“I can’t picture being in a career than doesn’t bring me joy.”
We were thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Maggie Jacobson, all the way from Australia. This young makeup artist phenom is making waves with her artistic skills. Her canvas is the face and we know you will be excited to read about her inspirations and see her mastery.
How did you become interested in make-up? You trained as a product designer, so can you share the story of how you became excited to enter this field?
I became interested in makeup during high school when I was about 15 years old. I found a video, “Lea Michele Smokey Eye Makeup Tutorial” and watched it over and over again. I found it absolutely mesmerizing, and eventually realized that there was an entire space on YouTube dedicated to videos like this. I have an undergraduate degree in product design, and am currently pursuing my honors degree in the same field, and I’ve always said that the only reason I even considered doing the degree was because the of the Design and Technology teachers I had throughout high school. I had a teacher who, I always felt, genuinely loved what he was doing. He was so passionate and dedicated to helping us and I feel in love with the subject not just because I was already creatively inclined, but because he made me love the process of being creative and creating things.
Since opening your IG account in March 2017, you use the same model which is great for consistency. May we ask, is the model you?!
Yes the ‘model’, and I use that term loosely, is me.
What inspires you the most in your work and where you do get your ideas for patterns and materials? You use everything in your creations, including yarn, glitter, wire and flowers.
I’m always looking at color, texture and shape. A lot of my inspiration comes directly from the colors in have in my collection – I look at how I can pair different ones together or accentuate a single shade. If I use a single shade or similar shades, I like to play with shape to make the look more interesting. I really just play and see where it takes me. The only time I ever “plan” or think about a look before doing it is when I use some unconventional resources like petals or thread.
What is your typical daily skincare routine and how has it evolved over the years?
I used to think that I had to replicate what other people – online – were doing. I’ve realized that for me personally, less is more. The only things I do religiously is cleanse and moisturize. I always remove my makeup and I moisture morning and evening. I might do a clay or moisturizing mask once a week, but I don’t mess around with toner or oils or anything like that because I haven’t found anything that has made a noticeable impact.
How often do you leave the house without makeup, do you feel naked without makeup?!
I leave the house all the time without makeup. What I enjoy the most about makeup is the process of putting it on. Even if I’m doing the most basic of looks, I will “drag” out the process of applying it because really do love putting it on. Like most people, I don’t like to be rushed when I’m doing it so if I don’t have the time to apply it “freely” I won’t put it on. I wouldn’t say I feel naked without it, rather I feel more confident with it on. Additionally, I use makeup to make myself look my age – I’m 22 but consistently get mistaken for a 16 – 18 year old. Not the worst issue to have I know, but I feel with makeup on I am able to come across as my correct age. Despite what my Instagram might project, my day to day makeup routine is simple; mascara, brows, cream bronzer, blush and highlighter. My aim is to look like myself, just slightly more polished. As a result, I think to the average person, my everyday makeup is so subtle that it probably looks like I’m not wearing anything.
How do you personally define success for yourself in your career?
I think on some level I would define success in the traditional sense. In my mind, a successful career requires a steady job that allows me to provide for myself and whomever else necessary. However, I can’t picture being in a career than doesn’t bring me joy. I think it is very hard to be motivated if what you’re doing doesn’t make you happy. I don’t mean it has to be fun 24 hours a day, 7 days a week but I think there has to be an underlying sense of enjoyment that drives you to keep doing what you’re doing. Yes this might be wishful thinking but I’m not under the impression that my future career, whether that be in design or makeup, will be smooth sailing all the time. I know that anything worth doing takes time and effort and usually a little bit of blood, sweat and tears, but my hope is that when I leave the metaphorical “office” at end of the day I can go knowing that I have spent some tiny portion of that time doing something that makes me happy.
