Meet Melissa Vongsombath of Makeup By Melissa V in DFW

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Vongsombath.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Oh wow, it has been a quiet, but beautiful journey to get where I am today. First, I would like to mention that I never knew anything about makeup or ever imagined becoming a make-up artist at all. I always wanted to be a wrestler. That didn’t happen.

So to share a little background on me, I grew up as the oldest child and sister. My mother was a single mom raising my little sister and I. She remarried and now I have two more amazing half-sisters.

I remember at the age of 16, my first time experiencing with make-up was when I quietly took off on my mother while she was busy at the Estee Lauder counter. I came across the MAC cosmetics counter and swatched the first lipstick that stood out to me. It was the lipstick in the color Velvet Teddy, I fell in love with the lipstick, but I knew I was unable to afford it at the time.

Fast forward, I became a young mom after finishing high school. I went back to school for medical billing and coding. After graduating, I really decided that it was too boring for me and I wanted something else. I just didn’t know what yet. I worked different office setting jobs and did online blogging on the side.

I stumbled on a beauty forum looking up lipstick shades for Asian skin tones. I noticed there wasn’t many reviews or swatches available for my skin tone. I decided to start my own beauty blog doing reviews on all things cosmetics related. After a year of playing and reviewing many products, I realized I was spending more and more. I applied at Sephora so that I could use the discount to help me purchase more make-up. I was hired on seasonally at the time. Without any knowledge of how to match different skin tones or how skincare worked, I had to go through training of course. It was a lot of fun and I started to feel more joy and in my comfort zone for once.

After a while, I was hired on permanently. I began to notice that my work environment brought me closer to many different women from all different walks of life. Some with very similar background as mine, and some with more than I could ever imagine. On Slow days, I would spend more than an hour with whoever sat in my makeup chair. I started building relationships with people and it became a regular thing. It felt so rewarding to know that I was able to help transform women and boost their confidence with just one hour spent with them.

After a couple of years, I started working at Ulta. It started to become hard working in the retail industry. Long hours to closing to no weekends off. I had previous clients follow me to this store and sometimes I would be too occupied on a very busy day to even help them. That was when I started to build my own makeup business. The relationships with clients I’ve had built over the past years, they started to ask if I could do their weddings or special events makeup. As I was getting booked more, I had to constantly request off on the weekends at my job. I felt it was unfair to keep asking off, so I decided to leave and start my own freelancing business.

Starting my freelancing business, I had no clue which way to go or where it would take me. When I would get booked to do random gigs, I started meeting other makeup artists and photographers. My business started expanding more working with different artists and models. I actually freelance with a lot of hair and make-up artists now and I am truly grateful for these women. We all share the same passion for our work and it is not always about the business, we really do love to transform people and make a difference in their lives.

Great, 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?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, it’s been quite a roller coaster =).

The challenging part I would say is when there are slower months and less booking during off-peak seasons. At the beginning of my freelancing journey, the bookings were not consistent, so I struggled financially and had to pick up extra work doing random promotion gigs and etc.

I truly believe that there are always opportunities out there. When you are passionate about your creative work, it will show and pay off. I love everything about the laws of attraction. Blessings come so many different ways when you least expect it. I always told myself to not give up and take on the challenges as life lessons.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Makeup By Melissa V – what should we know?
As a freelancer, I also do a lot of different work with many other models and artists. I do photo shoots, editorials, special events, and weddings.

I specialize in weddings and photo shoots. I love creating different styles of looks. From timeless bridal looks, soft glam, to dramatic boudoir style.

I really like to let my clients pick out the looks that makes them most comfortable and still look like themselves.

My goal is to have everyone feeling like a goddess once they leave my chair. I am very proud that I get to be apart of a fun industry and still be taken seriously. I love giving back to the community by doing charity work to help other struggling women and people. I enjoy seeing those smiles when they look in the mirror. I know we don’t always get to “look” our very best at all times, but I know I can help make them feel beautiful and confident again.

What sets me apart from others is that I also provide non-toxic, vegan makeup services/lessons. My entire kit is majority vegan. Being a mom of three, I can see how much of the world is changing environmentally. My kid’s health and safety come first. Not everything out there is 100% safe for our skins. So I have included cleaner options in my kit. I know it can be overwhelming to research and read labels off packages. With my background in the beauty retail industry, I’ve been able to find and play with some pretty awesome beauty products that aren’t too harsh for our skins.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being positive 🙂 .

I know that sounds so cliche, but it really is apart of my personality, I always looked on the brighter side of things and it has helped me so much in the past ten years with my life and business.

There are days where I don’t know if the person in my chair could be having a bad day or going through something rough. Making sure my client smiles during the session is also one of my goals at all times. The positive energy can lift up their vibration and they can carry on that vibe throughout the rest of their day and mine, It’s the little big things that we sometimes ignore, but if we just take a moment and tune in with the energy we are giving out, it really makes a huge difference in our day and the rest of our lives.

Pricing:

• Soft Glam $65+
• Clean beauty $70+
• Bridal $80+

Contact Info:

• Phone: 4693485786
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeupbymelissav/
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Professional photos by: Thanin Viriyaki, Anitta Salazar, Swan Photography, Hampton Morrow Photography

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