One week remains until the SLC Fanx, one of the country's most popular "Comic Cons". As the professional makeup artist for the event, I help celebrities prepare for their photo ops. With more than 75,000 tickets sold, it's set to be a significant year. I receive a call from the owners discussing who requested private makeup appointments, ones where I visit their luxury hotel room to prepare them from start to finish. This year's major A-lister was our beloved, Carrie Fisher. I was ecstatic, she asked for my services all three days of the show.
Growing up in a household with three brothers and no sisters, I developed a special passion for the female leads of Star Wars. Carrie Fisher and Natalie Portman became my idols. In my little world that was full of men I loved having something feminine and beautiful to relate to. I still to this day have my Queen Amidala barbie doll and my Princess Leia action figure from Return of the Jedi, who could have predicted what was ahead in my life adventure?!
Regardless of how personally excited my mini-me self was, I am an artist who offers the same luxurious experience to everyone, irrespective of their background or status, I approached this "gig" just like any other. I arrived with my best effort, utilized my expertise, and provided the same makeup artist treatment to a celebrity as I would to an "everyday person".
The day has arrived! It's 7am on a crisp January morning in 2015 in Salt Lake City. The sun rises over the snow-capped mountains, casting an orange glow that blends with the iridescent mountain backdrop. I knock on her door, and her manager Abe answers, a handsome man with a cute bulldog named Gary at his feet. He warmly invites me in, and Carrie appears, wearing a white fluffy robe, just as sweet as you'd imagine her to be. The atmosphere is immediately comfortable, and I can tell Carrie is genuine—a person just like the rest of us. Egoless, naturally beautiful, and charismatic.
All I remember from that first morning was that we didn't talk about Star Wars. Instead, we discussed her love for glitter, our shared passion for nail polish, her best friend and also dog Gary, and various other subjects. I had the honor of calling her Carrie without even thinking of her last name; Star Wars never came up in our conversations that morning. It was simply about connecting with an older, wiser, and beautiful woman, both inside and out.
It was our second day as she sat with a bowl of hot oatmeal for breakfast, pink carnations on the white table cloth between us and Gary at her feet with this grilled chicken on a silver saucer. That morning she expressed her gratitude for not mentioning her fame, appreciating that we were just friends getting to know each other and sharing this experience. She opened up to me, mentioning how difficult it had been for the world to see her as simply Carrie and not just Leia. For example; she faced major backlash when her body began to change from what it was in Return of the Jedi as a young 25 year old or struggling to book other roles because her face as Leia was "too iconic" they would tell her.
After I finished preparing her that day, to my surprise, she handed me a small jar of glitter, saying it was her favorite blend. It was copper and red tones with flecks of mermaid-like iridescence. I'll never forget that moment when she left the hotel room, before packing up I stood in silence, the glitter in my hand and took a breath, reflecting on the genuine sweetness of our connection and how we really don't know what's on the other side of someone's life. They say the grass is always greener on the other side, but I learn repeatedly that life is just life, and that gratitude and authentic human connection can be the most enriching parts of this life experience.
By the time we reached day 3 of the show, the natural energetic wear and tear was evident. If you've never attended a Con, imagine thousands of fans eager to take a photo with a celebrity and get an autograph—it's like a bajillion kids in one candy store, overwhelming for anyone. Carrie needed a break as she was running out of steam, and unexpectedly, she asked for me specifically to be by her side. I rushed into the private break room with a cookie and a diet coke, (her favorites), and we sat on the floor, hip to hip, leaning against the wall to rest. I can't recall the details of our conversation, but I remember rubbing her back as she took a moment to recharge. I admired in that moment that she didn't want to disappoint her fans and needed a pause to be at her best. Once again, her big heart showing through.
As the evening drew to a close, her manager Abe approached me to express his gratitude for my loving, calm nature and to convey how thankful both he and Carrie were for my sweet presence and beauty services, taking my business card on their way out. As they departed through the back door and waved goodbye in their black car service, the owner of FanX came up to me and remarked, "Wow, thank you for your natural maternalism." At that time, I was 24 years young and not fully aware of my feminine superpowers. This innate sense of care, nurture and motherly-type of self helped lay the groundwork for my career as a makeup artist. One who is trustworthy and safe, enabling clients to feel vulnerable, which in turn allows me to guide them to their most empowered, beautiful selves.
Fast forward to December 27, 2016, Christmas had just passed and I was making my holiday shopping sale rounds. I will always remember driving in my car at that exact moment, the glistening snow on the roads as I heard the breaking news about our loss of our world-wide beloved Carrie. Tears filled my eyes because I knew she was someone who truly tried to live a good, full life despite the challenges that come with great success. She persevered through so much as a young legend while also being raised in a unique environment. If you haven't seen the HBO special "Wishful Drinking," where Carrie performs a stand-up comedy routine about her life, I highly recommend watching it. You'll witness her affection for life + glitter and grasp the true essence of her warm personality, furthering the understanding of her one-of-a-kind hardships.
As a NYC makeup artist who has had the honor of working with multiple high-profile individuals, I continue to learn about the unknown burden fame can bring and the loneliness that often accompanies it. People are rarely interested in knowing the "real you", getting lost instead in your famous character and stardom. I always make sure I show up differently, giving celebrities a piece of a humanness so many of us have forgotten and also taken for granted.
Looking back now, ten years later, with a vast and wide range of makeup artist experience, I realize that in 2015, the world rarely celebrated the softer, more nurturing aspects of femininity—especially in professional spaces. Strength was often defined through a masculine lens: assertiveness, resilience, independence. But what I didn’t fully recognize at the time was that my ability to create a safe, caring space for others was its own form of strength. It wasn’t just about applying makeup; it was about offering comfort, stability, and warmth in a world that often demands unrelenting performance, especially from those in the spotlight.
Carrie saw that maternalism in me before I even understood it in myself. She acknowledged it not with grand gestures, but in the small, quiet moments—when she trusted me to be by her side, when she handed me that jar of glitter, when we sat on the floor, simply existing as two women who understood each other beyond words.
Today, discussions about femininity have progressed. There's a growing appreciation for the strength in gentleness and the quiet leadership that comes from nurturing. In the past, being maternal in a professional environment was often underestimated or seen as a weakness. I now realize it was never a weakness. It was, and continues to be, my superpower. Balancing my unique femininity with more masculine traits like managing a consistent and organized business can be tough, competitive, and in a rapidly changing industry has it's challenges, but it fuels my passion and livelihood. Thus, I continue the empowered journey of what being a makeup artist truly means to me.
Carrie embodied that duality as well—bold and fearless, yet deeply empathetic and real. And in those three days, I didn’t just do her makeup. I witnessed the magic of authentic human connection, the kind that lingers long after someone is gone.
The jar of glitter remains on my shelf today, a reminder of the woman who helped me embody my true femininity and the power within it.
Love you Carrie,
XO - Cami
To work with me for Event Makeup, Productions,
Photos or Private Makeup Lessons -
drop me a line at hello@camianntalbot.com
Beautifully written for an angel 😇
🥰
Thanks for sharing your world and your word.
We love Carrie! And we love Cami!
A great read. Thanks for sharing!!!