SALT LAKE CITY — Savannah Norman remembers growing up watching the original YouTube makeup girls. She would practice their looks on her face and five years ago she decided she would pick up the brush and start using it on other people. Young Norman could only dream that Gabrielle Union would be sitting in her chair five years later.
"Her agent reached out to me on Instagram and just mentioned a high-end client; she never said the name, and then as we got more into detail, she was like, 'Oh it's for Gabrielle Union,' and I was like 'Oh, is this for real?' It was like a full circle moment," Norman recalled.
Every good makeup look needs a complementing hairstyle. Union's team also reached out to freelance hair stylist, Tenesha Luckett. She and Norman teamed up during All-Star Weekend to make the award-winning actress' vision come to life.
"She had a vision, and we just went with that vision. She liked big, beachy waves, and that's right up my alley. I love big hair," Luckett said.
Luckett gave Union beautiful, big waves, as requested, to complement her glowing look by Norman. For Luckett, this wasn't her first celebrity client — she's had the chance to work with some of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and others. But for Norman, this was her first A-List celebrity.
"The first day, I was so nervous. Like, so so nervous. When I was driving over there, I called my mom and she did all these affirmations with me," Norman said.
For Norman and Luckett, it's not just about the opportunity to work with celebrity clientele — it's about making sure everyone can be serviced regardless of skin color and hair texture. Their Utah roots and lack of access to makeup artists and hair stylists who could work with their skin color and texture inspired both of them to create a diverse portfolio.
"It's been my goal from day one to have a diverse portfolio, because being a woman of color, I could never hire another artist out here because they didn't showcase any deep skin," Norman said.
Luckett decided to start an entire "glam on the go" group called the Luxe Group, made up of hair stylists and makeup artists who can work on any race or gender.
"Being able to work on anybody is a necessity. Anybody should be able to sit in your space and feel as comfortable as the next," Luckett said.
With their growing spotlight, Luckett hopes to continue to grow the Luxe Group, and Norman wants to build the next generation of makeup artists.
"I'm really going to start doing makeup classes and helping other artists learn how to find their style and get into the clientele that they're wanting because I've always wanted to be doing big celebrities and I'm like, 'I got my first one,'" Norman said.
Their portfolios can be found on their Instagram accounts, linked below.
