I am excited to highlight an amazing lady that I have met in the industry and now happily call her my friend, Alana Kelly! Alana and I met probably about a year or so ago at a Tuesday Together for the Rising Tide Society . We hit it off right away and later I reached out to invite her to work on a photo shoot. Since then we have done several more projects together. I absolutely love spending time with her. She has such a wonderful spirit, fun personalty and very talented. It's hard not to smile around her! So, without further ado, I present the amazing Alana!!! (pronounced A-LA-NA with a long laaaaa. Took me forever to learn that!
Hi! I'm Alana with Amelia C & Co Chicago. I joined the company in its infancy back in 2011 when I was looking to become a freelance artist. My career started in 2001 as an aesthetician and lied to get my first job. I told them that I could do makeup when in actuality had no experience. Little did I know that it would be the majority of my work. For years, makeup was a side job I would do until my daughter was born in 2006. After taking a year off, I started to work full-time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for 5 years but was missing too much of my daughter's childhood. That is where I gained most of the knowledge I have today. I always had to be ready for any request, from anyone around the world all the time. We had a couple of brief moves to Kauai and Costa Rica, plus adding another baby into my family, before finding myself back at Amelia's doorstep again. We had become more than just boss and employee- we were great friends.
I branched the company out to Chicago in early 2017 when I relocated to the area with my family from Las Vegas. Since last year, our team has grown to six hair stylists and makeup artist! They are all amazing at what they specialize in and have gone to Cosmetology school or makeup schools for their training.
It is very important to do your homework when you are in need of beauty services. We should be treated like the cosmetic surgeons of the beauty world! Anyone who will be up close and personal with you should have the correct background with education. Our job is to accent features and hide flaws, bringing out the best you possible. We know how to keep our products and tools sanitary- not spreading infections or bacteria from one person to the next. The same attributes you want in a physician, you should expect from your stylist and makeup artist! Education, cleanliness and professionalism.
There are many price points when searching for the perfect artists to create your look. I always say that you get what you pay for and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. I know that we all start somewhere but you pay the price for experience. Makeup and hair are one of the places that budget is not given enough thought. When you are being made up for photos, on your wedding day or special event, you do not want to have regrets. You are investing in portraits that you want to enjoy, not just hide because you aren't happy with the way you look. We make sure that you still look like yourself but on steroids. You want to have a look of confidence, not insecurity. During a consolation, we will find out your comfort zone and vision. This ensures that you will not only look gorgeous but feel it too. That first look you take when we finish is why I do this and the most gratifying for me.
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