Rising Stars: Meet Jessica Knepp of East side

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Knepp

Jessica, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My love for makeup artistry began in high school, when I was carrying around my makeup bag begging my friends to let me do their makeup for things like prom and homecoming. I still have a vivid memory of painting someone’s legs to look like she was wearing tights for a musical after she snagged them during a costume change.

After a while, I decided to go to school for makeup, and ended up cashing in my life savings (a school fund left to me by my late great-grandma) and went to New York to study bridal and TV makeup at the Make Up For Ever Academy.

Once I came back, I immersed myself in makeup—I worked my way up from being a part time beauty advisor at Sephora to being a class facilitator and beauty studio co-coordinator. It was there that I truly fell in love with doing wedding makeup; the high-energy Saturday and Sunday mornings made me feel like I was really a part of something bigger than just doing makeup. I love being the bridesmaids’ hype woman, watching the mother of the bride get that proud glow when she looks at her daughter in a gown, and I especially love getting to let the bride relax and get pampered before she’s about to have the busiest day of her life.

I eventually ended up leaving retail, and began doing wedding and boudoir makeup full time. I haven’t looked back once, and I’m so thankful for my clients who continue to keep me booked and busy!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a totally smooth road, not a bump in sight! There hasn’t been a single wind-blown false lash that taught me which lash glue holds up against the sea breeze in the Florida beaches, nor a schedule that’s gone awry when a bridesmaid showed up late with makeup on that I had to take off before application.

Honestly, I’d love to say it’s been a smooth road with no mistakes since day one, but I’d be lying. I’d also be lying if I said every mistake hasn’t been worth it. One struggle I had to push through was being able to confidently tell a bride that I need X amount of time for a party of X size, and give push back when different vendors tried to create a schedule for me. The only person who knows how long you need is YOU! I had to learn how to speak up for myself, and be honest when I knew I couldn’t fit six services into three hours.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a makeup artist who specializes in bridal makeup! I pride myself on bringing personality to each trial, and being able to adapt my communication style to each client. I’ve worn many hats within my career, and I work hard to be very in tune to what each client needs when they’re sitting down in my chair.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Columbus has the best and most supportive artistry community around! Having spent a lot of time in New York, the UK, and lots of other metro areas, I’ve never met a group of artists as uplifting and friendly as the group from our neck of the woods. I know that if I need help, I can send a message to a group of artists and get assistance within the hour! It’s never an unhealthy competition, which is so rare in the artistry community.

I’m going to sound lame for saying this, but I genuinely love Columbus. I wouldn’t change a thing—except the on-ramp at 70 and 270 on the east side.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/jessica.knepp