Meet Amber Kendrick | Makeup Artist & Content Creator

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

Hi Amber, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
While skill is extremely important in any field, I think my positive attitude and kindness push me ahead. I love having a good time and lifting spirits, which shows in the results! You can be super talented at what you do, but with a bad attitude, others won’t want to work with you.

As artists, we never stop learning! I love taking on challenging projects, as I enter each day with a growth mindset. The most important part of growing is consistency and learning more every single day! After each face, I am better than I was before.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I specialize in all types of beauty including everything from barely-there, bridal, high fashion, to editorial, and more!

I love celebrating and embracing all skin tones, types, and textures. And my focus is highlighting the client’s natural beauty and creating a flawless look without piling on excessive amounts of makeup. I am extremely passionate about each client and their beauty goals, and I’m constantly thinking of new ways to elevate their experience to help brighten their day!

Quality skin prep is so important, so it’s a luxurious and relaxing first step to ensure that each face is makeup-ready. I also give skincare consultations so my clients can feel their best with or without makeup. I like to talk through what products I’m using and why to help educate them and to help them level up their own makeup skills. I even offer a Personal Shopping Experience service tailored to the client and their needs. It’s really fun to go shopping with the client and hang out while we play with makeup! And as a former employee of both Sephora and Ulta, trust me when I say I’ve tried it all!

As far as my career, I’ve had quite a journey! I’ve worked endlessly to get to where I am today, but it didn’t come easy. For a long time, I struggled with even thinking that I could make it as a freelance artist.

I’m from a small town named Thomaston, and I immediately moved to Atlanta after graduating high school. I worked some jobs here and there, and even went to college for a couple of years, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I held the false belief that being creative only has space as a hobby, so you can imagine when I came to terms with my intuition and decided to immerse myself in a creative lifestyle, it was definitely scary for me. But I was ready and armed with a strong portfolio thanks to the internationally published photographers I had been working with over the years!

I never imagined I would see my work on display when I go to Ulta to grab something, and it’s super surreal and humbling knowing my work is displayed at Ulta locations worldwide! I never thought I would be traveling the country with my clients for some of the most fun projects I’ve always dreamed of. I just really had to trust in knowing that being consistent will open more doors than I ever thought!

Once I finally decided to dive into my craft fully, I was thrilled to receive a call from Millie Bobby Brown to do her makeup for a personal shoot. She then asked if I could do makeup for her brand, Florence by Mills, and other projects, press releases, and even a Vogue feature!

I want to give a huge shout to pop star and my longtime ride-or-die Nadia Vaeh, who has been with me since (before) day one! We met at an Atlanta diner we both served at years ago and now we’re doing exactly what we used to talk up a storm about during slow times.

We got to film her latest music video for her new single, ‘Promise Not to Kill You’, in Las Vegas with the best team imaginable! We poured our everything into it, and while it’s the fiercest thing we’ve accomplished yet, we are cooking up a lot more for you all this year, so stay tuned and get ready!

Check out the official music video on VEVO here:

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Any friend of mine will know to arrive hungry when they visit me!

Atlanta has so many good spots for any flavor you desire. Just a few of my favorite places for food and drinks are Bezoria (for the best middle eastern bowls I’ve ever had), Fox Bros BBQ, A Mano (for the best Italian bread ever), WokDragon, Mojave, Canoe, Moxie Burger, Little Five Pizza, and Corner Tavern. I love Summit Coffee in Roswell and Dancing Goats Coffee in Midtown! RIP to The Highlander who closed last year. It was my favorite dive bar, and they had these amazing ‘Pastarella Sticks’ and an incredible Jerk Chili that were such a hit!

One night I was super bummed out because one of my regular restaurants had closed unexpectedly. On the way back to my car, I found a gem called Everybody Eats Atlanta (@everybodyeatsatlanta on instagram) serving up some southern fried goodness on the corner. Their food was more delicious than the restaurant I originally planned on going to, so definitely check them out!

A visit to the aquarium and Centennial Park will always be a must! Plant shopping at Flora/Fauna and a stroll along the beltline and Krog Street to visit their many restaurants and bars. I also love the Botanical Gardens, The Illuminarium, and The High Museum of Art to view some incredible works and pieces! I love to hang out at Atlantic Station for some fun outdoor activities, food, drinks, shopping, movies, and my favorite candy store, IT’SUGAR! The holidays are always a good time to visit some holiday-themed pop-up bars, as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow, there are so many family members, friends, supporters, clients, photographers, stylists, models, directors, and artists of all types who shaped me into what I am today.

Special shout out to my uncle Terry (who is a huge horror fanatic) for teaching me and letting me play with his special effects makeup when I was a kid. Also, thanks to my older sister, Stephanie Simmons for instilling the best makeup and skincare techniques in me that ultimately laid the foundation (haha, get it?) for my practices today! She’s an owner at Lux Brow and Beauty Lounge, so be sure to check her out for your brow and lash needs!

I am so thankful for each and every client who trusted me to do their makeup, and for each team member for creating with me. Every project has many pieces, so I couldn’t have done it without their talents!

Special thanks to Jacob Khan and the Fancy Hairdressers team, Nadia Vaeh, Trista Parker, Sarah Powell, Ashley Rock, Sara Hanna, and too many more to name!

Website: www.makeupbyamberkendrick.com

Instagram: @makeupbyamberkendrick (instagram.com/makeupbyamberkendrick)

Image Credits
Sara Hannah, Charlie Brown, Alexandra Scuffle, Jillian Cornette, Chad Edwards