Daily Inspiration: Meet Katie Gant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Gant

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My love story for playing in makeup started as far back as I have memories. I can remember sitting in our small bathroom in the house I grew up in, watching my mom pull out her little makeup pouch and get ready for work every day. Every trip to the store meant I got to look at all the new makeup and products that were available, and hopefully bring something new home to add to my Caboodle Case. As I got older, every hang-out with friends turned into a getting-ready session, and a makeup application lesson for whoever was willing to listen and participate. As I graduated college, I started to get requests from girls I went to school with to travel and do makeup for their weddings. The itch had gotten me, and I was addicted to the process of “makeovers”, whether for myself or clients. In the earlier years, glam for weddings was not anywhere near what it is today (thanks to social media!), I would book weddings when I could just for the exposure and experience. Any new opportunity that came my way to do makeup, I would say yes – even if it meant for free, I just wanted to keep gaining experience.

In 2010, I had a huge year, bought my first house, got married, and then a few short months later my mother had a massive stroke, which ended up changing the course of my life from that day on. My career, and anything that took me away from home was on the back burner, including makeup. During those years, client work was slow, but my passion for makeup, and really, all things beauty, was always an escape for me. YouTube Beauty Influencers were on the rise, and I was hooked, watching every single video I could in order to memorize their techniques and products used. I never went to school for makeup, so everything I’ve learned is from watching other women, and practicing until my fingers bleed – quite literally!

My first real stint in the wedding industry started around 2013, I worked as a freelance artist for two of my friends (Sarah and Debbe) who owned their own LLC and provided Hair & Makeup services for weddings – I owe so much of my success to these two beautiful women, who are still some of my very best friends to this day – check them out now at the Domane Salon in Lutherville, MD!

Life moved fast, and from 2013 to 2016, I had a growing clientele and was in the groove of working weddings (along with a full-time job) – and at this point, I threw motherhood into the mix. As life started to seemingly fall into place at that time, another curveball was thrown my way – my mother passed in March of 2016 from complications due to another stroke. The next few years for me are sometimes a blur – a rollercoaster of events happened – a divorce, moving, and then another terrible breakup, and I found myself alone, scared, in a small apartment with my daughter.

I knew at that point in my life, I had to redirect my attention to anything positive, this is when “FacebyElleKate” was created. Elle for my late mother (Elyn) and Kate (short for Katie), the name was dubbed by my cousin, and I’ve never looked back. I leveraged Instagram to showcase my work, and connect with other women in the industry. Since 2019, I’ve run FaceByElleKate, and have freelanced for several other wedding companies, gaining about 300 clients in the last roughly 5 years. Working in the wedding industry has quite literally saved my life, it’s been a positive distraction when I needed it the most, it’s helped my family financially, and has brought my daughter (who is now about to be 10) so close, as she is a self-proclaimed beauty gal herself!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
If you’re a wedding vendor, then you know, it’s not always easy! Our job is to work with clients on one of the most important day in their lives. I would get paralyzed by the thought of messing up, and I would tell myself “I wasn’t good enough”, “didn’t do makeup like the other girls”, and was never going to make it. I do believe sometimes these negative thoughts took a toll on my self esteem early on in my career.

The other major downside to being in the wedding industry, is the struggle of leaving your family, basically every weekend from March – November to travel and work. Being a single mom, I had to learn to lean on friends and family when I needed help. I have been very blessed with a core group of women and family members I can call at any moment for help!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My company is called “FacebyElleKate”, and I specialize in wedding makeup. I am known for my “soft glam” makeup style, and bringing the good vibes and energy to my clients the day of their wedding!

I am most proud of myself that during my darkest time in life, I learned to lean on something positive; and invest in myself and my future. I am forever grateful to that girl I was back then, she was strong and knew she needed a change in her life.

Today’s beauty market is so saturated, you can’t open up an app without seeing the next “influencer” try to sell you products, or show you the next big trend in makeup. I use social media as much as I need to keep my business afloat, but I feel what sets me apart from others is the in-person experience I try to give to all of my clients. Not only do I love glamming, but I also love connecting with other women – when you hire me, you are also hiring a confidant, friend, and real-life hype woman! As I’ve gotten older, I find myself more and more connecting with not only my clients, but with some of the older women I service as well, which gives me invaluable experience to be able to transfer my skills from working on a 25-year-old face to a 60-year-old face – I just know what works, and what doesn’t.

What are your plans for the future?
I’ve toyed with the idea of slowing down this past year, but the reality is FacebyElleKate will always be my labor of love. I’ve found balance in my life again, and look forward to continuing at this pace as long as my body lets me! I always look forward to meeting new people, booking more weddings, and seeing where this industry will take me!

2025 is open for bookings by the way!

Pricing:

• Pricing information is available via request through facebyellekate@gmail.com

Contact Info:

• Instagram: FaceByElleKate