“I’ve always loved makeup. I was that girl swatching at the makeup counter, obsessed with textures and finishes, but I never thought I’d become a professional makeup artist. I figured maybe I’d try out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders or Laker Girls because, for 20 years, dancing was everything to me. But after college I went into tech sales and then the pandemic hit. As I was working from home, I finally had time to dive in and study makeup. I already had a small Instagram following, so I started going live every Wednesday night. I’d pour a glass of wine, hop on with maybe seven people, and do a full beat. It got me comfortable educating and speaking to people, even though I’d still break out in hives sometimes. But it was exciting—people were asking me questions, and I was starting to book wedding jobs, too.
At the same time, I’d always dreamed of moving to New York. I started booking trips to New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville, and would DM every influencer I followed. I would say ‘I’d love to do your makeup—no need to tag me, no payment requirement, I just want to connect’ because I knew I had to build a network in major cities. As I was gaining traction, I documented the whole experience on Instagram. I think people really responded to watching someone chase a dream in real time. Eventually, I quit my job, moved home to save money for six months, and then finally made the leap to New York.
Since then, my career’s really snowballed. Now I do three things I love: I work with celebrity clients like Kelsea Ballerini, Alex Cooper, and Alix Earle. I create content. And I run my own platform, Makeup by Kelli. That started during the pandemic, too. I kept getting DMs asking about foundational makeup skills—how to contour, how to bake, when to apply concealer and foundation—and it was clear people didn’t know who to ask. I posted a story that said, ‘I’m thinking of doing a Zoom class called Back to Basics, where we hang out and I walk through the fundamentals of makeup.’ I had maybe 20K followers at the time, so I figured maybe 100 people would sign up. But 1,200 emailed. I had to upgrade my Zoom license to fit everyone. [Laughs]
Eventually, I realized there weren’t many places for longform beauty content. Instagram had gotten rid of IGTV, and TikTok hadn’t rolled out 10-minute videos yet. I didn’t want to launch on YouTube—I wanted to own my content fully. That first Zoom class ended up selling 11,000 copies at $40 each. After that, I thought if people were willing to pay for a shitty Zoom recording, I wanted to offer them better quality content for less.
That’s how the app was born. We have over 150 videos now and release a new one every week. I’ve recorded with celebrity makeup artists like Sir John, Patrick Ta, Danessa Myricks, and Daniel Martin; founders like Tina Chen Craig, Sofie Pavitt, and Amy Liu; and some of my clients, like Paige DeSorbo. And last year, we did a four-city masterclass tour and sold out every venue.
SKINCARE
I’m probably on my fifth bottle of Rhode’s Pineapple Refresh cleanser. It’s so hydrating and does a great job at melting my makeup. I got Dieux’s Baptism recently and I love it, too. It doesn’t have fragrance or strip your skin.
I exfoliate after I cleanse. I have hormonal acne and it drives me insane, especially for makeup application. Sofie Pavitt’s mandelic serum is the only product—along with my Joovv red light panel—that keeps it at bay. For a quick pinch exfoliation moment if your skin looks dull or if you feel like your makeup is going on patchy, First Aid Beauty’s Facial Radiance Pads are the best. They really are a staple in both my professional kit and my own beauty closet.
Next, I moisturize. Rhode’s Glazing Milk is my ride or die. If you’re traveling and don’t want to pack a lot, it’s a quick hit. It’s deeply hydrating so you can use it as your moisturizer, but it’s also a great base for makeup because it ‘sticks’ on your skin and doesn’t absorb fully right away. On the heavier side, Crème de la Mer is a classic. Recently though, I went through a whole tub of MBR’s Cream Extraordinary. I know it’s $450—absurd—but one of my clients recommended it and I was literally scraping the bottom of the tub to get every last bit. It’s very, very thick, but it doesn’t move at all during the night so you have lasting hydration throughout the day. I think it’s worth the investment—the operative words being ‘I think.’
I also like Innbeauty Project’s Extreme Cream. I was one of the faces for its third birthday campaign, but the moisturizer was actually an organic find. I had heard it was a dupe for Augustinus Bader’s Rich Cream, which is so expensive. I was blown away when I tried it. You know when you get Botox and your forehead is extra shiny? That’s how you look with Extreme Cream.
When my skin needs a little extra love in the winter, I love applying a few drops of Furtuna Skin’s Biphase oil or U Beauty’s Super Intensive oil after my moisturizer and before doing my makeup. And as far as eye creams, U Beauty makes my favorite one. It has a gel consistency but not in a slippy way, and it does a great job of depuffing and making your eyes look awake.
