For the past 25 years, Laura Schakosky has been a freelance Dallas Makeup Artist and Hairstylist. Her interest in Makeup began at the age of 14 when she enrolled at Kim Dawson Modeling and Acting School in Dallas, TX. After graduating high school, Laura attended Careers in Cosmetology where she studied to become an esthetician. It was there that she obtained the basic knowledge of skincare and cosmetic application.
She continued her education at the University of North Texas with studies in Psychology and Fashion. While attending college, Laura’s interest as a Dallas Makeup Artist grew as she interned with Makeup Artist Catherine Hatcher for 1 ½ years. Catherine taught Laura application techniques for tv, film, hd video, fashion and commercial print.
Once the internship was complete, Laura’s career took off. She left college to pursue her career and quickly became successful. She began working with Music Celebrities and in Fashion. She diversified her career through tv commercials, corporate videos and film work. Five years later, Laura landed freelance makeup artistry jobs on the tv shows Hard Copy and Inside Edition working with the hosts of the show. Working on live shows changed the course of Laura’s career. She dreamed of working with other celebrities and to see what qualities they had that set them apart.
In 1992, Laura decided to move to Hollywood, CA. Through her persistence and drive, Laura broke into the Hollywood makeup scene and into the International talk show scene shortly after her arrival. Her climb to the top of her field began by first working with corporate executives at the major networks, followed by celebrities who often had photo shoots with multiple changes in style. Laura’s portfolio grew and so did her reputation. She became a personal makeup artist for major celebrities. In addition, the major networks gave Laura a big push into doing gallery shoots with seasonal previews of tv cast members for TV Guide, People and Entertainment Weekly. Eventually she began doing seasonal events for ABC, NBC, UPN and FOX Press tours, where all of the celebrities from a network join together under one roof to meet the press, do talk shows, radio shows and photo shoots. It was at one of these press tours that Laura was at the right place at the right time. She met the cast of the Drew Carey Show who asked her to become part of their crew and to work on the show full time. She became a personal makeup artist for Cathy Kinney the famous blue eyeshadowed Mimi and Christa Miller. By accepting this opportunity, she was able to join the makeup union Local 706. This opportunity opened Laura up to all the makeup job opportunities in Hollywood. Once the season was over, Laura decided to diversify. She day played on different tv shows such as The Hughley’s and films such as Charlies Angel’s, did fashion shoots, commercials, celebrity interviews and network promos. It was during this time that Laura received a lifetime opportunity from CBS in New York to be the Key Makeup Artist for tv anchors and celebrities for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Being the only makeup artist from California this was quite an honor.
In 1995, in the mist of experiencing success, Laura reached a point where she questioned why she had chosen the career she had. She longed for substance in her work and her life. She began exploring the psychology and origins of cosmetics, which brought her back to her own roots in college. Over an eight year time span she studied extensively ancient beauty, health and wellness philosophies and techniques and how they relate to standards of beauty today. As a result of her inspirations she has developed her own beauty philosophy and line Laura Leigh Beauty that changes how we see beauty. She has designed her own aromatherapy line based on the chakra system, wellness program, a makeup line named Laura Leigh beauty and she created a beauty system that integrates beauty, wellness, success coaching and trends for each month of the year.
In 2000, Laura returned to her hometown in Dallas, TX. Today she continues to freelance and be a traveling Dallas makeup artist extensively. While being in Dallas, Laura has honed her skills as a visionary, leader, teacher and mentor for others to bring out the best in them both in image and in life.