Paige Padgett
Green Beauty Expert
Reflecting her diverse multicultural background, Paige Padgett has never fit into a particular mold. She follows her instincts and her heart. At the age of 12, she announced to her family that she was no longer eating red meat, despite the fact that her half-Cherokee grandfather was a cattle rancher. So when she got older, it wasn't surprising that when beauty experts said she couldn't use safe and eco-friendly makeup and still create beautiful faces, she set out to prove them wrong — and did. Paige has never been afraid to go against the grain.
As Paige grew up in Modesto, California, she was creatively influenced by her mother — her first beauty icon and a great source of inspiration. "I watched her put on smoky eye makeup, platinum wigs, and fabulous dresses to go out dancing," Paige remembers. "She was a great dancer. She was so beautiful."
Paige was especially close to her aunt, who was one of the top hair stylists in Fresno. Paige spent countless hours at her salon. "My aunt gave me the trendiest haircuts, and my favorite thing to do was to sit for hours at the makeup counter and play with colors. It was magical. It was there, at age 12, that I learned my first makeup secret — how to pop the brow bone with fuchsia eye shadow. It was the Eighties, and makeup was bold."
At age 18, while working as an editorial assistant for Palm Springs Life Magazine, Paige was given a shot at doing the makeup for an editorial piece. She didn't know it then, but it was a defining moment in her career. While working for the magazine, Paige decided she wanted to become a journalist. For the next few years, she pursued that dream, working in print, radio, and television news. But Paige quickly found that corporate America wasn't for her. She wanted to be more creative and be an entrepreneur. Most of all, she wanted an education. "I knew I wanted an entreprenurial lifestyle in a creative industry, but I felt it was important to get a degree first. Education has always been a priority for me."
She moved to Los Angeles to begin her studies, and in 1997 started to put herself through UCLA. She enrolled in classes within the world arts and cultures department, where she concentrated on dance and cultural studies.
After graduating from UCLA with a bachelor of arts degree in 2000, she went on to get her aesthetician's license. She spent four years at the Piero Salon in Santa Monica, specializing in eyebrow sculpting and makeup. It was at Piero that Paige decided to return to her love of color, fashion, and makeup and began doing makeup professionally.
In the next few years, Paige honed her makeup artistry skills as a freelance artist for Bobbi Brown and Smashbox; she also did fashion shows for Diane von Furstenberg, Badgley Mischka, and Agent Provocateur and catalog, advertising, and commercial work for Nike, Gateway, Sony, the National Dairy Council, Libertas, and Zola Hats.
In 2005, while working on a photo shoot for fashion designer Randolph Duke's book, THE LOOK — A Guide to Dressing From the Inside Out, Paige was already planning her own "green" cosmetic line. After seeing Randolph Duke's success on the Home Shopping Network, she mentioned her makeup idea to him. As luck would have it, Duke was already in talks with HSN for a makeup line. He brought Paige on as a consultant, and they launched "The Look Book" makeup kit by Randolph Duke in April 2006 on HSN. She offered her expertise in trend prediction, forecasting, and color selection, and created the looks that tie in each palette to Randolph Duke's clothing collections. The all-in-one-kit included nine eye shadows, two blushes, and three lip glosses. All 1,500 kits sold out in less than eight minutes. The palette for May was also extremely successful and led to the creation of four more palettes for fall 2006.
In spring 2007, Paige was approached by one of her clients to do makeup for the gorgeous, show-no-mercy trainer Jillian Michaels on NBC's hit reality show The Biggest Loser. The following season, Paige became the show's key makeup artist and began doing makeup for trainer Bob Harper as well. Her relationship with Jillian grew, and Paige became her personal makeup artist.
Paige creates luminous, polished faces on which the makeup is diffused and the features appear soft and youthful. Her signature look is monochromatic with contrasting textures juxtaposed on the skin. To get the dewy, reflective look for which she is so recognized, she works with creams, gels, and glosses. "By layering them the face becomes dynamic," she says. Known for her eco-friendly beauty expertise, fresh artistry, outgoing personality, and strong work ethic, Paige is consistently in demand for consulting and artistry for print, television, runway, and red carpet events.
< Back to Jillian's Wellness Team Page