Next time you’re cleaning out your makeup drawer and you discover a half-a-dozen tubes of lipstick, don’t despair. Shannon Rodeberg, the talent behind Rodeberg Makeup Aesthetic, has about 400 tubes of lipstick and counting.
Rodeberg, daughter of John and Nancy Rodeberg of Hutchinson, launched her YouTube channel and makeup blog in 2016.
“It took off,” she said. “I started with 600 Instagram followers and now I have about 4,000. The YouTube channel is growing, too.”
Rodeberg called makeup her “artform.” Through her blog and YouTube channel, she offers makeup application tutorials and product reviews.
“I started my love of makeup in high school from watching YouTube tutorials by Jaclyn Hill,” she said. “I was already a makeup artist by the time I was working at Macy’s. They just gave me more professional knowledge into skin care.”
When people find out Rodeberg’s is a makeup whiz, they have questions.
“People ask (me) questions all the time,” she said. “The question I get the most is ‘How do you get your skin so smooth?’”
“I tell them, I take care of my skin,” she said. “People think the perfect skin is about finding the perfect foundation, but truth is that if your base (your skin) is smooth to start with all the foundation can do is even your skin tone. It won’t magically made your skin smooth. Flawless skin starts with a good skincare routine. Washing your face, moisturizing every night, starting anti-aging serums before you see signs of aging. The foundation is just the icing on top that finishes it off.”
It takes Rodeberg about 40 minutes to apply a full, flawless face. She has her daily routine down to less than 15 minutes.
Her trademark look is dark-colored lipstick.
“Lipstick is my statement piece,” she said.
When it comes to buying makeup products, Rodeberg recommended spending your money on the best concealer and primer you can afford. After that, she recommended eye shadow. Why? Because the more expensive brands have more pigment and are not as powdery, so they don’t disperse as readily.
She likes ColourPop lipstick, which sells for $6 a tube. She also uses drugstore blush and mascara.
“I buy cheap foundation,” she said. “If you want a more hydrating product or anti-aging properties, you will pay more.”
One of the perks is receiving free swag.
“I get a good amount of free stuff — up-and-coming brands,” she said. “My opinion is always unbiased. I don’t get paid or have sponsorships.”
For now, Rodeberg is posting on her YouTube channel a couple of times a month. She hopes to increase that to once a week.
To shoot her videos, she works with business partner Shaylin Filer, a friend she met in London.
“We bonded over makeup,” she said.
Rodeberg said the key to a successful video is to show personality, so people get to know you.
If you’re looking for makeup advice, Rodeberg recommended heading to stores such as Sephora or Ulta Beauty, where trained makeup artists can help with application and color selection.
The drawback is that is often a one-time visit. To fine-tune skills, she suggested watching videos such as her’s as well as others on YouTube.
“You can find so many videos to teach you,” she said. “On YouTube, you can watch a video over and over. If you like someone, you can follow them. That’s the nice thing about YouTube.”
WHERE IT STARTED
After graduating from Hutchinson High School in 2013, Rodeberg’s goal was to study film production. She thought New York City was “too big” and California, “too competitive.”
She wanted an even playing field, where opportunities didn’t depend on connections, so she looked at programs in Minnesota as well as outstate. DePaul University’s program in downtown Chicago appealed to her.
“It was up and coming,” she said. “Now I think it’s in the Top 10 film schools in the nation.”
It was a good fit. Rodeberg earned a bachelor’s degree in digital cinemafilm production with a minor in graphic design.
Her interest in makeup led her to work on a couple of film sets in the hair, makeup and wardrobe department. She was in charge of makeup and costuming for the thriller-drama “There is No Door.”
“I was on a couple film sets as hair, makeup and wardrobe before this,” she said. “This was my first big film set where I was the head of the entire hair, makeup and wardrobe department for a film that was more than 10-minutes in length.”
So far, the film has done well.
“It’s (been accepted) in a lot of film festivals. It recently won a Jury Award (a top prize). The cast was fantastic. It was my first real film experience working with real actors and attending casting sessions with union actors.”
The challenge for the novice was staying within budget while buying period costumes.
“The most expensive was a costume from the 1920s,” she said.
When it came to makeup, the look was natural, but the actors needed to look exhausted. When blood and gore were required, a special effects makeup artist was brought in.
“It was great to see,” she said. “I learned a lot.”
When she was a senior in college, Rodeberg wrote, directed and produced “FACES,” a silent film. So far, it has been accepted into two film festivals: the Chicago CineYouth Film Festival where it was nominated in the Mid-West Best category and the Premiere film festival hosted by DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts in Chicago where it was nominated for the Jury Award, which is the best film award of this festival. During the holidays, she received word her film had been accepted into its first international film festival.
For now, the film is not available for public viewing, but Rodeberg said she will probably release it in May.
While the makeup blog and YouTube channel provide her with a creative outlet, she’s not sure about making more movies.
“They take so much time and money,” Rodeberg said. “When I was a student, I had access to equipment. Now I would have to rent it.”
While it’s not a closed door, she doesn’t see it as something she will be doing in the near future.
“Maybe someday,” Rodeberg said.
INTERNSHIP LEADS TO CAREER
One of the advantages of living in Chicago is access to world-class internships.
“While in school, I interned with the print production side of Publicis Groupe, which is included in the Leo Burnett’s internship program,” she said.
Leo Burnet Worldwide is a global advertising agency based in Chicago. The agency’s namesake created such well-known characters as Tony the Tiger, Charlie the Tuna and the Marlboro Man. He also is credited with penning Allstate’s “Good Hands” and United’s “Fly the Friendly Skies” taglines.
This year, Leo Burnett’s “Van Gogh’s BnB” campaign for the Art Institute of Chicago won the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France.
From there, Rodeberg went on to freelance with Leo Burnett’s corporate and community relations division.
“This is where I truly fell in love with Leo Burnett as a company and identity,” she said.
Rodeberg was offered the position of assistant advertising executive at Leo Burnett in March 2017 and she started working for the company a month later. She didn’t have to wonder what she was going to do after graduation in June, she knew.
“It’s my dream job,” she said.
In her full-time position, Rodeberg works as the liaison between the client and the company.
It’s a good fit because she described herself as “creatively rational,” which means she understands both the client’s needs and the company’s.
She’s also helping the new business team, which means working with the team that is pitching new accounts.
“It’s tough, but fun,” she said.
WORKING TOWARD GOALS
Home for Rodeberg is a high-rise apartment in downtown Chicago.
“I live five minutes from work,” she said. “I like the hustle and bustle of the city. I’m not alone. I can sit on my balcony and watch the cars go by.”
Next for the Hutchinson graduate is reaching the goals she has set for herself: To work full time on new business and work in London.
“I started on such a good note (at Leo Burnett),” she said. “I think about the next step. I’m doing everything I can to take on these goals. I’m not ready for them now, but I’m laying the groundwork.”
