Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Kent.
Hi Kristin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Making people feel beautiful is my superpower. I’ve had a passion for beauty ever since I was a young girl. In middle school, my art teacher had stacks of fashion magazines for kids to use for collages and art projects, only I didn’t want to cut them up. I would take them home with me and pore over the fashion and beauty inside for hours. These were a far cry from my mom’s Better Homes and Gardens!
I started experimenting with makeup not long thereafter and would spend my babysitting money on beauty products at my town’s drugstore.
When it came time for college, I ended up attending an art school in Philadelphia with hopes of becoming an art teacher. I loved art, but something else was calling me.
I ended up getting a job at a makeup counter at Bloomingdale’s and I was hooked. Customers loved what I did and making them feel beautiful filled me in a way I hadn’t known yet. After a few years, I went from there to NYC where I took makeup classes and met other makeup artists and assisted them on photoshoots. At this time, I got my Cosmetology license as well and learned to do hair. I started making connections and eventually got booked on my own shoots. My first big break was a fashion layout in the New York Times when I was 23. Seeing my name in the byline at the bottom of the page was such a thrill and honestly, it never gets old.
I had a long career in New York, doing hair and makeup for up and coming Broadway Shows. I did makeup for many fashion shows during Fashion Week. I worked in sports television for Major League Baseball. I spent nine years in the MLB Network’s Makeup Department and worked on Emmy winning shows. I loved the grind and the hustle.
Then I met my Kansas City-native husband while he was working in NJ. We married in 2015 and ended up relocating in 2017 for a job opportunity for him here in KC.
Within the first year of living here, I was booked to do makeup on Netflix’s Queer Eye. I spent five months working on seasons 3 & 4 filmed all over the metro and it was a great introduction to Kansas City! Around this time, I also worked on shoots for Sports Illustrated, Garmin and with Patrick Mahomes for Bose and Hunt’s Ketchup.
Two years in, I opened my own little beauty studio inside Skyline Salon in the KC Crossroads. My new specialties are private makeup lessons and Permanent Makeup. Permanent Makeup can be such a confidence booster for women that have over-tweezed their eyebrows or have trouble growing brows due to Alopecia or Cancer. I myself have had brows done with Permanent Makeup and it’s a game-changer! Waking up with perfect eyebrows is money well spent. Nothing brings me more pleasure than seeing a client look in the mirror and say that she feels beautiful and confident.
I will continue to learn more Permanent Makeup methods and hope to bring Makeup classes to aspiring makeup artists here in KC very soon. I love sharing my knowledge and with the experiences I’ve had, I have a lot to share.
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?
Moving to a new city definitely brought on challenges in my career. Suddenly I was the new kid in a new city where nobody knew me. Even though I had an extensive resume, it was hard to break in here. People in KC are very loyal and have their makeup artists they love working with. I love that now about Kansas Citians, but at the time it was defeating. When Netflix reached out to me for Queer Eye, they told me they were looking for people with a strong TV background, so I fit the bill. Being so new in town, it was perfect for me, and also I made close friends on set.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in Permanent Makeup for eyebrows. I try to create the most natural shape for clients and follow their existing shape. Through a method called Microblading, I can create the look of brow hair where it’s sparse or has been lost due to over tweezing or medical conditions. Microblading is created by using a tool with a tiny blade that is dipped in tattoo pigment. The hair strokes are blended in with the eyebrows to create a fuller, natural shape. Although it is technically a tattoo, the pigment doesn’t get embedded into the skin as deep as a body tattoo would. The pigment used also is made of smaller particles, so it won’t last forever. Most clients get a color touch up at about 1 1/2-2 years.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I am professional yet warm and inviting with my clients because I will be in their personal space for a few hours. I’m honest with them and manage expectations realistically. I always want their feedback because it’s their face!
Pricing:
- Permanent Makeup starts at $600
- Private makeup lessons start at $150
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.undercover-ink.com
- Instagram: @undercover.ink
- Facebook: @undercoverink.kc
Image Credits:
Photo courtesy of Falsettos on Broadway (first photo with Andrew Rannels)
