Williamsport, Pa. — For local makeup artist and entrepreneur Markeisha Valentine, beauty is more than skin deep: it involves building a business, keeping in touch with her community, and raising a family.
Valentine’s suite can be found above CareerLink on Pine Street.
Photo provided
After recently relocating Lash By Keisha Beauty Studio to 329 Pine St., Suite 306, Williamsport, Valentine is embracing a new chapter in her business while continuing to balance her many roles.
As a Black business owner, Valentine is making sure people of every skin tone can feel their most beautiful, and helping other local business owners learn the ropes.
At home, she is a mother of two boys, and is raising them to make a habit of giving back to their community while teaching them her business skills.
It wasn’t easy for her to make it to where she is today, and though she may occasionally miss the PTO at her old job in health care, she now enjoys being her own boss and building connections with her clients.
Valentine’s ‘pink oasis’
Valentine, a Williamsport native and 2010 high school graduate, describes herself first and foremost as a makeup artist.
“That’s what I started off with and went to beauty school for. Then doing facials and the lashes, second, even though lashes is what took my business off,” she said. “But I definitely say I’m a makeup artist first.”
Her new studio space, which she affectionately calls her “pink oasis,” is designed to be a safe and relaxing haven for clients.
“It is very nice and comfy. That’s how I like it…I try to make it very comfortable and relaxing. I love burning my little candles that smell so good, bringing the positive energy,” Valentine shared.
While the décor is unapologetically pink, she welcomes everyone, men included, for services like ear and nose waxing.
Schools of the arts for the face
Valentine’s journey into the beauty industry began with a passion for art and a leap of faith.
Encouraged by a high school counselor, she attended a special effects makeup school near Pittsburgh, the Douglas Education Center. There, Valentine was the only minority in her class.
“That school definitely opened my eyes to a lot. I wouldn’t be the makeup artist I am now if it wasn’t for that school, because they taught me how to manipulate the human eye, and what the camera is going to pick up on compared to what you see.”
That special effects training did not go to waste!
During the 16-month program, Valentine didn’t own a car, and had to wait for major holidays to get on a Greyhound bus, go home, and visit her family. She missed the birth of her first nephew, and without FaceTime “back then,” she often felt homesick, but kept herself busy with school.
She graduated with a “specialized business degree” in 2012 and was ready to build a business of her own back home in Williamsport. But, unbeknownst to her, “that school just teaches you how to be a freelance makeup artist — not a licensed makeup artist.”
Cutting through red tape
After three years of honing her skills and bonding with her clientele in the Pajama Factory, Valentine faced unexpected hurdles with licensing.
“It seems like my whole educational journey, nobody mentioned anything like that,” she recalled. “Everyone wanted to be hush-hush, and it’s like ‘no, I don’t wanna be hidden, this is my life, I wanna be legit so I don’t have to hide and worry about anything.’”
A surprise visit from a state investigator led to a $500 fine and a crash course in Pennsylvania’s licensing requirements.
“At least I was face-to-face with him and was able to get all that information from him,” she said.
With this threat to her business she had worked so long and hard for, and having just quit her day job in healthcare a few months beforehand, the stakes were high for Valentine.
And, she was going to fix it the only way she knew how: blood, sweat, and setting spray.
Back to school to get back in business
Determined to do things the right way, Valentine enrolled in an esthetician program in Altoona — an hour and 45 minutes away from home — while juggling caring for her sons and working 12-hour weekend shifts to get by.
“We had to get up at 4 a.m. I had to drop them off at daycare by 6. And I had to hit the highway right after that just to get to school on time because it started at 8,” she recalled. “That was probably the toughest five months of my life…I’d rather do labor 20 times over than that for five months.”
The stress was so great that she broke out in hives, which she discussed how to treat with one of her teachers in Altoona.
Despite the challenges, and heartbreaking questions from her sons like, “Mommy, when are you going to graduate,” Valentine persevered.
She graduated from the five-month program, earned her license, and expanded her services to include facials, lash extensions, waxing, and makeup for all occasions. She soon moved into a larger space on Pine Street in May 2022.
“I cried, especially at graduation when it was finally over and I could breathe,” she said.
At her new Pine Street suite, she continues to offer her full range of services, including one-on-one classes for those who want to learn tips for doing their everyday makeup, and prides herself on her ability to work with any skin tone.
“I am a very diverse makeup artist, so I can do makeup on anyone and any skin tone. With my artsy way of mixing colors, I’m very good at making and matching people’s foundation color,” she explained.
Community and family woman
Valentine’s commitment to her family and community shines through in everything she does. Her sons run “Lil Bros Lemonade,” a pop-up stand that donates proceeds to local nonprofits like the YWCA.
She said people can occasionally find them making lemonade — and some money — in the warmer seasons in front of Kaos Fun Zone and Kinley Jewelers.
Their most recent venture was donating balloons for a Habitat For Humanity celebration in Williamsport.
“It’s teaching them money management and to give back to people,” she said.
As vice chairman of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce’s Membership Development & Retention Committee, Valentine is passionate about helping other small businesses succeed.
“A lot of people, they don’t realize you really have to market yourself, and I feel like that’s one thing that I am good with: marketing and working with people. I feel like I could help a lot of other small businesses and get them up-to-date with some things.”
For young women considering a career in beauty, Valentine’s advice is clear: “Pick a side, either cosmetology or esthetician…Go to school first, get it over with, and then whatever other classes or certifications you want to do, do that next.”
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