Today we’d like to introduce you to Liani Reyes.
Hi Liani, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been a professional makeup artist for over a decade. From working with celebrities, brides to TV and production. I’m now an educator for talented makeup artists want to raise their value and create consistent income.
I realized how many things just aren’t taught in the beauty industry. Things that could’ve saved me years of frustration, embarrassment, burnout, and undercharging. All because I didn’t understand my worth, the right strategies and how implement them.
How I start my career is actually ironic. I was on YouTube, back when it was the OG of “how-to” vidoes.. trying to find a DIY t-shirt cutting tutorial. Then one of the suggested videos popped up and it was this dramatic, bold blue eyeshadow look. I dont know why, but something about it really intrigued me. I didn’t know it then, and I wouldn’t have thought that click would changed my life.
What makes this story ironic.. is that I actually grew up a total tomboy.
I have two older brothers, and all my cousins are boys, except one girl. Most of my childhood friends were boys, too. My weekends were NOT about dress-up or makeup.. My poor mother had fought so hard to try and get me to dress up for any special occasion.. I was the girl outside playing two hand touch football in the street until the lights came on, riding my BMX bike around all the neighborhoods, collecting scars from rollerblading falls to scooter wipeouts down the park hills, I still get pain in a tail bone from 1 bad fall lol, I was never the “girly-girl” type, makeup wasn’t even on my radar and I hated the color pink. I still do.. But looking back, that energy, the drive, curiosity, and confidence I got from growing up like that is the same energy that made me a great artist and business owner.
It taught me how to figure things out when no one’s showing you the way, how to take risks, and how to stay focused when it gets hard.
Fast forward to today I’m a wife, a business owner, and a mom of, yes, two boys of my own. It’s funny how life comes full circle. I went from being surrounded by boys my whole life to building a career that lets me bring out the most confident, feminine energy in others.
When I first started my career, I thought success meant working nonstop, chasing every opportunity, and having everyone know your name. I’m originally from New York so for me, it was all about “making it in the city.” But after years of hustling, saying yes to every job, and running on empty because i thought something would eventually get me somewhere (but i cant even tell u what the somewhere was), I learned that real success doesn’t come from doing more it comes from knowing more. Knowing how to communicate with different clients. Knowing how to set standards and boundaries. Knowing your worth and how to back it up with skill and systems. Knowing the science behind skin and ingredients so your work lasts beautifully in person and on camera.
The joy that comes from helping people see themselves differently, both artists and clients, transforming not just how they look, but how they feel, bringing out their confidence, strengthening their knowledge is unexplainable. I’m so grateful to be blessed with a talent and skill to that makes a change that beauty industry needs.
That’s what keeps me doing what I do. Seeing others grow and become more confident with the with realistic strategies I’ve learned that changed my business.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, when we moved from NY to FL in 2022 I knew no one, had no clients and no one to help me make a name for myself here. My husband and I had to close a business we had in NY and he went back to working long hours leaving me at home with kids. Trying to raise 2 boys, 1 that’s home schooled and rebuild a business from scratch hasn’t been the easiest and we still have some rough days
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Artists will be more respected, valued, and the standard for clients will be clear. Less clients thinking makeup should be cheap and not taken seriously
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beautybyliani.com/
- Instagram: Beautybyliani
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/7FG6vtIXjirenLF9P4a5cn?si=0G3P1VfRTk27gYG3bRDcvA
