CLEVELAND — Chrissy Hart has worked in the makeup industry for about a decade, and she said the pandemic has changed the game.
“Most of the people that I deal with say that they’re not even wearing makeup at all. That’s honestly how I feel too, unless I’m doing something like this. I’m not even getting ready anymore, and I was someone who got ready and did my makeup every day,” said Hart.
Hart started her career in retail at MAC Cosmetics and then three years ago, she opened up her own Cleveland-based business: Chrissy Hart Makeup Artistry.
And 2020 was a hard year for Hart.
“When I looked at the numbers, I lost somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000,” she said.
There were several months she couldn’t work at all.
“It was very, very stressful because when it first happened and weddings got shut down, I got probably 20 phone calls in one day from my brides cancelling or moving their weddings. So, that was a lot to take in, for sure,” said Hart.
Hart loves photoshoot makeup and has commercial and corporate clients, but bridal became her only hope to stay afloat.
Although at a smaller scale, weddings are one of the few events still happening.
“I get a lot of bridal business and more than I can take on myself because I can’t be more than one place at once. So, I’m looking to build a bridal team so I can book out weddings for other artists in the area,” said Hart.
Coronavirus changed our lifestyles. Working from home, staying in, virtual meetings, and masks are now part of the norm.
“Makeup sales a lot of things have gone down. I know I spoke with my friend who works at MAC and she said that they still are selling a lot of lips, but I would venture to say that most companies aren’t. Just because you’re wearing a mask all the time,” said Hart.
Masks mean creative eye makeup is in and lips are out.
Hart said some of these beauty trends may stick around for a while.
“I think people are really shifting their focus into really doing great skincare instead of so much makeup, so I’ve seen a lot of that. I know that that’s something I’ve been doing personally. I’ve been really taking care of my skin because I don’t leave the house most days because I’m not working like I used to,” said Hart.
Amid all of the uncertainty, Hart is doing her best to remain hopeful and plan for a better future.
“COVID actually made me want to expand because it made me start thinking of how I can change my business so I have different revenue streams. So that was something that happened during COVID. I wasn’t thinking of that prior to that because I didn’t need to because I was so busy all of the time. So now I’m thinking OK what can I do just in case something happens again. How can I make sure my business stays afloat,” she said.
