Job Spotlight: Leigh-Anne Paul, hairstylist and makeup artist at The Beauty Shop

For many people, it might be called a major career transition, going from teaching to being a stay-at-home mom to making people look great by applying their makeup and styling their hair.

But that’s just the route that Leigh-Anne Paul took, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. The Columbus native says she’s living her passion as a hairstylist and makeup artist with The Beauty Shop, a 1701 Rollins Way business owned by Misty Mickelson.

Paul, 43, is among a staff of 14 people at the shop. She’s also among more than 660,000 individuals nationwide in the industry of hairstylists, barbers and cosmetologists, the latter including makeup expertise, nail care and skin care.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the occupation will grow “as fast as average,” with more than 83,000 more in the field needed by the year 2022. Locally, Columbus Technical College is a prime training ground for those pursing careers such as Paul.

Click here for makeup tutorials courtesy of Jane Iredale cosmetics.

The Ledger-Enquirer visited with her recently at The Beauty Shop, which was a beehive of activity with clients getting their hair cut and styled, the sound of blow dryers permeating the air. This interview has been edited for length and clarity with an expanded version at www.ledger-enquirer.com.

How do you become a makeup artist and hairstylist?

You go to a licensed school and get licensed through the state by taking a state board test. I went to Columbus Tech. It’s a good cosmetology school. We started out with 28 people in my class, and by the end of it, when we were on the floor, there were five of us. There’s a lot more to it when you’re going into cosmetology as opposed to hairstylist or makeup artist separately, because there’s a lot of anatomy and chemistry that you have to be familiar with. So a lot of people ended up dropping out.

So you’re well trained?

I’m licensed to do hair, makeup and skin care with the cosmetology diploma that I graduated with. It covers hair, makeup, nails and skin care. It took me 12 months — it’s usually 15 months — but I did it in 12. Actually, I used to be a teacher. This is my second career. So I have a bachelor’s and master’s in education. After teaching and being a stay-at-home mom, I decided to pursue this. It was always something that I was interested in.

You didn’t want to stick with teaching at all?

No. I enjoyed it while I did it. I loved it. This was just something I always had a passion for and wanted to pursue and thought: Why not? I taught middle school, seventh-grade science, and I taught pre-school for a little while.

What do you like about this?

I like being active. I don’t like being stuck with one thing. I like variety. The profession I’m in, it’s always changing. I like being up and moving and I like the interaction with people.

Growing up, was hair and makeup something you thought about?

My Barbies suffered a lot. (laughs) I practiced on the Barbies. I couldn’t understand why the hair wouldn’t grow back. But I figured it out. But they all had really short hair.

When did you get your cosmetology diploma?

I graduated and got my diploma in November and took my boards in December. Most of the girls here in the salon I’ve known for six or seven years now. I went to see them to get my hair done. So I’ve had a lot of support from them. Misty’s a dear friend, but she’s my mentor as well.

Are you still learning?

I think this is something where we’ve always learning, because things are always changing. It’s fashion. It’s what you see in a magazine. It’s all current and trendy. So we’re always learning new techniques to apply hair color or to cut hair. I feel like any profession you’re in, if you’re not learning, you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

Do you do more hair or makeup, half and half?

It’s probably closer to 60 percent hair, 40 percent makeup.

How do you approach people from a makeup perspective?

If they haven’t been here and they’re interested in the makeup, most of the people who come in have heard of Jane Iredale (brand of makeup and skin care) and we’re one of the few places in this area that carries it. They’ve seen it in a magazine. A lot of celebrities use Jane Iredale products. So they’ve heard about it and the benefits, and they want the makeup. They want to look good.

So The Beauty Shop is multifaceted?

Not all salons do makeup, but quite a few do. We’re not the only one by any means. We do offer makeup lessons, application. A lot of people, if you have a young teenage daughter who is starting to wear makeup and you’re wanting a good product line to get her started, a lot of people come in for that.

What do you say to a first-time makeup customer?

We ask them: What’s your lifestyle like? Are you outside a lot? Do you like wearing makeup or do you want to wear the minimal amount, just enough to make it look like you have something on? A lot of people don’t want a lot of makeup, but they want a little bit. Some people who come in want help with blemishes. That’s another good thing about Jane Iredale, women who have rosacea, the powders in the foundations that we have here are really good for blending and evening out your skin tone.

