Conversations with Selena Polgardy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Selena Polgardy.

Hi Selena, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Hi there! My name is Selena Polgardy, I’m a cosmetics/permanent makeup artist working primarily in Nashville, TN. I also have locations in both Northern and Southern California. My parents, and my sister who is a hair and makeup artist, played a huge role in fueling my creativity. As the daughter of a film producer and nurse, I grew up surrounded by the film and television industry. This served as the key ingredient in setting me on my creative path while still being able to help others.

Although I knew what I wanted to do, it never seemed to be exactly what I envisioned. I had a lot of hard lessons I had to learn while I was growing up. My mother, who was single at the time I was attending college, helped put me through school with a focus on business, to ensure that I always would have something to fall back on. I found that that business degree helped me in more ways than I thought in my creative pursuits. It took a lot of dedication, late nights studying, and sometimes thinking about if what I was doing would ever get me anywhere, but I’m glad I stuck with it. It taught me to always finish what I start, and this helped me figure out what I wanted and did not want to do.

I’m from the good old east coast, but grew up in Burbank, California. After graduating from college, I worked for multiple makeup companies and learned the ins and outs of the makeup business from the ground up. Utilizing that experience, I decided to take a leap of faith and pursue my business (dream) full time. Having very little money after paying bills, I was living on a vision and prayer, and I created my permanent makeup business and cosmetics line in hopes to be a better brand.

I worked like a mad scientist in my mother’s small house in Tennessee, coming up with different formulas and figuring out what ingredients and materials to use. I had different altruistic goals than some of the big-brand companies. I wanted my products to be cleaner and more multi-use than what was available from the mainstream brands, and the only way to do that is to do it yourself. After working so hard, my makeup and lashes can now be seen on celebrities and beloved supporters.

I have always been determined to be my own boss. My father taught me how important it is to hustle and stick with it if I want to succeed. I learned that I had to work hard for it and not depend on other people to accomplish my goals.

I started my “Giving Their Glam Back” program, where I offer discounts and giveaways for free permanent makeup eyebrows and help teach makeup and skincare tips, tricks, and techniques to cancer survivors and warriors. My inspiration for this program was the loss of my grandfather, my dad’s dad, who died before I was born from melanoma (dark moles that become cancerous). I also was inspired by losing one of my mom’s best friends to breast cancer, and my mom getting surgery for basal cell cancer on her face. Dealing with all of these stressful events really impacted me. I even had my own scare with a questionable mole where I had to have surgery to take it out. I thought, how can I do something special with these things in mind, and that has always been the driving force behind my “Giving Their Glam Back” program and my desire to help people feel good about themselves with my permanent makeup and cosmetics services.

I always knew I wanted to do something that would allow me to help others and make a meaningful impact on people’s lives, and I am happy to report that I’ve been able to do that with my company, Glam by Selena.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Seeing how my clients respond to my work is extremely fulfilling. Everyone takes something like having eyebrows for granted. It wasn’t until I completed my first few interviews where they asked my clients how they felt after, and I cried. I truly realized the impact my work had on others.

I felt like giving up in 2020 when I lost one of my biggest supporters, Dana, to cancer. It was a difficult time working with anyone undergoing cancer treatments, especially with the risks of Covid-19. I made the decision to put everything on hold. Sometimes I feel like I still should have taken the risk with Dana, because she wanted eyebrows so badly. I was depressed for a while because of that. Since then, I not only do permanent makeup on survivors, but I do them on warriors as well, as long as they are cleared by their doctor.

I’m still learning, I don’t think you ever truly stop learning. I love what I do, even when it gets hard at times. Sometimes when giving back to people, people may not be nice in return, but you may be the one person to help change that for them, to make them feel that there is still good out there with all the bad in this world.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am known for brows, sunless tans, lips, lashes, and more.

Permanent makeup allows me to help people have makeup that doesn’t wash off at the end of the day. It lets me help people who don’t know how to apply makeup or don’t want to apply it every day. I like to contour and enhance people’s natural beauty to accentuate their faces and body shapes. My cosmetics line helped fuel my visions and what I would want to personally use as a makeup artist and teach others how to use.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Take the risk if you feel it in your heart. Even if you fail, get back up again. Those wins and failures helped me in so many ways, even though it was not apparent at times. My family, animals, good friends, loving what I do, and health are what matter most to me. The success of my business is icing on the cake. This journey has been tough but rewarding. There will always be “challenges” and “risks” in life, but they do help make you stronger. I’ve come to realize I like quality over quantity, and I am a small brand that’s still growing. “Glam by Selena” will always be growing!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: glambyselena.com
• Instagram: @glam_by_selena
• Facebook: glam.by.selena

Image Credits
Katrina Guevara
Nicky Hilton Model