The New Glow Up Is the Glow In

How rebuilding my own confidence inspired a business dedicated to helping women find theirs.

Before there was ABIE MAE BEAUTY, there was a mother in a small apartment, cleaning makeup brushes before sunrise and wondering how she was going to make everything work. That mother was me.

I was rebuilding my life with my son, Jack, navigating financial pressure, the end of a relationship, and the responsibility of creating a more secure future for us. I worked long hours, sometimes leaving before he woke up and coming home after he was asleep.

Those days were exhausting. They also gave me a clear sense of what I wanted to build: a business where I could practice the artistry I loved, support my family, and create opportunities for other women.

I didn’t have every answer. I had a vision and a reason to keep going. Looking back, I can see that my pain became my purpose.

Learning to feel seen

Beauty has always been part of my life. My mother was a makeup artist who raised four children, and she introduced me to both the creativity and the hard work behind the profession. From her, I learned to keep practicing, keep learning, and take pride in what I created. But being surrounded by beauty didn’t always mean I felt beautiful myself.

There were times when makeup helped me feel more comfortable being seen. Getting ready gave me a moment to reconnect with myself, especially when other parts of my life felt uncertain.

That experience shaped how I wanted to work with women. I understood that someone sitting in my chair might be preparing for much more than a photograph or a party. She might be celebrating a milestone, stepping into a new chapter, or finally doing something for herself after spending months caring for everyone else. I wanted her to feel welcome before the first brush ever touched her face.

Bringing the glam, and the good energy

ABIE MAE BEAUTY began with hands-on work: sourcing models, organizing shoots, taking photographs, and developing a single lip gloss. Little by little, those efforts grew into a company and a team. The idea behind our mobile service was simple. Women already have enough to coordinate. We could make getting ready easier by bringing professional hair and makeup directly to them.

Today, that might mean joining a bride and her family on a wedding morning, helping a client prepare for a red carpet, or getting a group of friends ready for a night out in Las Vegas. We arrive with our kits, our skills, and our personalities.

I like to think of us as the party before the party. There is music, conversation, laughter, and often a moment when someone who felt nervous at the beginning starts to relax and enjoy herself.

We want our clients to feel comfortable telling us what they love, what they’re unsure about, and what will help them feel most like themselves. Some want a soft, natural look. Others are ready for full glam. Both deserve the same attention and care.

Your Mobile Beauty Besties

Building this company has also meant building a team I’m proud of. I imagined a place where talented artists, including mothers like me, could do work they loved and feel supported in their craft. That remains close to my heart.

Our Mobile Beauty Besties bring their individual artistry to each appointment, along with a shared commitment to listening, preparation, and making clients feel cared for. I know how much trust it takes to invite someone into an important day. A wedding morning cannot be repeated. A milestone birthday happens once. The way we make someone feel becomes part of that memory. 

My favorite moment is still the mirror reveal. Sometimes a client becomes quiet. Sometimes she tears up. Sometimes the entire room starts cheering. I never get tired of seeing that smile.

Confidence you can take home

I also want women to leave with something they can use after the appointment: a technique they understand, a product they enjoy, or the confidence to try a look on their own. That is the thinking behind my beauty product line. Makeup can feel overwhelming when you have a drawer full of products and no idea where to begin. I want to make it approachable. A useful tip about placement, blending, or preparing your skin can make your everyday routine feel easier.

One of my top sellers is prickly pear seed oil. It naturally contains fatty acids, including linoleic acid, and forms of vitamin E. As an emollient, it helps soften skin and leaves dry skin feeling smoother and more supple. For me, its appeal is the simplicity of that step: taking a little time to care for your skin before reaching for your makeup.

Beauty should be something you can enjoy and understand. You deserve to feel capable in front of your own mirror.

Feeling beautiful from within

My own transformation helped shape what beauty means to me. I lost 119 pounds, and peptides played a part in my journey. Today, I feel more energetic, youthful, and confident in my own skin. That experience was deeply personal. It changed the way I saw myself and helped me understand how much our feelings about our bodies can affect our confidence.

I know how emotional it can be to experience thinning hair, loose skin, or changes that come with age. Women deserve to feel beautiful through those changes, with opportunities to care for themselves and celebrate who they are today.

For me, real beauty starts with how I feel within. Hair and makeup add another layer of expression and confidence—a chance to elevate that feeling and have fun with it.

That is what I want to bring to the women we serve: a welcoming place to feel seen, enjoy being cared for, and discover a look they love.

Curiosity keeps me growing

My curiosity about science also inspired Peptide Mondays, a separate company offering peptides for laboratory research. Building this business has given me another opportunity to keep learning and exploring my entrepreneurial interests.

For questions about our research product catalog, visit www.peptidemondays.com or contact our team.

Making room for yourself

My transformation has involved motherhood, rebuilding, learning to lead, and becoming more confident in the decisions I make for my life. There is still plenty to figure out. But I look at the work we do, the artists beside me, and the women who trust us, and I feel proud of how far we’ve come. I also think about the woman cleaning brushes in that small apartment. She needed encouragement. She needed opportunities. And she needed to believe that the life she imagined was worth working toward. That memory stays with me when another woman sits in our chair.

You never know everything someone is carrying. You can listen. You can make her feel welcome. You can give her a moment of care and help her celebrate herself exactly where she is. Beautiful hair and makeup can be part of that moment. The confidence she carries away belongs to her. That is what the glow within means to me: feeling worthy of attention, comfortable being seen, and ready to take the next step in your own story.

If you’re ready for your own glow up, let this be your sign to start putting yourself first. Not sure where to begin with your hair, makeup, or beauty routine? Call or text me at 702.808.0886. We’ll find your look, make getting ready easy, and have some fun along the way. Your Mobile Beauty Besties have you covered!

The new glow up is the glow in.

ABIE MAE BEAUTY

Book: www.abiemaebeauty.com

Call/text: 702.808.0886

Instagram: @abiemaebeauty

Peptide Mondays

Website: www.peptidemondays.com

Call/text: 702.401.8090

Instagram: @peptidemondays

For laboratory research purposes only.

Photography by Michelle McAdams

@LotusValentineVisuals