Beauty Maven Kandee Johnson Talks Trials and Triumphs, Family and Her Meteoric Rise to the Top
Sitting in a fur-lined, acrylic, Louis XVI chair against the backdrop of golden-framed artwork and midcentury-modern decor, Kandee Johnson looks like a contemporary queen. The YouTube vlogger-turned-beauty entrepreneur is stoic and seemingly almost unapproachable, surrounded by her beauty team as they curl her hair and prep her flawless skin until she sneaks a smile and turns to the room laughing. āMy sonās a model, and heās always shooting big fancy campaigns,ā she starts. āI told him Iām shooting the cover for this magazine. Heās like āMom thatās so cool, Iāve never been on a cover!āā she grins proudly. āHeās so excited for me!ā Kandee Johnson
Itās hard to believe that Johnson has a son whoās old enough to model, let alone that sheās never graced the cover of a magazine. Itās impossible to be on social media and not see Johnsonās face everywhere. Her YouTube videos have garnered her millions of dedicated followers over the years, and with a bubbling personality to match, the beauty maven has created an empire of videos, makeup collaborations, guest TV appearances, award nominations and, as she hints later in our interview, a book.
Always a creative, Johnson grew up surrounded by makeup, glitter, paint and fabric, learning how to channel her artistic tendencies into a wonderfully imaginative talent at a young age. āI think my mom was my main source of inspiration and creativity, especially growing up,ā explains Johnson.
āShe really fostered so much creativity, and she helped my artistic side bloom even more. I donāt think I would be who I am if my mom wasnāt that way. Iām so thankful for her always encouraging me.ā
Growing up feeling creatively motivated lead Johnson to cosmetology school and eventually Los Angeles, where she began to build her career working on movie sets and at TV stations like MTV and VH1. For a moment, it seemed that she was on the rise to the top. But life, as Johnson notes, can be hard and unpredictable. āMy career was starting to really take offā¦but it was really hard because I didnāt have any help there,ā she explains, stressing the difficulty of being a single mother.
On her parentsā suggestion, she returned home where they could help with her son, and she could put some money aside. āI was having such a hard time being a single mom doing makeup,ā she says. āI put all my stuff in storage; Iām driving, crying all the way home, leaving, going back to Nevadaā¦the whole drive home thinking āIām leaving the city where all of my dreams are, Iām literally leaving the place where this careerās going to happen.āā
Life, of course, works in mysterious waysāwhat she admittedly saw as a failure turned into a godsend. Turning to YouTube as a creative outlet on the suggestion of a friend, she found a home on the video platform and now boasts over 3.9 million followers on YouTube alone. āIf I hadnāt moved there I never would have started [on] YouTube. Itās like I was being pulled backward in a slingshot, but I couldnāt see it at the time,ā she speaks honestly.
āI was like, āIām going backward, Iām going away from my dreams,ā but itāsā¦what catapulted me further. I never would have dreamed the blessings that I would have from doing YouTube when I started. That was one of those moments where I felt like I was a failure, but it really was the biggest stepping stone to a blessing I had no idea would even take place.ā
Johnson counts her blessings every day. Anyone who follows her on social media can see that the family-oriented, mother of four uses her platform as a way to connect, uplift and inspire her followers. After her fatherās passing, she used YouTube as a way to not only heal herself but those around her. āRight after my dad died, I remember thinking the good he would want me to take away from this would be to comfort others who are hurting in the same way,ā she explains.
āAs soon as I posted about my dad passing, hundreds and hundreds of people sent me emails and comments sayingā¦āthank you so much for making me feel not alone, thank you for your words of encouragement,āā she says. āSo for me, any pain that Iāve gone through, I want to use it to comfort others who are feeling the same way, and to me, thatās the greatest blessing of any pain that you go through.ā
Helping others through similar difficulties using such a beautiful and creative medium might be what Johnson finds so fulfilling about the work she does. Sheās connected with terminal cancer patients, girls who have been bullied and fans who have lost friends, family and loved ones. People who come to her platform in search of a way to feel beautiful leave with a sense of connection and deeper understanding. āThe first email I got that made me start cryingā¦was a girl that said she was going to commit suicide, but she wanted to look beautiful when people found her body,ā she starts as she begins to tear up.
