“In The Chair With” spotlights the incredible hairstylists in our community who are giving us major inspiration. Each week, they discuss their personal hair and career journeys, what they’ve learned from their clients, and their top hair care tips.
Kim Baker has lived many extraordinary lives. From supermodel—who could be found in the pages of ESSENCE magazine in the 70s and 80s—to professional makeup artist working press junkets for the likes of Mission Impossible. And these days? Since 2021, she’s been the owner and founder of her very own beauty company Glamazon Cosmetics known for decadent products like the Second Skin Foundation Stick and the Lash Couture Mascara. “I worked for a number of cosmetics companies,” including Estée Lauder and Bobbi Brown. “What I noticed is that we didn’t always feel included in the conversation. That’s why we needed people like Danessa Myricks, Ashunta Sheriff, and Kim Baker. It’s about more than products. It’s about representation.”
As glam as everything may seem, Baker’s journey wasn’t always one of ease. “I got into makeup artistry out of frustration,” she shares. “I came along as a model during the time when you really couldn’t find shades for deeper skin tones,” Baker says. “I didn’t always have Reggie Wells or Roxana Floyd around,” she adds about working with these legendary makeup artists throughout her career. That said, she learned how to do her makeup herself. “I fell in love with how it made me feel and inspired me to want to help other women with their confidence, too.”
Below, Baker walks us through her favorite products, her top glam tips, and more.
The Products She’s Loving:
And one of my favorite brands right now is called SKINN Cosmetics. And they are also, like me, on HSN. And then foundation wise, I can’t live without my foundation stick and primer. It really does make your skin look smooth. I also love Danessa Myricks’ Color Fix. I also love Lancôme’s Liquid Foundation.
The Beauty Myth She’d Like To Debunk:
I want people to know that makeup is great, but skincare is essential.
Her Top Beauty Tips:
June Ambrose reached out to me one day and was like, ‘Kim, I’m getting puffs under my eyes. What do I do?’ And I said, ‘go take a spoon, wet it, put it in the refrigerator and put the back of it under the eyes.’ She called me back and was like, ‘oh my God, this works.’ Sometimes you wake up with that nasty puffiness. This gets rid of it.
I also walk around the house using a vibrator on my face. It helps with blood flow. Tyra Banks was staring at me one day and she was like, ‘I’ve got to ask you, what are you doing for your skin?’ And I explained to her that I take a vibrator and I put it all over my face and I just keep it there while I’m watching TV. I was talking to a friend of mine who’s a dermatologist, and she was saying that it’s actually a really great idea. She said, because what it does is it allows the blood to circulate and helps stimulate the collagen, and de-puff.
How She Uplifts Her Clients:
Throughout my career, I’ve come across women that weren’t confident—ones that I thought were beautiful, and they’d be like, ‘oh, I’m so ugly.’
Then, I would start playing around with their makeup, and you’d see them change and transform. And that’s when I fell in love with makeup. I was like, oh, wait a minute. Something’s going on here. I fell out of love with modeling because modeling was all about me and how I looked.
Instead, I wanted every woman to feel good because every woman has something beautiful about herself. Makeup also allows you to be intimate in conversation with people because you’re right in their face.