What the What!?!

There are some really crazy lies and rumors being spread on the internet about me and if I didn't know any better and was a follower of myself, I might start wondering too. What's really crazy to me is that there are these people who seem to devote their entire days to setting up multiple accounts on Facebook and YouTube, complete with fake names and pictures so they can comment multiple times on everything I do or to get traffic to their hate or gossip sites.  It's kinda creepy. My friends say I should be flattered that they devote so much time to me, I think it's just sad.

The creepiest part is that some of these people are going so far as to blow up images I've posted to get information such as addresses in backgrounds to see where I am and some have even gone so far as to call the airlines I was flying on because I showed a ticket stub in a photo to try to find out where I was seated on a plane. I don't know if they were trying to see if I was flying first class or what. All I can say is if I was flying first class I would blog about it because I would be so excited. The creepster who blew up the picture out the window of the hotel where I was staying was so excited to proudly post that they had hunted down where I was at and posted that the hotel cost over three hundred dollars a night. I'm excited to burst this person's bubble and share one of my most exciting travel tips with you. I love saving money and finding bargains, whenever I travel I use Priceline.com and their "Name Your Own Price" feature. You never know what hotel you're going to stay at until you enter your credit card info and agree to pay the amount you have selected. I've been able to stay at some awesome hotels this way for the same price I'd pay to stay at some dumpy hotel on the Sunset Strip with cockroaches in it. I bet I just sounded like a commercial for Priceline.com there, but seriously since my friend told me about this it's the only thing I use now when I need to travel. You should try it.

These people are ready to viciously attack anything I work on, for instance, I recently was featured on the InStyle magazine website and one of these people fired off a letter to InStyle magazine telling them I'm not a real make up artist but a scam artist and a liar and all kinds of awful things. This upset their web person so much, that without checking with the editors or me about these accusations, they immediately pulled all my info down. All because this person said they wouldn't buy their magazine anymore because they featured Kandee Johnson. I can't believe someone would hate me so much to go to such lengths to try to ruin me or hurt me.

I even blogged about my friend Bethanie and one of these "haters"  did their "investigating" and posted her divorce papers on one of their online. This is ridiculously uncalled for, just because they "hate" me, they posted my friends divorce papers!?! Who does this?!

I have been dealing with haters for over 2 years now... I never thought I would have to devote so much time to defending myself. I think the only thing left to attack is if I really am a person and they would say i'm lying, and I made a photoshop version of a birth certificate! Many of you already know the truth but for many others I want to share the truth with you.


I love all my supporters, all of your kind words and encouragement mean the world to me...my heart even goes out to each "kandee hater" who's eyes are reading this.

I devote so much of my time and heart into not just make-up videos....make-up is fun and great, and I love that it's been my career for over 10 years (more on that later)...
but my true passion and heart is not to show you the latest lipgloss but to go beyond that as I have been so honored to empower girls and guys, encourage people and bring a little happiness into your day in a world that loves to say what's wrong with something instead of what's great. People are quicker to complain than compliment....except for my sweet Kandee family of followers!


Here's the wide range of attacks, accusations, and crazy lies:

I'm ugly:
well that's your opinion.... beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I don't "dress my age":
I've never seen a rule book about what age you need to dress like what....if I want to be 60 years old with pink hair and platinum dreadlocks like Betsy Johnson, I believe everyone is free to dress how they want whether you're really conservative or crazy creative.
That I'm a stripper:
Are you serious?!? (insert uncontrollable laughter)
That I have had Botox:
Just take a look at my forehead in any of my videos, have you seen how I crinkle my forehead. If they knew me, they would know of my deathly fear of needles. Never did and no Botox now or ever for me.
People said they see rats running around in the background of my videos:
Just to set the record straight, I have no pet rats or wild rats running through my house. (insert even more uncontrollable laughter)

I could go on, and it would probably make you laugh, and this post would take 5 hours to read.

To bigger accusations: 

" Kandee doesn't have a cosmetology license":

You're darn right, I don't have one anymore! I let that thing expire...I don't ever want to work in a salon doing hair again! (I admire all people who love doing hair, it's just not for me.) Keep in mind, you don't need a "cosmetology license to do Freelance Make Up."


I attended and graduated from Beauty school (beauty school can be awful, mean girls, and I couldn't stand doing perms or pedicures...) but I graduated..and thanks to the "haters" who are harassing everyone I've ever had anything to do with, I will not release the name to protect the owner of the school from being attacked, I think the world of her and her school.

