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Tania D. Russell...

Tania D. Russell is a career media makeup artist of 25 years and counting with a career that has run the gamut from early hip hop videos to print advertising. Her work has appeared in magazines such as Elle Sweden and Runners’ World, on TV shows for clients such as BET, MTV, and HGTV, and for more commercial fashion and beauty clients than she can remember.
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How consistent is your marketing, really? Not whe How consistent is your marketing, really? Not when you feel like it or when work is slow and you panic. I'm talking consistent consistent. This is where many emerging makeup artists struggle, and Fam, I know the struggle all too well. Here are Five Small Ways to up your marketing game early in Q2 so you can ball a little bit harder in 2026… 1. Be Consistent in your Outreach - Outreach is just the name of the game, my friend. Consistency is how we build our name brand so decision makers know who we are. If it feels awkward to you, fear not: the more you do it, the easier it becomes to do. 2. Be Consistent in your Focus - If you don't know what you want to do and your focus is scattered, your marketing will reflect that fact. Pick a direction and commit to it. Other opportunities will come, but you need a home base to work from. 3. Be Consistent in your Presentation - Your portfolio, your social, your website should all tell the same story. If a decision maker can't figure out who you are or what you offer within a few seconds of looking, they're out. 4. Be Consistent in your Positioning - “Know your worth" may be the mantra of social media, but your presentation has to back it up. If you're positioning yourself as a luxury artist, a client should primarily see beautiful makeup, beautifully photographed, in beautiful settings, not just before and afters in questionable lighting. 5. Be Consistent in your Follow-Through - PLEASE. Reaching out is only half the job. If someone responds and you don't follow up, or you go quiet after one exchange, any opportunity that may have existed has left the building. This is an area of weakness for me, and I can tell you that my success rate increases *dramatically* when I get it together and do my follow ups. Once your name and reputation are solidified you’ll likely not need to grind as hard (or you’ll have an agent to do it for you). But to get to that point, your consistency will always be your key. And if you want help getting any of this sorted, the Five Small Things Membership and Need to Talk 1-on-1 Strategy Sessions are both great places to start. Links are in the bio.
Let’s talk about being uncomfortable for a minute. Let’s talk about being uncomfortable for a minute. For the past several months I have been contributing to a large-scale online education program in our industry. And unlike the courses and content I create on my own, this work was subject to full academic review. And the reviewers were analysts, college professors, longtime classroom teachers: serious education experts, not just other artists saying "yeah that looks good.” Y’all every time I pressed send on an assignment to be reviewed I was *nervous* nervous. But every single one of my lessons were accepted. I am not sharing that to brag. I am sharing it because going through that process taught me something important: I had been operating at a higher level than I was giving myself credit for. And I would not have known that if I had let the fear of being judged keep me on the sidelines. This is the thing about staying in your comfort zone. It feels safe, but it also keeps you from finding out what you are actually capable of. If there is something you have been hesitating on because you are afraid of how your work will be measured, I want you to think about that today. If you want support in figuring out your next move, I have two ways to work with me. The Five Small Things Membership is where I share actionable business guidance on a consistent basis. And if you need to think something through one on one, the Need to Talk Strategy Sessions are available for that. Both are linked in my bio. #mediamakupartist #mtgfivsmallthings #promakeupeducation
When I am reviewing the portfolio of an emerging a When I am reviewing the portfolio of an emerging artist who wants to work in media makeup one of two things will often emerge: either the makeup is too heavy handed and too glam for the type of work they're telling me they wanna do. Or it's not enough and it doesn't look finished on camera. As an artist who's made a career out of natural makeup for commercial photography let me tell you, you probably need more makeup than you're doing when you're trying to do "natural". BUT ALSO be careful that you aren't doing a *neutral* soft glam because that's different. Natural makeup for commercial photography - generally speaking - isn't the same type of "let me just throw on some tinted moisturizer and go to the grocery store". It is in no way actually no makeup. It's just is supposed to have the *appearance* of being no makeup. Particularly if you're largely doing beauty makeup for commercial photography which is historically what I've done. In that realm, our makeup still needs to have the finesse and the refinement of beauty makeup. So how do we do this? A lot of practice and re-training your eye. Instead of focusing online where AI images are becoming super dominant, look at agency websites and fashion magazines. That'll help develop your eye for edgier makeups as well 👍🏾 because it's not about liking or not liking – I love all makeup. Well... I don't love horror even though I respect it lol. But it's about being well rounded as an artist. Because let me tell you I've been working 30 years and counting doing clean beauty makeup. 👍🏾 And if you want to study with me and learn this technique I promise you it's coming I promise. I'm working on some local classes here in LA to start so watch this space. 👍🏾
Here's the secret... Here's the secret...
Even if we don't call them "resolutions", it's pre Even if we don't call them "resolutions", it's pretty much human nature to go into a new year with new hopes and aspirations. In the best of scenarios it's easy to lose your way. And I think it's safe to say that we're not in the best of scenarios right now. The good news is if you're feeling like your goals have drifted away already, it's not too late to get back on track. In fact the vast majority of the year is still ahead of us so let's pick ourselves up and plan what we want to do to make this our best career year yet 🎉 Need a little guidance? That's what I'm all about here at Makeup to Go. Comment Q2 and pick up my Quickstart Guide to help you identify what truly matters to you and your career for this year, and start making a plan of action of how to get there. Comment Q2 and let's work on getting this year poppin'
All images copyright of respective photographers | Many thanks to Sonya Bowman Photography, Saryn Christina Photography, and Together in Wellness RN for BTS and Portrait Images
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