Amy MacIntyre is a full-time freelance make-up artist highly-regarded in her chosen industry. With a list of high-profile and wealthy clients hailing from all over the Golden State, Amy spends her days making California’s elite look glamorous in preparation for events such as awards ceremonies, charity dinners, fundraisers and television appearances.
Born and raised near San Francisco in 1981, Amy MacIntyre discovered her talent for aesthetics very early in life. In public school, she discovered an innate aptitude for visual art, drawing and painting beautiful pictures that often garnered special attention from her teachers. In high school, she further refined her abilities in the visual arts, at one point even being tapped to design the school yearbook for her graduating year. Around this time, Amy also began cultivating an interest in celebrity culture. She became enamored with the popular film actresses of the time, such as Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder, and Sharon Stone, and supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Claudia Schiffer. Inspired by the allure of Hollywood in the 1990s, Amy decided to pursue a career in make-up artistry. In her late teens, she enrolled in a renowned California cosmetology school.
It was there that Amy MacIntyre established her grounding in the craft of make-up artistry and truly came into her own, as she learned all the industry-specific techniques and tricks that her instructors had to offer. At cosmetology school, she learned to approach each individual’s make-up strategy on a case-by-case basis rather than simply applying a strict set of uniform rules.
After college, she was lucky enough to apprentice with an exceptional beautician who took an interest in her work. After two years studying under her mentor, Amy decided that she had finally amassed enough experience to create her own freelance make-up artistry business, which she did in the mid-2000s, eventually accumulating an impressive roster of repeat clients.
When not working, Amy MacIntyre spends her time walking her two golden retrievers, exercising, visiting art galleries, and experimenting with recipes. She still calls the San Francisco Bay Area home, but sometimes commutes to LA and its suburbs to work with certain clients.
How have you achieved success?
It’s taken a lot of hard work and a lifelong commitment to learning. Also, and I cannot emphasize this enough, I had a childhood dream that I was working toward. I clung tightly to that dream, and that supplied me with more than ample motivation to accomplish everything I needed to on my way to success.
How has your definition of success changed over the years?
At the very outset of my career, I viewed success as the achievement whatever the next step was needed to become a professional make-up artist. For example, when I was a teenager, I viewed my acceptance into my first choice of cosmetology schools as a monumental success. I was over the moon when I opened that big, manilla envelope! A little later in time, I viewed attaining high grades in my college classes to be a success. Then, when a bona fide industry professional agreed to apprentice me, that was another one. These days, now that I’ve firmly established myself in the industry, I view success a bit differently. I’ve already achieved all the goals I set for myself as a young woman. Now, success has more to do with cultivating a good reputation and creating a body of work that I can be proud of.
What obstacles have you overcome in the process?
To be honest, the raw number of people trying to be involved in some way in celebrity culture is pretty overwhelming. Sometimes it seems like half the country! It is millions of people, though, without exaggerating. So, the major obstacle I encountered in my career was simply getting my foot in the door with my first famous client. And thanks to some well-placed recommendations, some positive reviews, and a lot of perseverance, a well-known actress finally gave me a shot a few months after I finished my apprenticeship. That was a huge stepping stone. Once I was able to put her name on my résumé—and I won’t mention it here out of respect for her privacy, but she’s very widely known—it opened a lot of doors for me, from a professional standpoint.
What drives you to succeed?
I want to make all of my clients look amazing. It really is just that simple. If there’s a client in front of me, I will not allow them to leave my presence until their make-up looks stunning.
What has success meant to you?
In a nutshell, the fulfillment of a childhood dream. I remember watching the Academy Awards, the Emmys, and the Golden Globes when I was young and just being totally floored by how beautiful all the actresses and models looked on TV. It was then that I decided to pursue make-up artistry as a vocation. I knew I had talent and could build a career locally, but I’d always hoped to gain entrance into the world of celebrity and glamor. Some years ago, I was given the opportunity to work on a client who was about to attend a major awards ceremony, and I thought to myself, ‘This is it. You’ve finally made it to where you’ve always wanted to be.’ That was a really big day for me.
Do you have advice for others on how to be successful?
Follow what you’re good at. Follow your talent. It will guide you into the profession you were meant to practice. If you’re a math whiz, pursue a career that involves a lot of arithmetic. If you can spin up a compelling sentence, pursue a career in writing. Talent usually dictates passion, so follow that, too. Let your talent and passion guide you throughout your life and aid you in making big decisions.
Website — amymacintyre.com
Industry Minds Blog — https://industry-minds.com/profile/?uid=amymacIntyre
Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/Amy-MacIntyre-104296008999906