It is with great sadness that I make this next post. I was waiting until I heard from sources other than blogs or Tweets, but it appears it is true; Famed celebrity makeup artist Roxanna Floyd passed away. She was only 49. Cause of death has not been reported.

Ms. Floyd influenced many an artist – myself included – through her work. As a young aspiring makeup artist I followed with baited breath as Roxanna Floyd made up one fabulous famous face after another for the famed covers of Essence magazine building a clientele that would include Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, Ashanti and Halle Berry. In a time when it was common to hire one makeup artist for certain magazine covers and another for films and TV appearances and yet another for advertising featuring celebrities, Roxanna Floyd broke the mold and worked with her clients through all of their projects in all mediums. As one of the first very high end working African-American makeup artists she changed the face of beauty for African-Americans and later in her career she would lend her talents as a consultant for cosmetics companies and advertisers. In short, Roxanna Floyd was a legend in the world of makeup.

There really aren’t enough words for how influential Ms. Floyd has been to my own career. Even though I ultimately came to work in a different market segment for a different clientele, Ms. Floyd proved to me that a ) someone, and a female someone, who looked like me could work at the highest levels in this profession and b ) African-American beauty IS distinctive, unique and beautiful

Thank you Ms. Floyd. You will be missed.

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