May 8, 2017

Meet Jenessa Blaine Rifkind of Jenessa Blaine LLC in River North

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenessa Blaine Rifkind.

Jenessa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always been a natural at all things beauty. Starting from a very young age my mom knew I would end up in the beauty industry. When it was time for college instead of going to beauty school, which I really wanted, I wanted to graduate from College first. I grew up with a learning disability and struggled both with academics as well as socially. I was always pulled out of classes, singled out and terribly bullied for being different. I was never like everyone else. I followed my own rules, my own path and my own style.

I graduated from Columbia College Chicago in four years with a B.A in Fashion Management. I loved Columbia and they truly push diversity and being unique is ok. My jobs out of college were for high end designers such as Gucci and Burberry. I also worked for various brands for Visual Merchandising and the show rooms for Nike, Ben Sherman, and North Face.

I hated my jobs and I did not feel fulfilled in life. I wanted to be in the beauty industry but I just did not know where to start. My grandfather had passed away and I realized life goes by so very fast. I needed to figure out what was next for me and my passion was makeup artistry. I enrolled in Makeup First School of Makeup Artistry in Chicago. It is a great school and Jill the owner is such an inspiration. I ended up getting a job with MAC Cosmetics after I finished school. I grew a lot as an artist, from working with so many ethnicities and people in general. It helped me to be fully skilled for any face that sat in my chair.

I freelanced with some companies for weddings, networked as much as I could and the rest is history. I decided to grow and expand on my own.

Has it been a smooth road?
I have truly been very lucky. I have met a lot of great people from networking and putting myself in the industries eyes as much as I can. It takes time to grow a business, nothing happens overnight. It is a struggle to get clients and make prospective clients aware of your business and talent. The best start is to have a great reputation, be responsible and on time to all jobs.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
My business Jenessa Blaine LLC is an on location Makeup service. We go on location or at my office in River North. I specialize in Airbrush Makeup for weddings, as well as television, and special events. I have a natural talent and I pride myself on making all my clients natural beauty shine. My clients are them but a better version.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Chicago and the surrounding areas is a good place for wedding makeup. There are opportunities for television and events you just have to meet the right people and it takes time. Other larger cities such as New York and LA have a lot more opportunities but also a lot more talent to choose from.

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