Meet Jordan Naylor | Professional Makeup Artist

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

Hi Jordan, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I would say the most important factor behind the success of my brand would be to ALWAYS remember to take care of yourself. Most people don’t understand the importance of self care, take a day or two to relax.. this will help to gain your energy back which in return will spark that drive and inspiration you have for your business again.

I am definitely one that is booked and busy but after 7 years of business I realized that I need to take some time for myself as well in order to provide the absolute BEST glam and service for my beautiful clients.

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 love my clients and I absolutely love the connection that is built once they sit in my chair. I see a canvas and I feel instantly inspired. The look in their eyes when they feel so beautiful will never get old.

Getting to where I am today was NOT easy. It took a lot of hard work, education and cut through colleagues. I will never look down on my experiences though to get to where I am because through them, it made me who I am today.

I was bullied throughout middle school and high school just barely making it through school. During all of this, my mom was diagnosed with a disease called Myasthenia Gravis and Breast Cancer later on when I was in high school (thankfully she has been cancer free for 10 years). All of these things could make anyone slip into a depression and that happened to be the case for me when I was 16 years old. I only made it through two whole years physically in school, when I wasn’t present in school I was having a tutor come to my house and going to therapy as well. I just kept thinking “Jordan you can do this, you’re strong. You only have a couple more years left of school and you can move on to be what you always wanted to be.” Which was a Makeup Artist.

I graduated high school 5 months early and right away attended Makeup Designory in Manhattan where I learned the in’s and out’s of the beauty industry/ business. I worked with professional models and had the best education and experience at 19 years old. Meanwhile, I have an autoimmune disease and would go to the bathroom and fall on the floor with how weak and sick I would become from how exhausted I was with commuting to and from the city everyday for 6 months but, I never let that stop me from pursuing my dreams. From there, I moved to Albany, NY at 19 years old where I got my own apartment and worked full time for Chanel where I received even more education. I moved home two years later and worked for MAC Cosmetics for a couple of years. Throughout all of this I was still freelancing. After the pandemic in August 2020 when lockdown was lifting, I sat down and made the decision to go full time with my makeup career. I also went back to Esthetics to get my Esthetics license so I can offer more services. I have been full time for 2 years now and I am fully booked and getting inquiries everyday for potential clients.

I went from working at Ulta at 18 years old for my first job to now walking in at 26 years old with my work DISPLAYED in the same store. I will forever be grateful to be where I am and having all of the obstacles throughout the way

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have a few people that I want to dedicate my success to.. First, would be my family who has shown me the most support throughout my entire life and has pushed me to be the best woman I could be. I used to have the worst work ethic and barely made it through school. They pushed me to work hard, literal blood, sweat and tears. That made me the successful Makeup Artist and woman I am today.

Second, I want to recognize Alexandria Gilleo (Celebrity Makeup Artist and Owner of Bridal By Alexandria) She believed in me and reached out to be apart of her team. I absolutely love my brides and weddings, but my heart will forever lie in all things Print. Alex sent me on my first print job for QVC and Bumble & Bumble in 2021 and I nearly cried tears of joy. From there, she saw my work and believed in me enough to send me on even more production jobs and now my work has been in Ulta, CBS during the Thanksgiving Day Parade for an Etsy segment, GMA for a RAO’S segment, etc. She is definitely an MUA and woman I will forever look up to as my mentor and friend.

Last but not least, everyone that didn’t believe in me and were never kind to me. This not only helped to fuel my passion for makeup and working as a full time makeup artist but, also helped to inspire me. Inspire me to be kind to everyone I come across and be welcoming to ALL. This helped me build character throughout the years and now I’m 26 years old and I am so comfortable in my own skin and my skills. It’s true when they say “Let the haters be your motivators”

Website: www.jordannaylormua.com

Instagram: jordannaylormua