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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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Tania D. Russell | Makeup Artistry Career Educator

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Happy #NationalLashDay after I made my post in st Happy #NationalLashDay after I made my post in stories (about my beloved @eyeko having a mascara sale), I decided to take it all the way back and do an old school fakey social media holiday post. πŸ€— Because as much as I am known as the "queen of clean makeup" (meaning my style of makeup is very natural generally), natural makeup takes more makeup than people realize first of all and second of all ya girl loves a lash. These are the lashes that stay in my rotation in my kit nowadays. Alas I'm out of several who stay in my rotation on people's faces - I am out of 747 small wispies and I am out of almost all of my @kashalashes lashes as I discovered at the wrong time when I was up in the San Francisco area to do a high profile private client. 🫠. I have been threatening to get the case that is filled with Kasha lashes for a while and I think it's about that time. But AnyWho my regular degulars that I use all the time are; @eyemimosanfrancisco - Individuals #Eyelure brand natural wispies @redcherrylashes or @thecremeshop 747s (xs, s, & m) @ardellbeauty Trios and Double Wispies Kasha lashes (Sheer luxe line, generally 2,3,&4) and get that case Kasha did with @myocosmeticcases on the real. What are your can't live without lashes? #makeuptogoblogapproved
What began as a little "I hope I can help" turned What began as a little "I hope I can help" turned into a whole thing with a little help from my friends. πŸ€— Makeup to Go's involvement basically began with the @beautycollaborators group of which I am one of the co-moderators. They are largely Canadian artists who wanted to jump in and help when the Los Angeles fires were raging and I was like hey I'm in Los Angeles feel free to send things to me and I will help get them distributed. And indeed they did! We'll get back to that in a minute. Concurrently my makeup homegirl Claire Doyle @curlyourlashes started doing a collections effort so I reached out to her and said hey why don't we join forces. So behind the scenes she and I have been talking and coordinating and all what have you. As I have said previously we took a slightly different approach; Claire is in a position to be able to make sure the recipients are definite artists in need. I have an old house with huge rooms so I have storage space, so we have been pacing getting kits out to artists as they've reached out because some people who may be most in need aren't in a position to receive just yet. And that's fine when folks are ready we will be here for them. πŸ‘πŸΎ I made my first two Kits this weekend to be combined with what Claire has so Claire can distribute them and I wanted to make a video to thank all folks I reached out to who sent contributions. The only contributor not mentioned is the fab @lisaderoma_mua who gave an extremely generous haul and I just haven't gone through all of those boxes yet but fear not your stuff will be going out very soon as well. πŸ€— ALSO - in addition to the products shown here several Canadian artists made cash donations so I have $200 that I'll be taking to one of the pro shops to buy gift certificates so as we start to run low on certain products will be able to fill in the gaps with gift certificates. Yay! πŸŽ‰. Big thank yous to @thrivecausemetics @omniabrush @my_sappho @ber_amos @tofuskinmethod / @lynnyeemakeup @arinaizadi @rebeccawmakeup @lisaderoma_mua And the fab @aclairebeauty & the @beautycollaborators community!
Hey fam! You may have noticed I've not been on th Hey fam! You may have noticed I've not been on the main very much lately. Taking a break from posting has been eye-opening. What started as 'let me rethink my content' turned into something much bigger. While I've missed this space and all of you, stepping away gave me a fresh perspective on both teaching and my own artistry. Funny how that works, right? I used this picture for the background because I had an epiphany while I was on this job. About the work I was doing, the work I want to do more of, and how I want that to manifest in how I'm showing up and serving this Makeup to Go community. I'm coming back soon with renewed energy and plans to share more techniques for photo-ready makeup, continued honest 'biz talk, and the kind of real-world education that makes a difference in a career. Has taking a social media break ever given you unexpected clarity? Drop a ✨ below if you've ever needed to pause to find your path again.
