Taneil Britton knows what it takes to make people feel good about themselves. That’s why she went to beauty school and has become an expert in foundation application with the camouflaging brand, Cover FX. She’s extremely dedicated to her makeup career, signing each email she sends with: “I can change someone’s life with the stroke of a brush!” Here, see what brush strokes she needed to take in order to get where she is today and apply yourself to your own makeup career.

What is a day in the life of Taneil like?
It depends on the day. The days when I’m in town (NYC and PA) things are great. My job is to go into my stores and educate the employees on the products, teach them how to become foundation artists, and show them how to grow their businesses to reach productivity.

When I’m out of town, life is a little more intense. I have limited time with my outreach locations so when I’m with them I have to really make it count. We all know traveling is not FUN!!!! But I love the experience and I would not trade it for the world.

What’s your educational background?
I graduated high school and then went into beauty school to study and master the art of makeup, skin care, and hair care. I have a license to do all three skills. Makeup has always been my passion. I change people’s lives everyday with something that I Iove and enjoy doing.

How did you get your start?
After I graduated beauty school, I worked in Nordstrom as a manager for the advanced skin care department. I came across Cover FX at a seminar and instantly fell in love with the brand. Cover FX launched in my location and in three months I sold so much of it that they came out to meet me.

I met with Jenny Frankel and she asked what I was doing to have such great sales. I told her it was amazing I could sit someone down and whatever the concern was it disappeared once the makeup was applied and it looked like real skin. The client was a new person — they looked younger, held their head higher, and they even walked away differently. I couldn’t believe it! Soon after our meeting I joined the Cover FX team.

Have you ever worked with celebrities? If so, who was your favorite celebrity client and why?
Yes, I have worked with some celebrities. My favorite hands down is Lee Thomas, news reporter for Fox in Detroit. He has a skin condition called vitiligo, which deals with the pigmentation of the skin. I recently did his makeup for his documentary on TLC and it was so amazing to work with him. He has a book and a website about “Turning White.” Take a look at his stuff – he’s great.

Please tell us a little bit about Cover FX.
Cover FX is a brand with a purpose! We are the foundation authority and global complexion experts. Our goal is to educate people to become foundation artists. It is the foundation destination. In my years of working with complexion products I have NEVER found anything close to what Cover FX is. I don’t say this because I work for them; I work for them because I can say this. The foundations are the truth in what foundation should be.

Tell us one of your beauty secrets.
Skin Prep FX is an amazing product that nourishes and hydrates the skin, has vitamins and antioxidants, and is a makeup primer. Nothing can take its place in my eyes.

What’s the best part of your job?
Changing peoples lives. I always say it, but nothing is more rewarding to me than making someone feel beautiful. When you look good, you feel good and like you can conquer the world.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Recently, traveling has been challenging for me.

What’s your advice to aspiring makeup artists?
Practice make perfect. Be playful and think out of the box. There are no rules in makeup application. Try it — you might like it.

Tags: beauty school, makeup, makeup artist, makeup career

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Careers . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.