that sounds mutually exclusive, there is a way that one can look beat and natural synonymously. It is all in the technique. I am most proud of my perseverance because I never put makeup down, it is almost like being creative in this way was my birthright. No matter the challenges, dry seasons, creative blocks, I will always be grounded and persistent in my artistry, and I believe that is why I was able to enter into this fruitful season; because I always kept going.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was a very easygoing person. I have always been a friendly person who is socially confident, I feel like there isn’t a group of people that I cannot fit in with because although we may come from different backgrounds and be totally different as a person, I have always known how to find commonality in any relationship I surround myself with and I feel like that is what makes me so socially adept. I was very confident but also timid in a lot of ways, and I think, for the most part, I have always been aware and certain of my character which is what gave me the confidence to always be who I am in any setting. One of the things I love about myself is how naturally goofy and funny I am, I love to laugh!
I have always been “silly” as my mom would say, but that is one of the many reasons people love me; I have a real ability to make people laugh. Growing up, I was very athletic, I was heavily involved in sports up until I was a junior in highschool, and after I said goodbye to sports, the true beauty queen in me awakened. I was also very friendly, as I mentioned. I loved meeting new people and trying new things as a kid, and although I can say that I like to stand out apart from others, I also loved being a part of groups and organizations, and boy have I had my share of involvement in organizations. Eventually, I want to create my own union who shares the same passion for beauty as I do. One constant about my personality from when I was a young girl up to now is that I have always been down to earth. I’ve never been one to toot my own horn, never worried about impressing anybody, never been too pushy, and I have always been true to who I am.
Contact Info:
- Email: Woodssydney42@gmail.com
- Website: https://sydneysfaces.as.me/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sydneyreneamua_/
Image Credits
Marcus Owens (@Mo_storyteller)
