Interview with Sia Miller

Portland, Oregon February 17, 2023

Sia Miller is a Licensed Esthetician specializing in Makeup artistry, acne skin care and

hyperpigmentation in Portland, Oregon. She services a wide variety of clientele ranging in

various skin tones, but specializes in clean refined beauty looks, and skincare treatments. She’s a

believer in self-care and truly enjoys watching a clients inner beauty shine outwards. 

I’m her spare time, you can find her on a tropical beach, and spending time with her son, friends,

and family.

Sia decided to groom my eyebrows with a razor and then did a bronzy daytime look on me.

M: Are you from Portland?

S: Born and raised, girl. But I love traveling and I love warm weather.

M: How did you get into makeup?

S: You know, I’ve kind of always just been into it. In high school, girls would skip class and hide

in the bathrooms, and I’d ask people if I could tweeze their eyebrows. Once I got the hang of

that, I was like… I need to put makeup on the brows. And then from there I realized I needed

makeup for the full face to balance it out – so it quickly just snowballed. But what really started

it was my love for eyebrows. I did makeup for many years, and then people started asking me

how to take care of their skin. I didn’t know the answers to those questions. So, I started thinking

that I should go to school for makeup, skincare, and waxing. And I did.

M: Wow.

S: Yeah, and then during the pandemic I started working from home – girl, it was a wrap! My

clients found out and wanted me to squeeze them in on my lunch breaks, haha. I was busy, and

when I freed myself up for my passion, got my license – I was good. I quit my job, my clients

found out, and I’ve been booked and busy ever since.

M: That’s incredible.

S: Yes, it’s such a blessing.

M: So, what does your clientele base look like?

S: I’m all over the place. Photoshoots, events, film, movies, television.

M: Do you feel like you are an artistic person, as a makeup artist?

S: You know, I don’t feel great about doing creative makeup. I love making people CUTE. But

sometimes, I like to do fun Euphoria vibes. I don’t really do Halloween makeup though. I just

like taking someone’s vision of how they want to look and bringing it to life.

M: So, did your business start naturally then too, since I’m assuming you had a good amount of

word of mouth?

S: Yeah, it started organically with friends and family first. There are so many pictures in our

family albums of me getting people ready for events and stuff. Then, in 2014, I got thrown into

doing bridal makeup for a friend of mine. I was so nervous; I mean this was the most important

day of her life and she wanted me to do this for the first time? But we practiced, and for a

practice it was bomb. I was impressed; she was impressed. There were so many compliments at

the wedding – people asking her where she had gotten her makeup done. I had also never done

makeup on a white girl before.

M: You were like I guess I do this now.

S: No literally I was like… I start today, haha! One thing led to another, and I was booking

people left and right and the rest is history.

M: That must feel good – gaining all that momentum from your work speaking for itself.

S: It really does. And surprisingly, I was so busy during Covid. There were good and bad things

that came to me during the pandemic.

M: Are you still mostly getting new clients from word of mouth?

S: Actually, through Instagram – the power of Instagram.

M: That’s how I found you!

S: See! It reaches so far. People share something and it gets the attention of others.

M: This is the goal with my blog as well! Getting the word out.

S: Yes – that’s how small businesses like mine not only stay alive but thrive.

S: These brows are looking so pretty!

M: I can’t wait to see. How are you choosing what to use?

S: I always look at the client’s skin type first. Then, the complexion. There are some brands I use

that are better for deeper skin tones, than lighter skin tones etc. I really like NARS for deeper

skin tones. NARS actually really has a great shade range for everybody. I just started using

Charlotte Tilbury. I’m obsessed with Juvias Place. I probably have 10 palettes.

M: I have a lot of Juvias too! It can be hard to find the right shade for me – I have my staples on

lock, but I’m loving this NARS foundation.

S: I don’t think any one brand has it all, but usually I do find that a brand’s #1 selling product is

#1 for a reason.

M: Do you ever get products that have been super hyped up that you dislike?

S: Definitely. That has definitely happened. It comes down to the formula. I like makeup that has

longevity. I like a dryer formula for eyebrows, for instance. Nothing oily – since the brows are

already going to be oily by themselves. The NYX eyebrow pencils at the drugstore even work

great.

M: Heck yeah. Love a low price point. So, I know you’re opening a studio downtown – since

you’ve been booked and busy. Can you tell me a bit about that?

S: Yeah, so it’s hard work from home, for starters. I don’t want to be home all the time, but

there’s also times when I’m in peak season where I barely leave for days. I just want to have

separate spaces for my personal and work life.

M: That makes sense. Working from home can get hard – it’s nice to have a change of scenery.

I’m just trying to stop working in my bed and take it to the desk, haha.

S: Yeah, and I have an amazing designer named Theresa from Plush Interiors, so I’m really

excited because I trust her vision the same way I hope my clients trust me with their makeup. I

told her my must haves, but really, I’m letting her do her thing.

M: I feel like this is an HGTV show where they have a big reveal.

S: I might cry. I’m just trying to trust the process and not get in my head about it.

M: I’m sure it’s going to look amazing, and I can’t wait to check it out when I get back in town.

S: I’ll be right downtown in Pioneer Square! Honestly, it’ll be better for my clients too.

M: How many days a week are you typically working?

S: 5. Friday’s Saturdays and Sundays are so busy, so I take off Monday and Tuesdays. But

sometimes I do makeup for production/local commercials and the hours are long, but I absolutely

love it.

M: Do you like seeing your work?

S: Oh yeah. One day I’d love to do makeup for a Marvel movie. That would be amazing to me.

My time is coming. I just need more people to find me.

M: So, are you doing makeup, skincare, and brows?

S: Makeup, skincare, and full body waxing.

M: Truly multi-faceted. A one stop shop.

S: Yes, that was the goal. If you come to me, I got you covered. I don’t do lash extensions, but I

am looking into hiring someone to do that for me.

M: Do you have a team right now? Or is this all you?

S: No, I don’t have a team. It’s all me. I am finding myself reaching out to other artists for

support on other jobs. I can train people on the go that way too.

M: Do you do makeup for all races, genders, orientations, etc.?

S: I work with anybody and everybody. I would be embarrassed if someone came to me and I

couldn’t work with their complexion or skin. It was and is really important to be to be versatile. I

never want to be caught off guard and make someone feel unwelcome.

M: I really appreciate that. So…any future goals with your business? What can we expect from

you?

S: I would love to travel for a wedding or two this year! Traveling for work is really cool. I

would love to train. I would also love to open another spa either here or are in another city. I see

it going places.

M: Don’t I know it. It is the dream. To travel and do what you’re good at/love.

M: I love the story about how you started doing makeup.

S: It came full circle when I showed up to a weeding at the same place to. Do makeup again. I

was like wow I really did it.

M: That’s powerful.

S: I feel like there is so much more in store for me. I am so grateful, but there is more work to do.

Sia Miller

Licensed Esthetician