Meeting Makeup Mogul, Eve Pearl

Sitting with Eve Pearl, 5-time Emmy Award Winning Celebrity Makeup Artist at IMATS

Does Makeup Help Me Cope with Depression or Do I Have BDD?

In college I suffered greatly from depression and I believe a form of Body Dysmorphic Disorder also known as BDD. I would wake up for class and spend three hours doing my makeup and looking in the mirror.  I wasn’t trying to hide flaws, but I was trying to paint away the depression and negative thoughts.  Sometimes I would be so focused on doing my makeup that I’d paint my face right through my class.  I would look at the clock and realize that it was 30 min into the class time.  I had lost all concept of time.  When I finished doing my makeup, I’d be disappointed in myself for being late for class and the depression would set in all over again.  Sometimes I would just go back to bed.  Fortunately this did not affect my achievement in college.  I graduated with honors and later went on to receive my M. Ed., still exhibiting the same behavior (late to class because of doing my makeup).

Today, I’m stuck in a higher education job that I find completely boring all for the purpose of paying my bills and outrageous student loans.  I am still living this life of depression.  I have tried traditional counseling and vitamins to cope with the depression, but I’ve found that doing makeup gives me the greatest joy.  It is theraputic, I suppose in the same way a basketball enthusiast takes to the court after a stressful day. This is why I am so passionate about working full time as a print and live performance makeup artist. I can live a HEALTHY life doing what I love. For me makeup isn't a hobby and it's so much more than just makeup...


While in New York for the International Makeup-Artist Trade Show (IMATS) 2012, I was lucky enough to share my story with 5-time Emmy winner, Eve Pearl. If you don't know her story, it's really touching. She became a makeup artist by chance and did not back down from the opportunity because she wasn't "ready".  She took risks... Her advice to rising makeup artists, "Never wait to be ready for anything!" Far too often people operate out of fear and Eve Pearl's "Makeup Artist to Makeup Mogul" story is one of triumph over fear. I could relate to her story because she, like myself and many others, was not confident about her skin and worried about what people would think about her as a makeup artist when her skin wasn't perfect. The difference about her is that she faced her fears head on. In fact she took action by created her own cosmetic company which consequently allowed her to solve problems she personally faced with her skin,  Just so happened, many of her products became popular because they were universal solutions for the everyday woman. 


If it wasn't for my desire to address my mental health issues with what some call an obsession and I call "makeup therapy", I may not have been in the right place at the right time to hear this authentic message.  Eve Pearl helped me realize that makeup doesn't just conceal flaws or enhance beauty, but it cultivates confidence. 

Don't just make up your face, make over your mind!

If you are interested in the topic of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, the article "Too Ugly For Love" may interest you.