Meet Jasmine Hairston | Professional Makeup Artist & Content Creator

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

Hi Jasmine, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I am from Columbus, Ohio. I would say my background and upbringing showed me to stay focused on my goals and dreams. I grew up in a place where alot of people get complacent and get tired of going after what they wanted for themselves so that makes them settle for whatever life throws at them. I always knew what I wanted in life and my upbringing instilled that hunger in me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So my journey started back in 2010. I was a broke college student staying with my eldest brother, his wife and their 3 kids. I was sharing a room with my niece and I was 19 years old. I used to watch YouTube all the time and I happened to come across a young lady that was doing her makeup and I had just fell down a rabbit hole watching her content. I was so enamored with what she was doing and I said to myself “I want to learn how to do makeup like that” and from that moment forward I fell in love with makeup and content creation and I have been doing it for 13 years now.

I think what sets me apart is my creativity. I can do all sorts of things with makeup. From simple everyday makeup to special effects. My artistry knows no bounds. I can not and will not be put in a box and labeled as just one title. I am always evolving.

I am most excited about reaching a larger audience. I dream of people seeing my art and being inspired by it from all over the world. Thats what I appreciate about the internet so much is that you have the potential to reach the masses.

I started off in Columbus, Ohio working for MAC Cosmetics in 2014. That was the time when I felt like I really became a makeup artist. I then decided in 2015 to go to beauty school to obtain my esthetics license. In 2017 I was presented with the opportunity to move to Las Vegas, Nevada and I took it. Moving to Las Vegas put me in a position to really grow because the tourism in that city is off the charts. You have millions of people that travel to Las Vegas per month so it was very easy to get clientele there. I would post all my clients and my makeup looks I do on myself on Instagram and put all the Las Vegas makeup artist hashtags I could use and thats how people found me. That also helped me reach a larger presence online. When I moved to Las Vegas in 2017 I barely had 2k followers. By 2019 I had hit my first 10k followers on Instagram and it just kept growing from there. In 2020 during the pandemic, the whole west coast was on lockdown significantly longer than the rest of the country. In Vegas we were literally on lockdown from March to June and that made me rethink Vegas all together. So that September I was talking to my friend Ty, who was moving to Atlanta, and she got my gears to turning. Me and her had a few conversations and I was seriously considering moving there. I also had a couple family members who lived there as well as my friend Victoria. In November of 2020 my nephew was tragically murdered at the age of 19 and 3 weeks later my father was killed in a car accident. That made me realize I didn’t want to be that far away from my family anymore so in March of 2021 when my lease was up, I packed up whatever I could fit in my car and I moved to Atlanta.

My journey has not been an easy one. I have went through so much and learned so many lesson but I wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world. It’s my story and I love my story. I’m happy I went through what I went through because it made me who I am and I am THAT GIRL!!!

I overcame my challenges by staying focused, learning from my mistakes, and always staying true to myself. In this life, people will not understand why you chose the path that you chose, but as long as you love what you are doing and its bringing you joy, then it isn’t none of their business. Amen.

There are a few lessons I’ve learned so I’ll share some.
Number one is when folks say “A closed mouth don’t get fed” that is a saying I live by. My mother has been saying that to me for as long as I could remember and it is so true. I used to be so shy and meek. It was so hard for me to make connections just simply because I was so scared to open my mouth. You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take so be sure to speak up. You never know where it could lead you.
Number two, and I know a lot of people know this one but, keep God first in all you do. There was a time when I felt like I didn’t need God and I can do this on my own which lead me down a path of destruction. I learned very quickly that I needed God in my life and there is NOTHING I can do without him.
Number three, have a plan and execute it. I’ve tried to do things by going with the flow and it always tends to blow up in my face. When I plan things out and put action behind it, I see more success.

I want people to know, especially young black girls, that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to. Don’t let anyone speak negativity on your dreams or goals because they are too fearful to go after what they want. Life is to short so do what you want to do and have a ball doing it. Dare to be different, go after what you want, and stay focused. Anything is possible you just have to believe that it is.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One thing about me and my friends, we are outside mami’s so this list will have a lot of night life. Ok so me and my friends are going to Cooper Cove. I just feel like you can not go to the A without going to Copper Cove. Then Im going to take them to my favorite strip clubs which are Allure, Magic City, and Cheetahs. Again, you CAN NOT come to the A without doing these things. Then I’m gonna take them to Toast on Lennox for brunch. I do love going to Politan Row in Colony Square. Thats a really nice food hall in Midtown and they always have events there. Its a good time trust me. Also I love going to west midtown, specifically, The Interlock off of Howell Mill. That area has something for everyone. It’s a Puttshack over there where you can play mini golf, Holiday Bar is there, and so many dope restaurants.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without my mother and father. I dedicate this to them because they raised me to be the woman I am. Shoutout to my parents.

Website: https://jsemonemakeup.weebly.com/#/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j_semone?igsh=MWlybWY1OTNvZXVjeg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Twitter: https://x.com/j_semone?s=21&t=9NM7zoK2XzfV2jRg-TaECA

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@j_semone?si=q8ylmoygrfWjTQyA