Two Bees In A Pod
Welcome to Two Bees In A Pod, the unfiltered podcast where two beauty industry insiders spill the tea you won’t hear at the salon chair. Hosted by two fierce, fabulous women with years of experience behind the scenes, we’re serving up real talk, raw stories, and all the juicy gossip from the world of beauty.
From behind-the-counter secrets to backstage drama, nothing is off-limits. Whether you’re a glam queen, a skincare junkie, or just here for the scandal, you’re in the right place. So grab your gloss and tune in—because in this industry, the brushes aren’t the only things getting dirty.
Two Bees In A Pod
From Counter To CEO
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A tiny Clinique compact started the obsession. Years later, that spark has grown into a full-fledged bridal beauty business, built on grit, word-of-mouth momentum, and the courage to bet on yourself when the “safe path” won’t fit. We go behind the chair and into the rooms where careers are made, sharing the unfiltered story from minimum-wage makeup counters and salon sinks to five high-velocity years as a strip club head MUA—and the moment independence became the only option.
We unpack how counter experience trains real client listening, how one booked bride can become a pipeline, and why side-by-side income streams are the ladder before the leap. You’ll hear the creative stretch that comes from stage-proof looks, the reality of industry politics and sabotage, and the mindset shift that turned setbacks into a blueprint for growth. We talk lashing as a bridge that paid bills but taxed the body, the decision to open a salon and build a trusted team, and the systems that make wedding days smooth, fast, and joyful.
This conversation is equal parts practical and personal: how to spot work that gives energy instead of taking it, when to phase out services that no longer serve your goals, and how to protect new ideas from noisy opinions until they’re ready. We get candid about health insurance, starting an IRA before it feels urgent, and drawing firm boundaries with relationships that drain ambition. If you’re dreaming of a makeup career—or any creative business—you’ll leave with a map: start where you are, let clients be your megaphone, and choose belief before proof.
If you want product breakdowns, technique deep dives, or business Q&A for aspiring artists, DM us at tube's in a pod on Instagram. If this story resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review to help others find it.
Hello everyone. I'm here alone. I'm a little under the weather. Nicole's busy waxing hoo-haws. So the Valentine's Day. So here I am. I'm alone. So today I figured I'd talk about how I got started in my career. A lot of people ask me this question. They're curious. I think a lot of people want to be a makeup artist. So I'm gonna tell you. It's been 16 years. I have been full-time makeup artist. I did a part-time a little bit. Let me get started. So I basically loved makeup my whole entire life. Since I was a little girl, my grandmother, she would have those little green clinique, you know, compacts and everything. And she would give me like the tiniest bit of powder in them to play with. And I just absolutely loved it. So I wanted purses, I wanted makeup, I wanted all the things, right? So as I got older, I was in school and I had really, really good grades. Like I was really smart. Believe it or not, I was really smart. But like I just could never see myself sitting at a desk and like like doing that. Like I just need to be like using my hands and moving, and it's a little bit of ADHD, I think. Whatever. So senior year of high school, my guidance counselor was like, Sam, what are we doing? Because like you're really smart, and I know you want to go to beauty school, but like, do you really want to waste that? And I was like, waste it. And he's like, Yeah, like the average cosmetologist makes$30,000 a year. And I was like, in my head, I was kind of like, yeah, I mean, right, dude. But like secretly, I knew that I could do more with it. I'm really, really hard worker. I am a hustler at my core. So, yes, was it fear-inducing? Of course, but I just knew that this was my path. So I said, nope, I want to go. So I toured a couple schools. I ended up settling on Paul Machilla school in Rhode Island. Originally I thought I wanted to do hair because how can you make a career doing makeup? He I was like, nobody's gonna pay me for this. People can do this to themselves. Like, I just thought that everyone knew how to do makeup, right? So I go to hair school. It's fine. I don't hate it. You know, I'm actually really good at it. And I was put into like the special, you know, the phase two, they called it in the front where you took like multiple clients. I fucked up a guy's haircut in there because they like leave you alone. Sorry. But yeah, I just like didn't really enjoy it that much. So I graduate and I start working in a salon. I was assisting, and I loved them. Shout out to Kelly and Amy. We're still friends today. I love them, they were amazing to me. There was a girl there, I think she did makeup, and I was like, oh wow, so this is a possibility. She worked at a Mac counter, so I was like, huh. So I began applying to makeup counters so that I could get experience in makeup, like professional experience, because I had like done friends, family, whatever. So yeah, so that was 16 years ago. I applied. I got a job at Bear Essentials doing makeup. And people come up, they'd ask me to do their face, and then they would say, I'm actually getting married and I love the way you did my makeup. Will you do my makeup? And I was like, Oh my god. Yes. First of all, yes. Second of all, like, they want me. I was shook. And then it just became more and more. Like those brides would tell their bridesmaids or their bridesmaids I would do their makeup and word just spread. So I ended up leaving the salon that I was at because they were terrible. And I started working at a salon in Easton Mass, and it was a very, very big salon. And like I remember getting the job there and being like, oh my god, this like it was the place to be in at that time. So I was an assistant there washing hair because I was still like, can I make this a career? I don't think I can really make this like a full time, like I couldn't do makeup full-time. Like the counter was paying me minimum wage. I would get a little bit of commission here and there. But I was making a lot of money washing hair and getting tips. And so that's what I did. I worked full-time and then I worked