​about the artist
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My name is Samantha Brielle Booker and I am a professional Make-up Artist based in Philadelphia, PA. The name of my business is The Soft Slay Specialist, L.L.C.
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As a young child, I always had a knack for creativity and art. I loved drawing, painting, writing stories, etc. My family also used to buy me the play makeup as a little girl. The interest in makeup and art has always been in my life. When I was in middle school, my interest for makeup really started to grow. As I went through puberty, I started to care more about my appearance, which led me to start trying to do my own makeup.
who am i?
how i got into make-up
my struggle with identity
My struggle with identity began in middle school and lasted all the way until I was 26 years old. Since developing my relationship with Christ, I understand that my identity is not found in the things of this world, but in Jesus. I didn't always understand this though. Even as a young girl who grew up in Church-- I only understood religious traditions and principles. I didn't really understand who God was on a personal level, and because of that I didn't understand myself.
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Throughout Middle School and High School I was extremely insecure and had low-self esteem. When I was my pure, authentic self I was rejected by my peers. I dealt with depression and would often speak horribly about myself. This led to me being suicidal at age of 14 years old. Because of this, I felt like if I changed the way I spoke, acted, dressed, and who I hung around that I would be accepted (and I was). I sought the validation of my peers over the validation of God, and instead of walking confidently in who He created to be, I tried to bury it.
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My insecurity was the very thing that led me into make-up.
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I was insecure about who I was on the inside AND the outside, but when I started to wear makeup, I became more confident in my physical appearance. I tried to fill my internal void with external things. All along, I still had the same insecurities.. now I just looked better physically. I felt like if I looked good on the outside, all the deeper rooted insecurities would go away. This led me to place my value as a person in my physical appearance. This led me deep into vanity. What is vanity?
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Vanity = excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievments
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I had excessive pride in or admiration of my appearance. Once I felt good physically, I felt like I no longer had to deal with the internal issues that still remained.
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It wasn't until I developed with relationship with Jesus Christ that things changed for me. I began to change from the inside out.
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I began to understand the character of Christ, and once I began to understand that I understood who He called me to be. I started to see myself the way that He sees me. He said I am fearfully and wonderfully made, a masterpiece, bold and courageous, the apple of His eye, a royal priesthood.
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The soft slay specialist
So how does all of this tie in with makeup? Soft Slay Specialist was a name given to me by God. I always knew that this business was bigger than me. When I started to grow deeper in my relationship with God, I realized that He wanted to be apart of everything in my life, including this business. Soft Slay Specialist not only specializes in soft glam, but helps young women find their identity in Christ. We don't need to pretend to be someone we aren't to fit in with our peers. The name in itself it's just talking about make-up, but a lifestyle. We can slay through life softly and gracefully. We don't have to be attention seeking just to seek validation. So many young women go through life feeling like they have to play a role to be accepted. I aim to change that narrative.
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