Not booking what you want the type of work you wan Not booking what you want the type of work you want where you are? Or is work a little bit slow where you are? Perhaps it's time to hit the road πŸ‘πŸΎ For those who have followed Makeup to Go for a while you have probably observed that a goodly portion of my work is actually outside of LA. My first job of 2025 was no exception; I traveled to the San Francisco Bay area to do makeup on a lovely high profile client. What can I say? I'm a Sagittarius I have perpetual wanderlust. πŸ€— What if I told you this is something you can make happen for yourself, and not just Bridal? I cultivated this part of my career on my own initiative, and pre-Internet! I did not wait until someone started booking me in other cities, I went and got it. Here's how I did it; - At this point in my makeup career I was almost entirely doing print so my first move obviously was connecting with photographers. in today's Internet world you can connect with anyone you need to connect to with just a little research. - I did not go up there with the expectation of being hired for pay by people who did not know who I was. I met with anyone who would meet with me and did as many test shoots as I possibly could. (Honestly I still love meeting people via doing test shoots, although happily nowadays people are willing to pay me) - Testing ultimately put me in line to the people who can actually hire you for projects. A photographer can bring you on for some jobs but there are other decision makers who can help you get a foot in the door and you need to connect with them. Again - research is your friend. When you are crafting your marketing plan for 2025, these are the types of projects you can plan in order to gain access into new markets/new types of work/etc. Travel is not for everyone, and it takes a bit of upfront cost and elbow grease, but if you're in a position to do so, it can open you up to new opportunities. What's that you say? You don't have a marketing plan for 2025? I got you, Fam. Comment MARKETING and I will send you my 2025 marketing plan template for Free.99 Because 2025 has already proven that social media alone is probably not it. Do you travel for non-bridal work?
Ah January, new beginnings and new possibilities a Ah January, new beginnings and new possibilities and the perfect time to reach out to new potential collaborators and clients. Generally speaking, third week of January or so is when I start my Outreach for the new year. I start with my regular clients, go to my warm clients (folks I work with periodically), then my extended clients (folks I've worked with before at some point), and then start hitting new folks. The Challenging part is I'm based in Los Angeles.... yeah... 🫀. When I tell you the vibratory energy of LA has been intense... That said, work is still happening, the industry is still moving both here and the rest of the world, and we gotta roll with the punches and keep going. As a wise friend of mine recently posted, destruction and creation are the circle of life and life doesn't stop when times become difficult. That said, I'd add that real human beings are really affected in times like these and while you or I may not personally be affected, the people we are contacting may well have been. So it is important to be mindful in our outreach communications. - I acknowledge the awkward and my hopes that whomever I'm contacting is OK - In general in my Outreach I talk like a Human who is talking to another Human. It's a thin line between relatable and unprofessional, but I don't want to sound robotic or like AI wrote it for me. - I'm a Sagittarius and I want to hear back before I even write or call. However in the real world I acknowledge that folks have things going on so I extend grace in response times. (In general folks aren't just sitting around waiting for your email or call so simma down πŸ˜‰ ) - People 100% know why you're contacting them, they likely have to stay in contact with folks too. BUT keeping things a bit more conversational and less transactional can really go a long way. I talk about this and more in building a career in my email list - Speaking Of Makeup. If you aren't on there already, join us! Just comment "EMAIL" and I'll send ya the signup form.
I'm combining efforts with @curlyourlashes and our I'm combining efforts with @curlyourlashes and our Canadian fam @beautycollaborators to support our LA Wildfire Kit Rebuilding. I have two relevant links in my bio; - First for our collection efforts, just fill out the form and we'll get the ball rolling... - Secondly I made a Hub website for *all* of the various collection efforts taking place that I'm aware of because our community is showing up and showing out! Here's the 411 on our donation drive from Miss Claire; There are 30 Makeup and Hair people on my list who have experienced their work kits being lost in the LA fires. 22 out of 30 are Hairstylists or makeup artists that also do hair. If you have a connection to a brand that provides work tools please let us know. In addition to makeup products and hair styling products (hairspray, pomades, gels, styling creams, oils, etc; no shampoo and conditioners) Tools I’m thinking our artists will need. -Capes -tool cases and bags -curling irons, hair dryers -Hair brushes and combs, edgers -hair pins and clips -Makeup brushes -makeup cases and bags -makeup (eyeshadows, foundations, brow products, makeup prep and primers and setting products, powder, lipsticks, pencils); palettes are preferred -minimal skincare -disposables (qtips, makeup sponges, brush cleaner, mascara wands) -scissors, clippers and shavers for hair and makeup artists -hairstylist shears If you have any questions or if you are one of the artists who needs support please feel free to message myself or Claire. And if you are a part of our Canadian family who wants to contribute please get in contact with Andrea at @beautycollaborators. Stay safe and thanks much for contributing!
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