āShe googled how to look pretty, and for some reason, my YouTube video came up at the top. She wrote [to] me and said āI just want you to know, that I was planning on taking my lifeā¦and I found your video. Itās eight hours later, and I saw your story and what youāve been through, and how youāve kept going. Youāve inspired me that I can keep going too.ā
As she glances up at the ceiling trying to keep her tears from messing up her makeup before the cover shoot, itās clear Johnsonās appreciation for makeup goes deep beneath the superficial surface that so many attribute to the beauty industry.
For Johnson, her focus on external beauty feels like a reflection of self, a way to bring inner beauty to the surface. āI think that is the gift of what I get to do and really at the heart of why I became a makeup artist. Seeing the beauty that you can bring out, itās always there. Even though people look at makeup as this superficial something that people are doing, it really is more about the internal,ā she explains. Makeovers with Kim Kardashian and collaborations with Too Faced aside, Johnson becomes somber as she speaks quietly about the fans she meets and how mothers pull her aside and tell her what a positive difference sheās made on their childās life.
āIt is the most rewarding thing to know that youāve been able to have that impact, and to me, thatās greater than any award or accolade that I could ever receive, just to feel the difference that Iāve been able to make. At the end of the day, life is short, and I just want to touch as many people as I can and inspire them and make them feel loved and make them feel happy! Thereās no greater reward than that for me.ā
With such a dedicated fan base and so many career successes, Johnson wonāt be taking a break any time soon. āI have a bunch of projects in the works that Iām so excited to work on,ā she starts. āI have wanted to write a book for years since way before even YouTube, so there will be a book in the works.ā She hesitates for a moment before she smiles coyly like a child with a juicy secret. She hints at a makeup collection then a fashion line, toting a passion for shoes and accessories.
āI mean I want to do everything! I donāt ever want to limit myself or think that Iām like a one-trick pony!ā
No one could ever consider Johnson a one-trick pony. The influencer has had her hand in everything recently, and itās clear she canāt stop, wonāt stop. Even as we talk, the image she posted on Instagram only moments ago has hundreds of comments from fans showing their support and excitement for her first magazine cover. She glances at her phone with a smile, āIām so honored that I have this platform to use to inspire people, and everything I do I want to make people feel good, inspire them to be positive, give them hope and add fun! I just want to add fun to peopleās [lives]!ā
Tim Burtonās Masterpiece
Johnson has transformed herself into everyone from Barbie to Thor, but for her, one creation will always top them all. āEdward Scissorhands will probably always be a favorite because it was one of the first ones that I did. It was so crazy!ā said Johnson.
Celebrity Fangirl
In 2010, at Fred Segal in Hollywood, Johnson once heard someone singing her name. āI turn around, I hear it againāitās Brandy. Brandy was singing my name!ā cried Johnson. They stopped to take photos together, but she was starstruck for the rest of the day.
Teen Beauty Queen
Johnson has been playing with makeup since she was 13 when her mother gave her her first Elizabeth Arden cosmetic kit. Using the palette, she made her own concoctions by mixing colors and blending eyeshadows with her chapsticks.
Shot at The Palm Baum in Palm Springs
Photographer Assistant: Rebecca Thacker
Wardrobe Stylist: Teresita Marie
Hair Stylist: Chris Dylan
Makeup Artist: Spencer Barnes Kandee Johnson.
With a degree in English Literature and minor in Asian Studies, Marissa loves all things reading, writing and LOCALE. Originally from Santa Barbara, CA, Marissa is an avid traveler, and counts her well-stamped passport and battered suitcase among her favorite possessions. When not online shopping or binge-watching the latest Netflix series, Marissa enjoys writing short stories in her spare time.
Andrea Domjan is an award-winning portrait and commercial photographer born and raised in Europe, currently living in Orange County, California. Andrea's main goal is to reflect every person's personality on their photos. Her style is simple and timeless featuring the latest photography trends.
