MEET STEPHEN DIMMICK A CELEBRITY PRO MUA

November 15, 2021

Meet Stephen Dimmick. A professional celebrity makeup artist with decades of industry experience!

Read on to get to know him and his amazing story!

Please tell us about your self, and how you started as a PRO MUA?

I was working as a hairdresser in Brisbane, Australia. I was doing perms and sets on older clientele. While I’m so grateful that I have an understanding of the hairdressing 101 I felt that it wasn’t what I was meant to be doing. I told my boss Shirley that I “didn’t like hairdressing” (which wasn’t true I just didn’t know that I could have worked in a different arena of hairdressing). She asked me what I could do for the rest of my life and never get paid. Without hesitation I said “makeup”. She said O.K I’m going to take you out of hairdressing college and you can do makeup in the salon and I will continue to pay you. It’s time to figure out how to make a career out of makeup. That’s when everything changed.

What are the highlights and downfalls of being a pro MUA?

There are many highlights. There are obvious ones like the first time I worked with Pat McGrath on the Christian Dior Haute Couture show and a cover story for Time Magazine and Vogue Italia. BUT highlights happen all the way through a career. The first bride I ever worked on was the first highlight of my career. The first magazine I worked on was a local Brisbane bridal magazine was a highlight. Every significant step or “first” is a highlight. There’s really no destination, just a string of highlights from the beginning. My current highlight is teaching at Makeup Designory in Burbank. There’s something incredible seeing the light come on for a new artist in their artistry.

The downfalls are learning how to not take things personally. That takes time to learn. Losing a job you really wanted to a friend. Navigating that is weird. It’s jealousy but not jealousy. I love seeing my friends succeed but there’s always those thoughts of “what am I doing wrong”? I haven’t had those in a looong time. The ego is also another downfall and learning how to have the right amount of that without the arrogance.

What inspires you?

I have always been inspired by museums, film, painters, sculptures, nature and learning. I’m inspired by some of the younger generation who don’t give a fuck or follow trends. Nothing is new, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is new however some artists bring a new voice to what we already know.