This is an excerpt from Michael Devillis’s blog, for the love of makeup:

“How Did I Get Here”

Its one thing to say that hard work and perseverance got me to this place - wherever this “place” truly is, which is something I am still sorting out. But it is an entirely different thing to look at every aspect and angle of your life and say to yourself - this is what i have been waiting for, this is the place I have always wanted to be, this is the place I have always needed to get to, and to acknowledge that hard work was only a stepping stone to this place.

I had to know what i wanted. I had to know what i needed. I had to work hard to get to this place - yes - but more than that I had to put myself out there, ask for what i needed, insist on my own success and somehow find a way to be generous, open to learning and maintain my integrity along the way. Sometimes it was, or rather is, hard. Most often, the time and effort and cost of what makes me feel that my business and life are a success, would not seem worthwhile to a person who looks only at numbers, profits and credit scores to gauge success.

I will be hopeful in thinking that somewhere there is a makeup artist who has been given the faith in himself and has felt empowerment in the idea that he can be whatever and whoever he wants to be by something he experienced through one of my projects. I will be excited by the idea that a small business somewhere will start up today and begin the same path as i did nearly five years ago, and I will be hopeful that they are prepared for the turbulent road they are about to journey down, and they have a clear understanding of what success is for them.

When I read this article, I was a Retail Manager at MAC Cosmetics. I knew it was meant for me to read  and I knew Michael was talking directly to me. I was then still struggling with “what’s next for me?” I knew what I wanted, I knew how to work hard, I knew how to dream, I knew how to do makeup, I knew I was smart, I knew I was creative, but there was something holding me back from putting it all together! After realizing that Michael left MAC after 10 years and managed to create something like The Powder Group…I knew it was my turn and he helped me realize that! At that moment, I started planning my exit strategy from MAC and 6 months later, I resigned after 10 years too and The Makeup Lab launched in March! I had been dreaming about and planning (and I do mean that literally)  the lab since I picked up my first makeup brush! So I can also say that I felt like I’ve been planning for this moment my whole life. I have followed Michael and The Powder Group since it first launched and I’ve always been inspired by his story. However, reading his blog hit home for me that night!

I finally met Michael 2 weeks ago at one of his workshops in NYC, Business Evolution. It was the most inspirational and amazing experiences that I’ve had thus far! It was an intimate setting of 12 makeup artists and Michael  for 2 days discussing and learning about the business side of the makeup industry. I walked away with a wealth of information, knowledge, and motivation from  Michael and all of the talented makeup artists in my group! I left NYC feeling  humbled, proud, inspired and thankful for having met Michael and the other makeup artists and realizing that I’m on the right path for sure! So I said all of that just to say….watch out here we come!!!! …..just kidding!  I just  want to let  Michael know that I was the makeup artist that he was referring to in that post…so thank you for inspiring me and you’re doing exactly what you’re suppose to!

Smooches

Kisha