The beauty industry once made Danessa Myricks feel invisible. Now, she’s using the makeup empire she built to ensure everyone feels seen. “My entire career was accidental,” says the founder of @danessamyricksbeauty, whose journey began in the early 2000s as a self-taught makeup artist, educating herself on the basics and honing her technical skills in her basement long before social media mainstreamed beauty tutorials. After building her career as a makeup artist and educator, launching her own brand in 2015 felt like the natural next step for #DanessaMyricks. But the lack initial funding and demands of her personal life as a single mom of two meant the early days were challenging. “I used money from makeup gigs to fund the brand, which made the process slow,” she admits. But her debut megawatt highlighters, which were luminous and never ashy on deeper skin tones, quickly became a hit, especially among pro makeup artists. At the link in @instylemagazine's bio, go #BehindTheBeauty, our recurring series spotlighting the power players driving the beauty world forward, the learn more about every facet of her journey, from where she draw inspiration to the breakthrough advice that has transformed her career. 🖋️: @Lauren_valenti