Sask. makeup artist trying to break barriers in the industry
Breanna Pijnenburg is a local makeup artist born with scoliosis, she's paralyzed from the waist down but she isn’t letting her disability hold her back from her goal.
“I loved makeup ever since I was 12. My cousin was the first person do ever do my makeup. I say professionally because I felt really good,” said Pijnenburg with a laugh.
Pijnenburg currently operates out of the Guild Studios after being certified as a makeup artist through MC College.
"My ultimate goal is to have my own makeup brand."
She said she learned a lot of what she knows from YouTube videos. Pijnenburg identifies as Cree.
“It’s important to have people that look like you in the industry,” said Pijnenburg. “I have never seen anybody in a wheelchair, like ever in the industry so I want to change that. I want to make this the new normal.”
Creating that change while in a wheelchair has come with difficulties.
“It’s tough because the world around you isn’t accessible so you kind of have to go with the flow and make your world accessible,” said Pijnenburg. “I make the changes I need to have, like a little short stool and like a little bigger room and have clients come to me.”
On Sunday Guilt Studios hosted a styled-makeup shoot to showcase Pijnenburg's makeup skills with models of diverse backgrounds.
“I feel like if you have like a difference about you, you can definitely make that your way to stand out. It doesn’t have to be a negative.”
Laura Jones is one of the models participating in the shoot who describes herself as a curvy model.
“The purpose of this shoot is to be able to really almost see diversity as normal,” said Jones. “Breanna is a friend of mine and an amazing makeup artist. She is showing that there no limits in terms of what you can do with your talent.”
Proving age can’t hold her back Lois Unger is another model participating in the shoot.
“I am overwhelmed by Breanna's enthusiasm and what she has done. She works from a chair, doing makeup, professional makeup and it looks amazing.”
Pijnenburg hopes the next stage of her career involves heading to Vancouver to work to attend the Blanche Macdonald Centre’s makeup school.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
Ontario coroner to investigate death of man who suffered cardiac arrest while waiting in ER
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.