I know everyone’s going to yell at me, but I’m not good about wearing sunscreen. I try to compromise by finding base products with SPF, but if I’m going to wear an actual sunscreen under my makeup, the Summer Fridays Shade Drops are phenomenal. It’s a mineral sunscreen, so you have to rub it in a little bit more than you would a chemical SPF, but it feels good on my skin. Then I love mixing the Kosas Dream Beam SPF 40 in Sunlit with my foundation because it adds a little tint and glow.
As for injectables, when I was 26, suddenly all of my friends got Botox and I felt left out. [Laughs] That’s when I started getting it in Austin, and when I moved to New York, I found Dr. Umbareen Mahmood. She’s a plastic surgeon, so she’s incredibly detail-oriented and very conservative with Botox. She also doubles as my therapist—I feel like I cry every time I’m there.
MAKEUP
When I do makeup on myself, it’s truly lazy girl glam in 15 minutes. I’m a big proponent of doing brows first to prevent a flaky situation. Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Brow Freeze is my go-to right now. For my base, I like L’Oreal’ Lumi Glotion. It’s a quick one-and-done product and looks phenomenal on the skin. Then depending on the vibe, I’ll go in with my foundation—either Armani Luminous Silk, Haus Labs Triclone, or Chanel Les Beiges—and skip concealer. The key to wearing them is in how you apply the product. For instance, if I want more full glam for longwear makeup, I’ll apply the foundation with a dense brush to get the most coverage. If I want more of a light skin tint, I’ll mix the foundation with a pump of my moisturizer to make my own tinted version. If I want to wear concealer, I always, always use Natasha Denona’s Hy-Glam concealer. I never stray away from her. I mean, I love a lot of other concealers and have them in my makeup kit, but Hy-Glam is one of the best formulas on the market—a little goes a long way; it stretches; it’s full coverage; it’s self-setting.
I do ‘shadow contouring,’ where I basically do a shadow of warmth and then cut it with contour. For me that warmth is from Makeup By Mario’s SoftSculpt skin enhancer, which is one of my favorite products ever. I always say it’s a cream bronzer for dummies, but you can really use it however you want. And then I contour with Westman Atelier’s Face Trace in Biscuit. It’s cool and matte-yet-balmy, so you can set it with powder.
Patrick Ta’s Major Headlines blushes are incredible—She’s Wanted and She’s Seductive are my most used shades. People are intimidated by She’s Wanted because it’s a really rich berry but it’s actually the most natural looking because it mimics blood rushing to your cheeks. It works on every single skin tone, whether you are the most fair girl or you have a deep, dark complexion, because it doesn’t have a white base. Makeup By Mario's blush in Perfect Pink is another favorite. And I’ve sworn by the Hourglass Ambient Lighting blush in Sublime Flesh for years. It’s a great topper because the formula is sort of pearly. It’s my number one suggestion for brides because it gives your skin radiance without adding highlighter.
Katie Jane Hughes is one of the most incredible makeup artists I know. Her brand, KJH.brand, has beautiful cream highlighters. They’re not too dewy, so oily girls can wear them, too. Lite Pink is my favorite. But if I have a client who wants to look like they’re not wearing makeup, I tap on Chanel’s Glow Stick in Sculpting on their eyes, high points of their cheeks, and nose with my ring finger. It has no pigment, so it gives you more of a wet look—that’s why I think of it more as giving your face a balmy drink of water than as a highlighter. To set everything, I love the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush setting spray. It does a great job of hydrating the skin and melting the makeup together but locking it forever. For oilier areas like T-zones, I like One/Size’s On ’Til Dawn setting spray set with powder.
I don’t think you need to spend a lot of money on brow products. I’ve used the NYX brow pencil in Ash Brown for five or six years at this point, and it’s phenomenal. The same goes for mascara. Maybelline’s Sky High gets the job done and it’s only $13. I’m a big fan of brown mascara, especially if you have fair skin it looks way more natural.
Make Up For Ever’s Artist pencils are in every artist’s kit but they’re also a great everyday staple. You can use them to contour your nose, as eyeshadow, faux freckles, everything. I can basically do my entire face with Endless Cacao—it has a cool gray undertone so it mimics shadows really well—but I mostly like it for my brows and lips. Dimensional Dark Brown is flattering for any eye color and you can contour your eyes with it, too. When it comes to eyeshadow, Makeup By Mario’s Master Mattes Neutrals palette is incredible because the shades are meant to mimic actual skin tones.
