How a Massachusetts makeup artist built a TikTok empire

Between the video going viral and her research going digital due to the pandemic, Nogueira seized the second and continued posting each day to @mikaylanogueira from her bed room in East Freetown. She gained a regular stream of followers throughout her first month on the app, however it wasn’t till she uploaded a video that includes her voice that the account actually took off.“I keep in mind the precise video,” Nogueira says, recalling the expletive-filled, Boston accent-heavy makeup contouring tutorial she uploaded final April. She was “so nervous” about what individuals would possibly take into consideration her thick Massachusetts accent, however was met with total constructive suggestions.“That was like the primary video the place I used to be simply being totally myself, and I used to be shocked by the response,” she says. “That video blew up as nicely. And from there, that simply form of impressed me to start out doing tutorials and evaluations and extra movies the place I’m simply talking.”In the final 12 months, Nogeuira amassed over 4.7 million followers and was named the Emerging Makeup Artist of the Year on the 2020 American Influencer Awards. She even caught the eye of Selena Gomez, who quoted Nogueira’s “what’s poppin’?” catchphrase in a customized video to the makeup artist.“Y’all I’m doin’ a giveaway,” she says in a video the place she gives free makeup to followers. In one other clip, when she breaks down her lip routine, she says, “smells like watermelon, feels depraved good.” Everything she does is infused along with her Boston accent.Part of the enchantment of Nogueira is the sheer quantity of her uploads. In a 12 months when sustaining a makeup routine turned out of date for a lot of, she made a behavior of importing 15- to 60-second video clips a number of instances a day. Nogueira says she all the time does her makeup, no matter whether or not or not she’s going out, so the pandemic was no exception.“I like makeup a lot that doing it each single day is the most effective a part of my day,” she explains. “To be trustworthy, it’s simply so thrilling. I’m all the time so pleased about it. It’s undoubtedly simply ardour. I feel that interprets in my movies for positive.”Nogueira’s fascination with makeup started at age 10, however she didn’t begin practising on different individuals till highschool. Her mom is an artist as nicely, and he or she sees similarities in what they do.“I additionally love [art], however I do it on my face as a substitute of on a canvas,” she says. “So there may be that correlation.”The recreation modified when she lastly acquired a job at Ulta Beauty in 2019, after repeatedly making use of to each Ulta and Sephora. When she obtained a name saying that they had been keen on interviewing her, Nogueira says she confirmed up with a full face of makeup and was employed that day. She labored as a Prestige Beauty Advisor, which meant she was educated in each product and had the chance to work on individuals day-after-day. She nonetheless credit a substantial quantity of her information along with her time on the firm.“Ulta was simply a smart way for me to actually construct my information as a makeup artist and lover,” she says.Since graduating from Bryant and leaving Ulta, she’s turned her TikTook account into a full-time profession as a magnificence content material creator. After the makeup samples started so as to add up in her mother and father’ residence final fall, she discovered her personal condo, the place she movies her movies.Nogueira plans to maneuver once more this fall with a view to discover a house the place she will create a YouTube studio and develop her model. Ideally, she’ll get to remain in Massachusetts and says that she’d solely contemplate going the way in which of many makeup artists and shifting to Los Angeles if it turned vital for her job.“I like New England a lot. I’m such a Masshole. I actually am. I simply embody the definition of Masshole,” she says. “I actually would love a lot if I might keep in Massachusetts.”Lillian Brown may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lilliangbrown.