Mr. Johnny Ross was a theater kid who knew his career path would be different than anything his school in rural New Jersey prepared him to do. He enrolled in cosmetology school with the goal of working in a hair salon, but the potential for inconsistency in hair coloring and the 9021-no atmosphere of a salon left him unfulfilled. So, Johnny pivoted to make-up and taught himself everything he needed to know on every single brand at Sephora. Under the guidance of a Store Director who lead by example, he felt empowered to create a haircare training program for the make-up and skincare-loving staff to break into the untapped hair service products in the store.
Armed with years of professional freelance make-up artist (MUA) experience at New York Fashion Week, weddings, events, and a college degree he earned in his late 20s; Johnny was about to break through to the career he busted his ass to build. That is, until a global pandemic no one saw coming lost him not one, but two, career-changing opportunities.
The pandemic gave him the clarity to see that having a social media presence was his currency to securing work in marketing. Johnny put out a comedy video based on his experience interacting with clients in a New Jersey Sephora and gained 50,000 followers in 1 day. Now he has over 1 million followers and brands like Fenty Beauty (yes, the one created by Rihanna) knocking on his virtual door. Johnny uses his platform to address issues of inclusion in the $532 billion beauty industry with comedy and candor.
Oh, and he clarifies why I always get offered the same shade of lipliner every time I go to MAC.
TIK TOK
https://www.tiktok.com/@mrjohnnyross
YOU TUBE
https://youtube.com/channel/UC5jWBgcHtwCw7hBhr1hnNQA
https://www.instagram.com/mrjohnnyross/
MERCH
https://www.bonfire.com/store/mrjohnnyross/
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