It's so unbelievable to me, that someone has even contacted the State Board of Cosmetology to start an "investigation of me."
I've done nothing that concerns the State Board of Cosmetology, I would NEVER and have NO DESIRE TO EVER teach anything having to do with Cosmetology. State Board only regulate Cosmetology schools, salons, spas, cosmetologists, manicurists (nail techs), estheticians and I am none of the above.

If this were true that you needed a license to teach make-up or even do a hair tutorial, EVERY person doing hair or make-up tutorials on Youtube would be in violation! This is ridiculous!

COSMETOLOGY (as defined by the English Dictionary) ~

the work of beauty therapists, including hairdressing, facials, manicures, etc

"You're not a licensed make-up artist":
You're right. I'm not. There is no such thing as a "licensed make-up artist" in the professional free-lance world of make-up. Not one well-known make-up artist, nor most of the entire make-up artist Union for Hollywood Films & TV has a license or even formal make-up education.


 Kevyn Aucoin - no formal make-up education, self taught make-up genius who's worked for VOGUE and on everyone from Janet Jackson to Cher and wrote one of my favorite books, Making Faces. No license.

Pat McGrath - incredible artist of make-up amazement, who's worked for global Vogue publications and is the creative director for Max Factor and Cover Girl...totally self taught, no license.

Billy Brasfield- make-up artiste extraordinaire...he is credited as being a major influence for Kevyn Aucoin, as well as a long list of all the famous people he's worked on, most recently Lady Gaga's videos and any of her "glamorous" looks...self taught, no license.


"you're not licensed to teach make-up":
You're right I'm not.
But you don't need a license to teach make-up.
If you needed a license to teach make-up, every make-up school from LA to NYC would be in violation.
I even recently talked to The Make-Up Designory's director who confirmed teachers of freelance make up do not need to be licensed. 
Do you need a license to teach make-up?
Her reply: "No, you don't need to have a license to teach something you don't even need a license for! None of our teachers are licensed Cosmetologists!"
She laughed and told me she had been getting lots of calls from people that obviously have no make-up experience or have no idea how the make-up industry works, asking the same question.

Even the NV State Board of Cosmetology (where I once had my license) said they have no jurisdiction over freelance make up artists or teachers of.

*Most all the beauty gurus on youtube would be in violation if you weren't allowed to teach people your make-up techniques or application.
* MAC cosmetics would be in violation for teaching make-up classes (which they do at their Pro Stores, for Pro Card holders)

In case anyone still might be confused, you do NOT need to be a licensed Cosmetologist to teach or demonstrate make-up. You only need to be a licensed cosmetologist to teach Cosmetology in a Cosmetology school. I know, my grandmother was a licensed cosmetologist, who not only worked in and owned her own salons, but taught Cosmetology at one of the premiere Cosmetology schools in Los Angeles.

I never said I was a licensed cosmetologist teaching a make-up class that would certify you to be a licensed cosmetologist. I never promoted the Glaminars as a place to get licensed as a cosmetologist.


"your certificates are not valid"
Valid for what? The certificates I gave out at the Glaminars were only an attendance certificate. Proof you attend the seminar not a license or a certificate for higher education. I never said you'd be receiving a cosmetology license, or a license for anything. I've attended workshops that provided me with a certificate, all it certifies is that I attended the class.  A certificate of attendance doesn't need to be governed by any organization, this was not a university course with credits, it was a seminar. And you can list classes, seminars, workshops on any bio or resume. I didn't have a certificate when I started in freelance make up, it's nice to have but not necessary. Please refer back to the stories of the Freelance Make Up artists like Kevyn Aucoin etc.


"you're a scam and a fraud"
Everything I've explained today proves I'm neither a scam or a fraud. But I know that these haters are determined and will continue to say all things like this twisting everything I say and do.


I started the Glaminars to teach you what you need to know to get started, to give you both the inspiration and encouragement and the tools you need to launch your career. The Glaminars were so much more than make-up...they

ignited confidence and restored hope in their dreams, they learned how to succeed in the make-up industry, and to be confident in not just make-up, but life. So many said this is what was so priceless to them. Many shared with me how they've been able to launch their Freelance Make Up Careers, filling their calendars with wedding events, working on films, or proudly landing their first magazine cover featuring their make up artistry.

