Arenas ’94 Forges Career in TV, Film, and Stage Makeup

After graduating from Chatham Hall, Arenas earned a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County then returned to the United Kingdom and completed her MBA at London Metropolitan University’s Guildhall School of Business and Law. During this time, she also trained at Greasepaint School as a makeup artist for film, TV, and stage.

“I’m excited about the limitless opportunities within makeup,” said Arenas, who is now based in Washington, D.C. with her husband, two sons, and pug. “You can travel, you can work locally, you can work on big or small budget - blockbusters or indie. There is print work, work as a personal artist, where you work with an actor and travel with them, fashion work, and commercial work. There are so many more options that I haven’t even touched upon!”

 

Arenas, who is an IATSE 798 makeup artist with the Beauty Expert Group, LLC., has recently worked on American Crime Story: Impeachment, Dopesick, Without Remorse, and Who Is America? Her recent commercial work includes spots for Peloton, McCormick, and the Department of Homeland Security. She has also had her work included in the Financial Times, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, British and American Vogue, and the August 2021 cover of InStyle Magazine. 

 

“Don’t be afraid to take a non-traditional career path,” she said when asked for advice to today’s students. “Get a degree in something but try to make it something you really enjoy. Try everything. Trust your gut. Travel. Live abroad. Listen to David Bowie. Listen to all kinds of music. Don’t be afraid to fail. We all fail, it’s how you get up after that counts. Tell people that you love them. If something you tried doesn’t work out, you can quit or walk away. You don’t have to make anyone but yourself happy. Be generous with your time and help other people as best you can. And if you want a future in makeup, please know this is a robust industry and you CAN make money doing this!”

 

For Arenas, her time at Chatham Hall was a big influence on her life after high school.

“My time at Chatham Hall was magical indeed,” she said. “It was especially wonderful because I could share my last year with my little sister, Justine Slaybaugh ’97, who started as a freshman when I was a senior. The School influenced my life in many ways. I am still in touch with many of the incredible women I went to school with, and I am constantly grateful for their enduring love and friendship more than anything else. This is truly the definition of Esto Perpetua.”

 

More about Arenas and her work can be found at www.alexisarenas.com.