Julia Davis, 34, is a Harlem-based professional makeup artist and the first Black person to win an Emmy in the makeup category with her makeup team at ABC’s “One Life to Live.” She has watched her life grow, from being a new New Yorker in 2004 to becoming an ambitious professional who has applied the lessons she learned in the Big Apple.
Born and raised on the West Side of Chicago, Davis discovered her dream career while playing with her mother’s Avon makeup. She was unknowingly learning the combinations of colors and skin tones that would later guide her interests.
“I felt like my whole journey made sense when we won the Emmy for makeup. That was when I really felt like I was accomplished as far as a career in makeup artistry goes,” said Davis.
Recalling her first day in New York, Davis told the AmNews, “I was ready to try something new. The sounds, the busy cars, people walking fast, the many cultures, it was all new for me and completely different but in a good way.”
“It was rather challenging when I moved here to New York. I was a single parent with dreams and with a kid with dreams, and no family here. People thought I was nuts moving here because I was going after my dreams of becoming a success story and at the same time being a parent.”
While in Chicago, Davis did weddings and stage plays and worked at MAC, but when she first moved to New York, “It was very competitive,” she said. “I thought working at MAC in Chicago would easily guide me into working at MAC in New York. However, there was a waiting list in New York to work at MAC, so, I had to find a job in retail, which I did not really want to do, but I had to survive.
“I had a chance to learn about the customers. I was able to learn the beat of the city because a lot of people dress off their moods or emotions, and New York is chief in fashion. So, working at these high-end clothing stores kind of made me social and more talkative. Some people are shy when they find a new city or land, especially as big as New York is. I just used the fashion retail sale jobs as a stepping-stone to pave a way towards becoming a makeup artist.
“A lot of clients or actors and actresses talk to their makeup artist about their day and their lives when they take a seat in the makeup chair. I look back at the conversation skills needed to sell retail fashion and how that job built me into a skillful listener when a person takes a seat in my makeup chair.”
As for the excitement in her profession, she added, “No matter if I am doing a photo shoot or doing ABC’s ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,’ I feel like the end result means something to me, something to my name. I am using my skills to continually learn this profession.”
Davis says she got her big break in makeup through a “fellow parent at my son’s school who happened to be actor Kamar De Los Reyes [Antonio Vega on ‘One Life to Live’]. He introduced me to the executive producer of ‘One Life to Live,’ who gave me an interview and then hired me on the spot. I was told to start that following Friday.
“The road was not easy at all. Doing all of those weddings and personal makeup sessions put me in the position to build a resume and portfolio that was ready when I met the right person and people. If I had not stayed on pace with my ambition and made an excuse not to start from the bottom, I would not have had any structure of a makeup portfolio or experience.
“Preparing is key in this business, no matter if it is that one great photograph, a spectacular photo shoot and you were responsible for that makeup or having your business card and makeup kit ready, even if your phone is not ringing to do a lot of makeup jobs. I started at the bottom, [was] self-taught, then applied that learning towards learning from others.”
Indeed, Davis’ success includes having her makeup brush touch the faces of Tika Sumpter, Lionel Richie, B.B. Winans, F. Murray Abraham, Bree Williamson, Bev Smith, Snoop Dogg, Susan Taylor and Gabriel Senbry. She has also worked on TV shows such as “Good Morning America,” “20/20” and “ABC World News,” to name a few.
Davis has not only created her own makeup line, Julia Jovone, launching on Nov. 12, but she is also turning to philanthropy. Tootie-Baby is a light, plum-colored lip gloss named after her late grandmother who passed away from cancer. Davis is donating 50 percent of the lip gloss’ proceeds to the American Cancer Society.
“I wanted to dedicate something to my grandmother, who played an important part in my upbringing,” said Davis. “She was a part of my dream, and I want her name to be connected to my dreams unfolding into a reality, even if she is not here in the physical sense.
“Do not lose faith and do not stop dreaming,” she added.
Even though her profession of makeup artistry might sound like it’s all glitz and glamour, Davis is quick to point out the key is believing in your own beauty. Her message to young, beautiful Black girls and Black women in general who may want some advice on beauty lands in a place that is more introspective than regimented: “To love everything about you, we come in different shades with tones of beautiful features. We are a beautiful Black race,” she said. “Celebrate yourself at all times. Makeup is only the surface, an addition to your beauty, but your true beauty remains in an optimistic mind that reflects a beautiful soul. Makeup can be removed, but true beauty is within and can be forever yours if you truly love yourself.”
For more information, visit www.jsoulmakeup.com.