"you don't have a portfolio to prove your work":
You're right. I've been a make-up artist for over 10  years. I haven't needed a portfolio for years. (I did have postcards made up to show my before and after work on brides, when I did bridal make-up in the past.)
I used to have an old school portfolio book with real photographs to take to clients and agents when I first started out. My name got established with producers, art directors and ad agencies and I soon got all my work from referrals and word of mouth.


"you only have one movie listed on imdb":
you're right. I don't have a manager or talent agent like most people on imdb, that wants to update or hunt down each episode number of each show I've worked on. I don't want to promote myself that way , which is why cast and crew promote everything they can on imdb.  I just recently turned a movie shoot down, I don't want to work 18 hour days on movies. It's time for that to be someone else's dream.
Imdb doesn't let you list commercials, print work, fashion shows, or red carpet events or even celebrity or special event make-up jobs.

"you're not a real make-up artist":
(a pause as I laugh at all this non-sense people have come up with...ha ha)
I've worked for many great companies and shows including (here's just a few): VH1/MTV (who I first worked for 2001 I believe), MGM, NBC, Entertainment Tonight, Honda, Visa, VANS, Cabbage Patch Kids, The Tonight Show and many more including press junkets for movies like Hot Tub Time Machine that I even filmed a video of working on set, but I've never edited it, as well as being head make-up artist for fashion shows, including a Rachel Roy show that I even blogged about.
(and no I don't have pictures of all my work. Many jobs make you sign Confidentiality papers, so you can't talk about a project. And when I first started blogging, I blogged some behind the scenes pictures of some jobs I was working on and found out you can't do that. Also certain photographers won't allow you the rights to use their images. And I haven't cared because I don't need a portfolio to get work or anything. Some sets have a "no photography rule, no camera phone pictures either to protect everyone, some don't, it all depends on the production.)
Here's some of the only pictures I have working with celebrities and on some make-up jobs (I don't have more because I am usually working and not taking pictures.)

Me with an actor, and one of my favorite Special FX Make-Up Artists and friend on set, Thom Suprenant (we've worked on another commerial together)

Conan O'Brien being funny, "putting blush on me" after I finished doing his make-up (he does his own hair quite well) for an episode of The Tonight Show.

me with legendary news anchor, Connie Chung, after doing her make-up...I don't even remember who this was for, Good Morning America or 20/20, I can't remember, but she was amazingly kind.

on the set of a commercial I was doing make-up on...

me with a fellow make-up artist at the Rachel Roy show, playing around in between models

me with the notorious, Janice Dickinson...fresh off the trail from America's Next Top Model, after we finished her make-up in her hotel room.

and I think this is the only other picture I have on my computer in my "work" file...
of Crispin Glover from Alice In Wonderland (I think he was the mean-queen's right hand guy.) and of course, he was the dad in Back to the Future. I was waiting for him to finish his hair then I did his make-up.

and this beautiful woman is not famous in the world's eye, but she was more important than a celebrity to me...she was the sweetest lady from a women's shelter in LA...at a red carpet event that she got to attend...that I had volunteered to do make-up for.

I am not in the business of defending a bunch of lies and accusations..people have attacked everything about me from how I dress, to my kids to why I blog about them...

I started my blog about being a mom way before I started my make-up blog or youtube...I was inspired by the nieniedialogues, Stephanie Nielson who blogged about being a mom, then was tragically involved in a plane crash and was severely burned. I wanted to have a blog that showed how much I love to being a mom, let my family see what we were doing (since I don't live near my sister and other family), and to share how to enjoy and love being a mama. That was how I started blogging...

To wrap all this up....

I proudly DO NOT have to have a Cosmetology license

You DO NOT need a  COSMETOLOGY or any kind of license to teach make-up

You DO NOT need a license of ANY kind to be a freelance make-up artist

(all the famous make-up artists would be doing make-up illegally if that was the case!)

The Glaminars were not a SCAM taught by someone that wasn't licensed...

The Glaminars were a life changing event for a lot of girls and guys...

I'm so happy that they offered so much more than just make-up tips...

that is the part that I hope continues to touch, change, and encourage their hearts.

huge love, kandee

If anyone wants to hear my response to all the previous attacks and accusations, you can click here and watch my really lengthy video explaining all the other things people previously attacked me for.