Meet Felicia Menal | Makeup Artist/Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Felicia Menal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Felicia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As a child I have always had a love for beauty. I would always paint my nails with marker or act like I had acrylics by applying long pieces of tape to my nails. when I was 8 I was in summer camp and admired how one of the camp leaders always used blistex to moisturize and gloss her lips. These little memories have stuck with me into my adulthood and helped me really identify what my true passion was. It wasn’t until middle school where I was diagnosed with a rare form of eczema when I realized beauty and appearance meant the world to me. I first fell in love with skin care and all the ways you can improve the appearance of your skin. From there I found myself falling in love with makeup. I loved how you can enhance your features with makeup and it made me feel better about the areas on myself that I didn’t care for as much. As a young dark skin woman I felt like I cracked the code to what beauty looked like for someone who looked like me. There weren’t many options for black women in beauty back when I started doing makeup and I made it my mission to give every black women a chance to look glamorous and feel fabulous as well. I began doing makeup and creating skin care products for my peers and they loved it. That’s when I knew I was on to something. I love making people feel beautiful no matter what they look like and no matter where they come from. I live to bring smiles to my clients faces. I work everyday to ensure people who receive a service from me feels beautiful and confident.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am most proud of the fact that I am a self taught Makeup Artist. I didn’t allow anyone around me to discourage me and my dreams of getting into makeup. Many people thought it was a phase or makeup artistry wasn’t a solid career but I stuck to it and people adore my work. I believed in myself more even when everyone around me didn’t understand it.

Consistency and practice is the root of my success and it wasn’t easy. I have made a lot of mistakes but I was never one to give up. I was always trying something new. I took classes with makeup artist I admired I watched HOURS of tutorials and videos. I also learned from my peers when I worked at Sephora and Mac Cosmetics.

The biggest lesson I have learned is to just take risk. Go for everything you dream of even if you think you aren’t equipped to do so. experience and failure is going to give you the biggest reward you need to grow. Don’t settle and try everything you never know who things are going to pan until you try.

My Brand FAMBeauty is an inclusive brand. I have had the luxury to provide makeup to people from all walk of life. I never want anyone to feel like they cannot come to me and receive quality service. I can do makeup on ANYONE. I want the everyday woman to know that I got her and I understand her. From the busy moms to the insecure high school student you are loved and you can always reference my brand when you want to feel confident and sure about who you are. Society and it’s beauty standards are so flawed and doesn’t display how people around the world look. Who you are is enough and you are beautiful because God made you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting I would take her to the belt line to ride bikes through Piedmont. She loves to work out so that would be a great activity. To turn up for brunch I would take her to Opium (breakfast tacos busssinnn) or Toast on Lennox. At night I love a ratchet strip club vibe so Blue flame, Club wax or magic city. Dinner would probably be Rock steady, Little Alley Steak or Umi Sushi.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I will give recognition to Beauty Youtube circa 2009. Jackie Aina, Michelle Phan, BubzBeauty(Idk if that is still her name), AaliyahJay, Dolcecandy.. etc. A lot of the creators I use to watch do not make videos anymore but IYKYK. They really helped shaped what beauty meant to me because they were everyday girls sharing tips and tricks on how to look bomb everyday. It was back when Youtube was authentic and raw. They were definitely my inspirations.

Website: fambeauty.info

Instagram: _Fambeauty

Youtube: Felicia Menal

Image Credits
Melbelderjr photography