Chelsea Arient: a local Eugene hair and makeup artist. This is my photo series from one of my Gateway assignments prompted “Unseen Eugene.”
With an early work event starting at 6:00 a.m., Chelsea Arient prepares for a day full of doing hair and makeup on her clients at the 2018 NPC Battle for Eagle Championship. This is Arient’s fifth year working at bodybuilding competitions alongside her makeup partner Sarah Jensen. Working to the right of Jensen in a holding room located in the Lane Convention Center, Arient begins the makeup process for her first body-builder client, Katelyn Schude.
Arient started her career as a masseuse, but after being told she had good makeup skills, she went to get her makeup artist certification. Five years after getting certification, she continues to work on perfecting makeup techniques on clients like Katelyn Schude. Bodybuilding is one of her favorite events to help with since the nature of it and her clients are so energizing.
Three clients later and the sun is finally starting to rise, Arient begins her hair appointment on Kayla Gathright. Arient’s movement intensifies as she starts to fall behind on her work. She tells me that every year prior, they started hair and makeup at 4:00 a.m., but this year money restrictions resulted in them having to start at 6:00 a.m., causing a rush in Arient’s game.
Arient has been working in an artistic field for most of her career. She runs her own at-home business called Lavish Bronzing Boutique that provides many beauty services including: makeup, tanning, and hair. She loves to work free-lance and bring her skills to bodybuilding events where all of these beauty techniques apply. Makeup being her main freelance service, she is forced to stay steady and use precise techniques to make clients like Katelyn Schude look their best on stage.
Arient makes her way down her list of clients and comes to one the most energetic – Shannon Post. Their session is full of back and forth chatting and laughter. Soon, we start getting into Post’s background of bodybuilding and she expresses her sadness for how it is a dying community in the Pacific Northwest. Arient is happy she can bring light to the situation by making them feel beautiful and confident while competing.