Hi, I’m Jaleesa Jaikaran, I’m a makeup artist,

and this is how I work it.

I’m gonna take you through 24 hours

of my beauty and wellness routine.

I have been a makeup artist almost a decade now.

I moved to New York nine years ago from Trinidad.

So the type of projects that I typically work on, it varies.

So I do a lot of makeup for beauty brands.

It’ll be like digital social content, sometimes campaigns.

And then I also find myself doing my own projects.

So I’ll set up test shoots

and stuff with my friends just to get creative.

A shoot really depends, it can be anywhere

from eight to 10 hours.

Being a makeup artist is honestly being like a therapist.

You are so close to this person.

If they’re stressed, if they’re happy, if they’re sad,

you’re going to feel it.

You’re not just a person that applies makeup,

you’re doing way more than that.

My wake up times,

I’m really trying to become an early riser,

but I love to go to bed late.

All right, well, I need to leave home in five minutes

and I have to decide, do I comb my hair and look presentable

or do I leave on time so I can get to my shoot on time?

I’m just gonna do a little, you know?

The first thing I do when I wake up is

make a conscious decision not to check my phone.

So I like to either meditate, pray

or just take some time to give myself time

to fall back asleep.

I try to have breakfast on most days

and recently went gluten free.

So I’m still figuring out what I could have for breakfast,

but at least try to eat a little something.

So I don’t wear a lot of makeup on set now

because I am always like double mask,

but on a usual, I would do really nice fresh glowy skin,

maybe like a ton of mascara, maybe something on my eyes.

So that’s exactly what I’m gonna show you today.

So the first thing I’m gonna do is my brows.

Brows frame the face.

And I like to use any pencil that has a really fine point

and also a brush on the end.

So I’m gonna take a flat brush.

And essentially, what you can do is take a little bit

of your foundation, maybe a little bit of your concealer,

and I’m just going to go under my brow area here.

And I’m going to just do a little carving out.

I just wanted to look like your brows are naturally,

either freshly waxed or threaded.

Next I’m actually gonna just take a bit of eye primer

and I’m using this one from Mary Kay.

I love that it goes on clear.

And what I’m gonna do is just apply this

with my fingers, to be honest, just like a tap.

Now I’m gonna take a warm color

and I’m just gonna pop that into my crease.

So I’m using the Too Faced Cinnamon Swirl palette.

Actually has some really nice warm colors,

especially if you have deeper skin tones.

Carnival is very important to me.

I think most people don’t understand

what carnival makeup means.

It’s essentially Euphoria makeup.

So when I first started learning makeup,

it was rhinestones, color glitter, everything.

It was like not holding back.

I was like, okay, I wanna learn how

to do normal makeup, skin, natural.

Like, because in Trinidad is

like walking around with rhinestones,

that’s normal.

So I’m actually doing a rhinestone eyeliner.

So usually, I will do my skincare before I do my eyes.

But when I’m doing my brows, I try to make sure

that my skin is completely dry because the waxiness

of the products adhere to the skin better.

So I’m just gonna cleanse my skin really quick.

I’m using Bioderma micellar water.

Then I’m going in with my Glowoasis,

this is their Ultra Calming Toner.

And I’m actually gonna go in with my serum.

This one is from Beekman 1802.

This is their milk drops

and it’s also a probiotic ceramide serum.

And now that’s like settled in.

Sometimes, you can use a little fan if you want to

or just let it dry.

And of course, I can’t leave the house without my SPF.

I’m using my Laneige Hydro UV Defense.

And you could do the three finger rule,

but just make sure that you’re putting on enough.

This is the moment when I feel like I’m in a spa.

[Jaleesa laughing]

I’m like listening to my music.

Once you get in a routine,

you know that this really makes you feel good.

So I’m going in with my foundation.

I alternate between my Lys [L Y S] Beauty

and my Ami Colé.

I think people would be surprised

that being a makeup artist is 5% actually doing makeup

and the 95% doing admin stuff.

And then also, a lot of makeup artists don’t wear a lot

of makeup.

I’m not using a sponge for foundation,

actually, as a makeup artist I kind of just grab any brush

that looks like very fluffy and doomed.

Next I’m going in with my concealer.

I’m using the MAC 24-hour.

Sometimes I’ll do a concealer

that has a little bit more coverage

and then a foundation or a skin tone

that’s a little bit lighter.

So one thing

that I think people sometimes do wrong is color corrector.

Your color corrector is really dependent on your area

of concern, because it might not be

that you have dark circles,

it might be like you have purply veins or something else.

You really just need to concentrate it in a very small area

because when you blend, the product is gonna move.

So next, I’m actually gonna go in with my contour.

And I do see that a lot

of people sometimes misconstrue contouring and bronzing.

Your contour color would be something

that’s a little bit more cool, neutral,

as opposed to a bronzer.

A bronzer, you can take a big fluffy brush

and just really get in there.

But remember, if you go under the cheek bone

and you start blending the product,

it’s going to be underneath here

and that’s gonna pull your face down,

and you wanna be a little lifted.

So I’m just pressing that in and letting it diffuse.

I also love the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage.

This is a dry concealer, but it gives a lot of coverage.

Probably every single professional makeup artist uses this

in their kit because you can have that balance

of dewy skin and coverage where you need it.

So even when I do my makeup at home,

I always have this palette with me because I’m mixing

so many things even on myself.

I almost always never use just one shade

because we all have different shades happening on our face.

And essentially, we’re using two fingers,

one as the application finger, and one as the blending.

And I’m just tapping this onto the skin.

And then I’m going in with my clean finger, my clean brush.

And you can kind of bring this down sort of kissing the top

of the apples of the cheek, not directly on it,

but just kind of almost there.

