Written by: Sierra Breeden

Hello Bellas!

We want to introduce you to Jen Damminger - a 34-year-old professional MUA from New Jersey and 4x winning bridal makeup artist from The Knot. We had the opportunity to talk with her about her makeup artistry, advice, and some of her favorite beauty products. Jen has been a makeup artist for seven years and is the owner of Jen Damminger Beauty. We chatted with Jen to get her top tips for getting the perfect bridal makeup on your special day! 

“I chose happiness and abundance followed.”

Before starting her artistry in the makeup world, Jen studied psychology. After working in healthcare for some time, she eventually left the corporate world in 2016 to fulfill her dreams in makeup. She started doing her own makeup when Youtube tutorials began their rise to popularity and her friends always told her she should do makeup professionally. Jen became a certified MUA and explained that she loves what she does and has grown so much in the gratitude department because of it - the happier she is, the more abundant she is. 

Jen currently does makeup for runway & bridal events, commercial shoots, and special effects for movies - which are all her favorites! She specializes in bridal makeup and she has a few products that she LOVES using on her brides. She loves the Chella Eyebrow Cream, Eyebrow Pencil, and the clear Eyebrow Defining Gel to create a perfect fluffy brow look. She also loves using the warm neutrals in the Manifest Palette. She says it’s great for the super natural bridal look that everyone is going for. “And of course, I ALWAYS use my Heated Eyelash Curler for lifting all the lashes!”. 

Jen’s Advice to Brides on Bridal Makeup

Hire someone you vibe with. You will be more comfortable and have a better experience overall. If you work with a makeup artist who isn’t listening to what the client wants it’s going to turn them off. Jen likes to get to know her clients on a personal level. Making sure she knows them on a different level, not just the kind of look they’re going for. “Breaking down your threshold for where you’re going to be comfortable”. It’s just as important for the client to have an MUA they feel comfortable expressing their needs to, as it is for the artist to have the ability to express their professional opinion. “If you’re not with someone who makes you feel like your best you on that day, you need to hire someone else”.

Watch out for Jen’s gorgeous work with Mary Stuart Flowers in our May campaign focused on all things bridal! 

Jen X Chella

Jen started using the Chella Brow cream (in the color taupe)  in her tutorials on Instagram during the pandemic and would tag Chella. She eventually ended up doing two live sessions with us to talk about her mental health journey and makeup. She met up with a few of us in PA where we set up a beautifully styled wedding season shoot. She also mentioned herself becoming a wholesaler on her website  - where she now has Chella products available. Jen is also one of our beloved Ambassadors!

Jen’s Favorite Chella Products

• Hydrating Cleanser Lush Balm -She uses it as a double cleanser
• Eyebrow Cream -“nuclear explosion-proof”
• Heated Lash Curler  -“people love it”
• Good Drama & HLC bundle

Jen’s Advice to Professional Makeup Artists

“When you believe in your happiness and your overall wellbeing of customers, clients– that energy always comes back around to you”. If you are just starting out as an MUA, believe in your talent and abilities. Jen's bit of advice is not to do it just for the money - to make sure it is something you truly feel serves you. The money and abundance will follow. “Be happy”, people enjoy working with someone who is real and transparent. They will trust you and want to come back to you!

She says that being a full-time artist under her own name gives her the freedom to be her own boss. Her favorite part of being an MUA is that she has the power to give herself a break, has control of her life, and can take the time to put herself first.

Though Jen is not much of a girly girl and barely wears makeup herself, she loves using people’s faces as a canvas and she sees the whole thing as a work of art. She is a mental health advocate who truly cares about her clients and is always looking for ways to make them feel that. Jen as a brand and Chella have the same constitution-making sure customers or clients feel good in their skin. When she has a client who comes in and doesn’t believe that they're pretty–that's when her job gets really hard. People need to see their beauty for makeup to come off the right way. She is passionate about making her clients look and feel confident for special occasions. Beauty is more than the makeup she is applying-it’s about feeling beautiful on the inside as well.

Jen Damminger Beauty Skin

During the Pandemic, Jen started thinking of ways to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle if beauty didn’t come back. She started searching for private skincare labs-and by using her background in science & health, she came up with 6 staple products. These are the 6 products that she ALWAYS uses. She uses her skin products with her clients to help offer them something that works. Her products can be used on all skin types, are cruelty-free, as well as gentle but strong enough. She uses the Chella Lush Balm as a double cleanser to clean impurities along with her JDB skin gentle foaming cleanser. She loves living authentically in her own skin and natural beauty.

Credits:

• Photos: @jessiebarenstenphotography  
• Model: @mashanicolebanks
• Dress: @alittlesomethingwhitebridal
• MUA: @jendamminger_beauty
• Flowers: @marystuartflowers