Sephora, the actual Sephora Collection brand, makes lip liners that last very long. My favorite shade, Dressed to the 90s, was discontinued though. I love Makeup by Mario’s lip liners, too. I use Almond the most. It has a great balance of cool and warm tones and looks gorgeous on the lips. My new favorite lip liners are from Rhode, especially Twist. I know they’ve been so controversial online, but I think some of the critiques just aren’t fair. People would say the lip liners aren’t waterproof or water-resistant, but they were never marketed that way. If you want to buy a waterproof formula, buy Make Up For Ever’s Extreme Waterproof liners. You can also turn to Sacheu’s Peel Off liners, but I only use the shade Hey-zel to contour my lips and I can go six to eight hours without them fading. And then MAC’s Lipglass in Clear and Patrick Ta’s Major Volume in Say Less are my most used lip glosses. Say Less, a milky pink, sort of neutralizes your lips and makes any lip combo look more cool-toned. It’s also a little plumping.
HAIR
I bounced around for a while—I used to see my guy in Houston—but lately, Olivia Casanova at IGK has been coloring my hair. She really knows what she’s doing. I get it cut with Mitchell Ramazon maybe once or twice a year, definitely not as often as I should. I don’t know… I just don’t prioritize cuts. I’d rather spend my money on color.
I try to go as long as possible between washes—sometimes I can stretch it to six days. I switch up products often because I’m obsessed with scent. Laura Polko’s Ultimate Moisture shampoo and conditioner smell like figs. Living Proof’s Restore shampoo smells great too, but I mostly use that one to help with breakage. Olivia recommended the Davines Volu shampoo and Minu mask, and it made my hair the softest it’s ever been.
Amika’s Perk Up dry shampoo is a must—it works and smells amazing. I’m a hoe for a good scent; I just don’t want my products to smell like hairspray.
More essentials: Bumble and Bumble’s Invisible oil. It’s a heat protectant and leave-in conditioner, and I’ve probably used it for ten years. If you struggle to brush through wet hair, this helps. And I love Color Wow’s Raise the Root spray for volume—I have super fine hair and it actually makes a difference.
I’ve been using my T3 SinglePass 1.25” curling iron forever. The barrel is key—it gives me bouncy, voluminous curls instead of tight ones. If I’m in a rush, I grab my Mane 1.77” hot brush. It heats up fast and it’s cheap. To finish, I always have Biolage Complete Control hairspray and Amika’s Top Gloss shine spray on hand.
NAILS + FRAGRANCE
I’ve been going to Miki since I lived on the Lower East Side—and I still go all the way downtown every two weeks just to see her. She’s phenomenal. My signature manicure is milky white-pink nails with the tiniest little crystal on my fingers. It sounds gaudy, but I promise it’s not. It looks so chic—and sparkly—especially when I have all my jewelry on.
I’m a creature of habit when it comes to perfume. I tend to gravitate toward leathery, amber, and vanilla scents. I like them unisex-leaning, with just a hint of something ’feminine’—nothing too musky. Tom Ford’s Ombre Leather is more intense than what I usually go for, but it’s a sexy nighttime fragrance—my boyfriend steals it all the time. Jo Malone’s Myrrh & Tonka Cologne Intense is what I wear in the winter, and Nativa Spa’s quinoa body lotion smells like summer in a bottle (not like quinoa). I’ve gotten so many people hooked on it, and funny enough, I found it on Amazon. Meanwhile, Sherwood by Memo is my latest obsession—it feels like my grown-up, leaning-into-my-thirties scent.
Ex Nihilo’s Lust In Paradise is probably the most out-of-character fragrance for me. I heard it was Hailey Bieber’s go-to and bought it with that in mind. I don’t like cheesy florals, but this one is really elegant—and still a little sexy. But really, my secret weapon is Milk by Commodity. If I’m walking out the door and just need something quick, it’s a no-brainer—it always gets me compliments. It’s delicious—I don’t usually describe fragrances that way, but it fits since there’s a marshmallow note. Just be careful: It’s strong, so a little goes a long way. Definitely don’t spray your whole body.
Of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have a hair perfume. I’m obsessed—it lingers when you hug people. I went to Paris for the first time with my parents and discovered the hair version of Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique and now I think of the trip every time I spray it.”
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Shana Trajanoska in New York on March 19, 2025