I am Katrina Walker a 44 year old mother of 2 wonderful children Angel (18) and Jaelynn (23). I am the owner and makeup artist at Enhancements by Katrina Makeup Suite in Columbus Georgia. I was raised in both Columbus and Phenix City. I am a product of Mother Mary Mission Catholic School and a Central High School alumnus forever carrying the title “Miss Central High School ‘95”. Most people know me through my parents Martha Hollis and my father the late Gus Walker of the famous Gus’s Diner in Phenix City, Alabama. I am the baby of my siblings who are all entrepreneurs as well. Before my career began, I was in a car accident in 1999 that nearly cost me my life but yet I survived with great commitment in figuring out my purpose in life. Suffering a fractured C-Spine and other complications I was determined to get my life back on track and I did.
Before the makeup I took ownership of my father’s business and ran it successfully for 8 years until I decided I could no longer allow my father’s dream to be the weight on my shoulders. I struggled with the decision until I gave it all I had in prayer and decided that it would be the best move for me and my children. I always wanted to help people, so my business venture was a personal care home. I was never afraid to invest in myself and take risks so with that came consequences of failure. I took a loss, but I gained knowledge at the same time. I found my place in helping others that had a desire to open a personal care home and I helped them with their licensing process. I have helped several other personal care homes open in the Columbus area in the past 10 years. Beyond my 18 years of entrepreneurship I’m a college graduate with a Master of Science Degree in Human Behaviors and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. I have been employed with the state of Georgia for the past 12 years focused on advocating for youth as a Mental Health Clerk, General Population Counselor, Child Protective Services Investigator, Sex Offender Treatment Coordinator and my current position Sex Offender Treatment Specialist. I provide treatment to youth who have adjudicated charges of a sex offense with time to serve in a secure facility. Most people find it challenging to have a position where you must help a person that has caused such harm to a child. I look at it as helping a person who is also a child understand the nature of their offense and the cycle of behaviors while developing coping skills so that they can live a more healthy and productive life when they
return back to the community.
In 2014 while working as a Child Protective Services Investigator with the Department of Family and Children Services I suddenly had a vision and determination to shift my career into makeup. One of the common questions people would ask is “how did you get into makeup” and I always tell them about how my mother gave me a sponge to keep my skin free from oil and mood lipstick to add a little color to my lips in the 6th grade and the rest is history. I can remember by the 10th grade I was wearing Zuri cream to powder, blush mascara and lipstick every day to school. Makeup was a part of being a woman in my family and was extremely important in my daily routine. I wanted to share that experience with other women. I took that leap in 2014 and became a Mary Kay Consultant through the help of retired principal Brenda Byrd DeRamus. I would see Mrs. DeRamus in church on Sunday and she would always compliment my makeup and invite me to be a part of her team. I would always push it off thinking about having the pressure of selling products. I finally realized if I wore the product and people asked then I could tell them and share the makeup experience with them. I bought my first Mary Kay kit in June 2014 and carried myself as a walking build board wearing makeup daily while practicing on my niece Teasha Johnson weekly along with whoever would allow me to do their makeup. It’s now 7 years later and I am a well-established professional makeup artist in the Columbus area in a brick and mortar establishment focused on makeup services and my very own line of products. I love what I do, and I love the people that I encounter as a makeup artist. I have a current clientele that exceeds 300 faces a year for their special occasions, photoshoots, tutorials and weekly services. I service 10-13 bridal parties per year even with the pandemic. My business motto is “Makeup for Every Woman” ensuring that I am a diverse artist catering to every ethnicity. As business continues to grow you find yourself meeting people in separate careers but with the same mission. I have been fortunate enough to partner with some awesome people. I have added to my bridal services transportation courtesy of Kenya and Antoine Patterson of AK47 Transportation, cosmetology instructor Aisha Cambridge who allows me to share my expertise with her class as a makeup artist, local photographers such as Ajai Peoples, Hernandez Hubbard, James Frazier, Michele Powell Howard that refer their clientele for makeup services and local community activist Zeph Baker who has allowed me the experience as a set makeup artist.
I love everything that I do and how it touches people’s lives. I have extended my services as a makeup artist by offering makeup classes to those that desire to learn about the makeup business. The class is open to the public for a fee and I sponsor high school students preparing to graduate. My goal is to build a dynamic team and provide opportunity to those that would be able to blend with the level of professionalism that Enhancements by Katrina Makeup Suite represents. I have continued to ponder on how to merge my two careers and I have finally developed a program that would allow me to do that. I will soon be presenting “Mentor thru Makeup” a virtual program providing cognitive behavior therapy while engaging in makeup. It’s a passion to make others look and feel beautiful as well as helping others through their barriers that hold them back from living healthy and productive lives.