How long does it take to do someone’s makeup on average?

Usually, we give ourselves about 30 minutes to do a basic makeup application. If someone’s coming in for a special occasion, we may take a little longer with them, especially wedding makeup.

What special occasions do you do for people?

Weddings, proms, any event where you’re going to be taking a lot of pictures. There are powders called HD (high definition) powders. They have a matte finish so if you’re going to be taking a lot of pictures you’re not going to look shiny when the flashes are going off. With a lot of the balls that St. Francis has for benefits for breast cancer, and different charity events here in the area, people come in to get their hair and makeup done.

Is standing on your feet all day the toughest part of your job?

You know, we move around so much that you really don’t think about it. At the end of the day, when I get home, I feel it. (smiles) But when I’m here I really love doing this and I’m very happy where I’m at, and I’m excited and passionate about it. So it’s not like being at work. I’m hanging out with my girlfriends, and we’re constantly doing different things.

Do you experiment with different things?

We will. Three of us actually went to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago to a Jane Iredale makeup class. We were able to learn a lot of things there, so when we came back home we were trying those techniques and different products in different ways. Then we’re able to educate the client. We’re also able to share it with our peers who are not able to go.

What’s the toughest aspect of your job?

I don’t feel like there is a hard part. Overall, I don’t feel like there’s really a difficult part of my job.

What do you enjoy the most about it?

When you do someone’s hair or makeup and you turn them around and they look in the mirror and they have a huge smile on their face and they say: ‘I absolutely love it.’ You’re making them feel good about themselves. You’re boosting their confidence. Maybe they’ve had a bad morning or something’s going on and you’re able to lift them up and do something to make them feel good about themselves.

At that point you’ve got them hooked to come back, which is a big part of the business?

It is. That’s a huge part of it. I think you’ve got to be good at what you’re doing and you have to listen to the client when they come in and they’re telling you what they want. If you feel like something might work better for them, in a delicate way, let them know ... ‘You have beautiful eyes, maybe we should do this’ or ‘You have an oval-shaped face, maybe we should do this with your hair’ ... There’s always a way to figure it out.

What qualities do you need to be a good makeup artist, or hairstylist?

I think you’ve got to be a team player. You have to be able to get along well with others. (laughs) I think you just have to be in tune with people’s wants and needs. Honestly, I feel like if you’re passionate with what you’re doing, everything just falls into place.

You’ve also got to be curious about new things coming into the fashion world, because it’s changing constantly?

It does. I’m constantly looking at social media. People see something on Pinterest or Instagram and they come in and say, I want my hair to look like this. I want my makeup to look like that for prom. Then again, you have to realize and tell them that you don’t know what (camera) filters they’re using (in the photograph). And they’re very understanding. They just want to feel good about themselves.

You have to temper expectations sometimes?

Sometimes you have to because if they come in with a picture ... let’s say one of the Kardashians, Kendall Jenner, with the lips and all of that stuff. If I did you your makeup like her makeup is done, you would walk out looking like a clown, because that’s a lot of makeup for photography and the flashes, and a lot of contouring, which is good for photographs. We do a lot of makeup for photo shoots as well, so we usually apply more makeup or apply it in a different way.

I have to ask, what’s it like working with so many other women? Some people might think it could get, let’s say, a bit competitive, with some tension here and there. Is that the case?

People ask me about that a lot. I used to teach. I’ve been in a lot of situations where I’ve worked with a large group of women. But, honestly, this is a great bunch of women. A lot of these people are dear friends of mine and they have been for years. We’re a team. We work well together. We help each other.

If someone has a client that’s wanting to come in and they don’t have room for them on their book that day, we’ll pass them along to someone else here, because we want to keep them here, and we are a team and we’re a family.

Where do you see yourself in five years, sticking with it as a makeup artist and hairstylist, perhaps running your own business?

I don’t want my own business. I don’t want to be tied to a business. This is something I wanted to do as a child and never followed through with it, and I finally thought: Why not? So now I’m very happy.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 9:48 PM with the headline "Job Spotlight: Leigh-Anne Paul, hairstylist and makeup artist at The Beauty Shop."