Before the advent of prominent beauty blogs, back when it was possible for makeup loving consumers to remain blissfully unaware of the celebrity artists behind the scenes, creating the iconic looks others would emulate – there was Roxanna Floyd, working tirelessly behind the scenes and paving the way for a new generation of makeup artists of color to follow.
In her career as a professional makeup artist, she racked up 11 impressive film credits under her belt, and reportedly over 200 magazine covers. She became known as the woman behind ever-inspiring beauty icons like Queen Latifah, Janet Jackson, Angela Bassett and Whitney Houston.
She worked in print, television, advertising campaigns, catalogues, and film. She was known as The Queen Of Natural – she was an expert in blending, in making foundation look flawless, and in creating naturally beautiful looks for her clients. Much of her work was done in the heyday of print, before the advent of websites, blogs and online archives. When you research Roxanna Floyd, not as much comes up as should – despite the fact that she paved the way for generations of makeup artists to follow.
Roxanna was perhaps most well known for her work with Whitney Houston.
She did all the makeup for It’s Not Right But It’s OK, Heartbreak Hotel, My Love Is Your Love, and I Look To You. Some of Whitney’s freshest, most sought after and emulated looks were created by Roxanna Floyd. She helped to create some of the memories that fans like myself like to hold on to.
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Roxanna Floyd passed away in 2010. From all of the online tributes I’ve read, she was a wonderful person. Sam Fine described her as a beacon of light who never failed to share an inspiring word. Tiffanie Dixon described her as deeply spiritual and a pillar of strength. She is deeply missed by those who knew her best. In her time here, Roxanna Floyd made an undeniable impression in her line of work, and in terms of inspiring black beauty.
For more on Roxanna Floyd, read on:
my post, via Rae Lewis Thornton’s blog. Roxanna did RLT’s makeup for that iconic Essence cover!
the Roxanna Floyd memorial Facebook page.
Thank you Roxanna Floyd, for what you did for black beauty.
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