A Pretty Great Life: Life Lessons and Beauty Secrets from a Hollywood Makeup Artist

By Carolyn Simon

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work as a makeup artist in Hollywood?


A Pretty Great Life combines insider beauty tips with fascinating backstories directly from a Hollywood makeup artist. Carolyn Simon has been helping celebrities and clients get camera-ready for more than twenty years. Now she is sharing her secrets with you! From humble beginnings, she considers herself a regular girl living the Hollywood dream. Her day-in-the-life personal experiences offer readers educational, amusing, and inspirational lessons. They answer basic questions from why black is the favorite color in the industry to more complex queries such as how best to contour different skin tones. And along the way, juicy industry secrets are revealed.

Carolyn shares her recommendations for choosing products and helps to demystify the current beauty trends. Her career advice, while targeting beauty industry students and professionals, is perfect for anyone who wants to work smarter and look better. Great tips for individuals just starting out, changing careers, or even working the gig economy. Follow along and discover a pretty great life for you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Feb 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781982278267

Carolyn Simon

Carolyn Simon is a curator of all things beautiful: faces, places, and experiences. As a Hollywood makeup artist/groomer, she works with the biggest studios and networks including ABC, Amazon, CBS, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros. She also teaches her craft to upcoming artists in makeup courses and workshops. And whenever possible, she can be found traveling to Europe, especially to France. carolynsimonmakeup.com Facebook: Carolyn Simon Makeup Instagram: Carolyn Simon Makeup

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Copyright © 2022 Carolyn Simon.

Illustrations by Grace Yeo.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

844-682-1282

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7825-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7827-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7826-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021924830

Balboa Press rev. date:  01/13/2022

Contents

My Path

The Pretty

Trendy or Timeless

Primer

Ageless

Noir

Pop of Color

Learn from Others

The Artist’s Lessons

Homework

Preparation

On Time

Adaptability

Your Niche

Not Too Much

Like a Kid

Others First

Team Player

The Little Things

Nothing

Bad Days

Your Words

Yes

Choices

Your Lane

Perspective

All Ears

Confidential

Manners

The Life

Less

Vulnerability

Helping Others

Impermanence

Sparkle

Success

Finally...

Acknowledgements

To the pretty.

And the pretty kind.

And the pretty funny.

And the pretty smart.

And the pretty strong.

To help all of you enjoy a pretty great life!

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My Path

My genes and experiences

make me up.

Ifeoluwa Egbetade Writer and businessman

How did a French major from Massachusetts end up as a Hollywood makeup artist? It was not a direct path, by any means. This Irish Catholic girl, one of eight children (four boys, four girls), started out as a shy little blonde. At about seven years old, with my crooked teeth, many freckles, and mousy hair cut into a pixie style, I felt more like an ugly duckling. Somehow about that same time though, a strong sense of style began to emerge.

My mom remembers that as a young girl, I refused to wear anything made of polyester. I suppose I just wanted better options. While my sisters weren’t allowed to get the cute Mary Jane shoes for school, I asked and was surprisingly permitted to wear them. In sixth grade, when caught wearing nail polish (which was banned at my Catholic school), I was sent home to learn a lesson. My mom somehow held in her laughter until after we left the nun’s office.

Life got much better after middle school. Braces came off and my hair grew to my waist; I began to blossom. High school meant lots of friends, both girls and boys, and it was my goal to always look my best.

At home, we had one bathroom for eight school-aged children, and we never knew when the hot water would run out. Not wanting to suffer a cold shower, I would get up earliest. After showering, I faithfully did my makeup in the dusty, dimly-lit mirror by the front door. On days when pressed for time or I just didn’t feel like making up my face, fellow students would always ask if I felt sick or was tired. Those remarks helped me to realize the power of makeup.

My initial break in the business of beauty came the summer after high school. I was hired at a high-end hair salon on Newbury Street in Boston, though I had no formal experience. As their in-house makeup artist, I offered clients makeovers to pair with their new hairdos and sold the salon’s exclusive products. I quickly learned how to apply makeup on others, especially the mature customers who were the bulk of the salon’s clients. It was fun and exciting for me; no two days were ever the same.

While working in the salon was enjoyable, my vision had always been to work for an airline and to travel the world. After Eastern Air Lines posted a local position, I jumped at the opportunity. Initially