part-time doing makeup. And then I would do my brides on the weekends, I would take a day off to do brides. And yeah. So then gradually I started to cut back my hours assisting. I got a job at the strip club, and that was amazing. I made money hand over fist. I had girls banging the doors down to get in my chair. I loved being there. It was so much fun. And I got to do different makeup than brides because brides want, you know, classic natural glam, which I love, but like I want to do a glitter eye. I want to do a black, a full black smoky eye. Your girl did it. So I did that. I worked at the club for five years. I was their head makeup artist for five years, which was crazy. And yeah, so after that, so the strip club actually got rated for prostitution, and my doubt was then I was really like, fuck, what am I gonna do? Because I had the salon had like done like, you know, this isn't working out anymore, Sam. Which fine, it's not either really. So it got fired from the salon. The salon also, like those girls that worked there, they hated me. The girls that did makeup, they hated me. They made my life a living hell. It was, it was, it was a lot. Like I would cry. Yeah, it was a lot. When I worked at the makeup counter, my manager, she tried to sabotage me. I like couldn't believe that people did this. But like I learned really early on how cutthroat the beauty industry is. And I learned that I can't, I can't work for anybody else. Like that is not cannot be my life because it's just it just doesn't, it's not for me. So yeah. So I left the club and I said, what am I gonna do? I had a brand new baby. So I decided to do lash extensions because that was the closest thing to doing makeup. I still do them today, my very few handful of clients that I have left. And yeah, I've been doing that for since 2018. So eight years I've been a lash artist, along with doing bridal makeup. So, in the time of me being a lash artist, it is just it really kills your body. Like, I love my clients, I love being with them. But my true love and my true passion in this life is doing makeup and doing brides. I absolutely love it. Like when I was 18 years old, I wanted to move to New York and I wanted to be a celebrity makeup artist. That's what I wanted to do. Now, looking back, I could I would have never made it in New York this introvert. I am an introvert at heart. I love to be alone on the couch. I'm a homebody. But that was my dream. And now I get to do brides, which is honestly, I think it's better. So, yeah, so I still have been taking lash clients. It is coming to a close. I have to say that very quietly because my clients will kill me. Most of them have been with me. I'm not even getting new for eight years. I haven't taken new clients in two years, and I still have I think I do seven clients a week, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a lot when you're running a full team. So now when I opened my salon two years ago, I said, you know what? It's time to go all in. It's time to go all in. We're gonna expand. I'm turning away so many people every year, every season, and I know so many talented people that want to do weddings. So this is what I did. And yeah, basically, the girls are all my friends. It's it's like a dream job. Like I get to go and make people feel pretty and work with my friends and chat, and it's a quick day, usually eight to one, eight to two, and I go home and I can still have a life. I mean, do I have a life? No, because I'm running the website myself, the social media myself. I'm cuddling this snugglebug puppito. Yes, myself, yeah, it's a lot, but like when you love what you do, it doesn't matter. So yeah, I just a lot of people ask me that all the time. Like, how did I get started? And I can make the story shorter, but this is a longer version. So, what are my goals and dreams? Unfortunately, quitting lashing. I just hate being nailed to the chair at this point. I love my clients to death, and that's why I keep them. But I'm gonna have to say goodbye soon. And yeah, I've thought about you know some other ventures, but I have to keep that hush hush. I'm very private about things that I want to bring to fruition because I just think that outside energy can ruin ruin things before they have begun. But yeah, so that is how I got my start in makeup artistry. If I had to do things differently and give myself myself advice to my 25-year-old self 10 years ago, when I really started my self-employed journey, I would tell myself to not get involved with men. But you know, it's made me who I am. So can't say to not do that, but like to any 20-something year old girl out there, don't get involved with men if you have big career dreams, just don't do it. It's a waste of time, they suck your energy. I know I'm a man hater. Y'all know I'm a man hater. Not a good man hater. I'm a man hater that sucks the life out of you, a hater. There are guys that will treat you good and nurture you, and those are the ones that you hang on to for dear life. But the ones that suck your soul dry, kick them to the curb. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's really all that I would do differently. I would trust myself a lot more. I would believe in myself because I didn't believe in myself even up until a couple of years ago with opening my salon. Like, I didn't think I could do it on my own when I could have, you know. So trusting and believing in yourself is number one. And even if you don't feel like you can do it, you can. You can. You can. It's gonna be hard, but you can do it. So, yeah, to anybody that wants to become a makeup artist that's listening to this. First of all, find somebody, meet one of those nice men that can get you health insurance because that's a problem. And you need an IRA. That's also something that I would tell my 20-year-old self to start is an IRA because at that time you think I'm young, I have time. Bitch, you don't, you don't. You're gonna get old, you're gonna be 35, and you're gonna have more bills. Start it now. So, yeah, those are things that I would do differently. All right, I hope that you enjoyed my story of my makeup journey and my makeup life. If you have comments, if you want me to talk about products, if you want me to talk about how to apply makeup, hit us up in the DMs, tube's in a pod on Instagram. Look for our logo, and yeah, I'll get you some makeup content. We'll talk about the best makeup on the market right now. How about that? My fave. And if you're an aspiring makeup artist and you have questions, comments, again, hit the DMs. All right, until next time.