I love using cream highlighters and I’m just going

to tap this sort of in a C shape right here.

And I’m gonna tap the top of my nose.

I actually put highlighter on my forehead.

And the reason why I’m doing this is

because when I’m smiling

and I have like a glowy décolletage,

maybe I’m gonna put some highlighter right here.

I have a glowy cheek, a glowy nose.

I can’t have a matte forehead.

It doesn’t work.

I’m actually going to apply mascara from the top first

and I’m gonna give the brush a bit of a swirl.

And the reason why I’m doing that is

because I want the product to get

to the root of the lash first.

And then I’m going to push the mascara up,

obviously out and build that way.

A lot of people think being a makeup artist is

a very glamorous job.

And while it has its perks and it’s fun, it is very hectic.

Especially backstage fashion shows.

You are literally running.

You are on the floor, you are carrying heavy bags.

You have to constantly be testing new product.

Dealing with people is part of our job,

but also understanding skin, understanding formula.

Imagine you have a client that’s going

on the red carpet.

Did they have flashback?

Did I use the wrong powder?

So it’s not a matter of just applying the makeup,

but it’s understanding formulas,

understanding different types of skin,

different types of skin issues.

Before I apply any powder, I’m gonna go in

with my beauty blender again.

Make sure under the eyes has no creases

because if you put powder on top of it,

it is going to set the crease and it’s not going anywhere.

When I first moved to New York, I used to work

at the airport, at JFK, and I moved to Harlem

with my sister.

So I would have to travel two hours.

So my shift would be like morning shifts.

I would leave like 2:45 ish to get

to work around four something.

I’m very much a Capricorn.

So I was like, You know what?

I’m gonna make more money if I work at this location.

I don’t feel like my situation was anything

that any other person hasn’t experienced,

but it definitely was a tough journey.

[Jaleesa chuckling]

So I’m gonna go in and finish the look.

I’m gonna do my lips.

I’m using MAC’s Chestnut.

This is a staple for me.

And essentially, what I’m doing right now is something

that I call invisible liner.

So I am gonna go in with the liner.

It might look like a lot,

but we’re gonna layer a product on top of it.

I’m very much a gloss girl, so I’m going in

with my Fenty Heat Gloss Bomb

and my Maybelline Lifter Gloss, is one of my favorites.

And I’m just gonna mix.

I’m gonna see what I like.

So when you’re done, you can actually just take a brush

and kind of press everything in.

If your beauty blender is a little too wet,

you might not wanna use it.

One thing that I have learned throughout the years is

if you find that your makeup is like too powdery

or you want to bring back some of that glow and that dew,

the Dewy Glow Mist from Innisfree is really good

because it’s gonna give that really nice highlight.

[atomizer spraying]

And this is the final look.

[Jaleesa chuckling]

So after I do my makeup, I typically get dressed.

Anything that’s cute and comfortable, that’s my vibe.

Shoes is always sneakers.

I love my Adidas Ultraboost.

I have about four pairs of them.

So once I have everything ready, I grab my kit.

I usually have my laptop or a notebook

because I love to write things.

And then I head out.

I always know what the makeup look is gonna be on set

because what we will do is we’ll have a meeting

and either the brand presents a board

and then sometimes I will create my additional

or supporting mood board.

There was a shoot that I had one time

where I actually printed photos of a particular model,

all the models actually,

and I drew different shapes of eyeliner on there

because it was an eyeliner shoot,

just so they can have a visual of what I had in mind.

So when I walk onto set,

my brain is just like, Okay, where’s my setup?

Is there enough light?

What direction should I be in?

It takes about at least 30 to 45 minutes

to do someone’s makeup.

So the key to making makeup look fresh while you’re

on set all day is just using very minimal product

and powder.

So the ending process of the shoot after we change looks

and everything, most of the time, we give the models option

if you wanna take the makeup off.

It’s always a funny joke, ’cause like,

if they wanna take the makeup off, it means it was trash.

So once I am done on set and then it’s time to go home,

typically I take a little nap,

but that’s not where the work ends.

That is where the work begins.

Sometimes I create my own content, my BTS reels.

And then also I might have deliverables

and things that I’m working on for brands.

I think it’s important to disconnect sometimes

and just have moment for yourself.

But I’ve been trying to at least stop by 11.

So if I have a huge lunch,

I’m not really having a big dinner,

but I do like a lot of spinach, roasted carrots.

I like a lot of salmon.

My air fryer is my best friend.

So after I’m done working, I take a shower

and then I do my nighttime skincare routine.

My nighttime routine is pretty much similar

to my daytime routine,

but because I’m probably wearing a little bit

of makeup throughout the day, I wanna make sure

that I’m using a creamy cleanser.

I’m going in with a cleansing bomb,

like a makeup melting bomb.

And then I’ll go in with my snail mucin,

my moisturizers, all of those things are still incorporated.

So to wind down, this might sound funny,

but I like to talk to my friends, we are always on FaceTime.

I’ll binge a couple shows.

Lights off lately has been by 12,

but sometimes I can go to bed later.

I think makeup resonates with so many people

because whether we admit it or not,

we all have little insecurities.

I have eczema.

I have keratosis pilaris.

I used to get picked on a lot

’cause I had this darkness around my mouth.

And then when I realized foundation could cover it,

I was like, What?

No one told me about this.

If you’re looking for that hope to keep going,

you’re like, things are not necessarily

where you wanted to be, honestly, it sounds so cliche,

but keep going.

Always say thank you.

You don’t necessarily know

where your next opportunity is gonna come from.

Sometimes it might be the freaking PA on set or the gaffer.

You have no idea, you know?

So just be nice to people, be grateful,

and people will remember you for that.

Thank you so much, Allure.

I had so much fun.

I’ll see you guys next time.

[gentle music]