The Makeup Within: A Powerhouse Salon and Spa Expands Their Milton Location
“I kind of say my job is beautifying the outside but encouraging the inside. So it's really building that inner beauty, and that's where The Makeup Within came from.” - Dianna Kennedy, owner of The Makeup Within (Photo courtesy of Kennedy)
By Mead Gill - #SupportBlackBusiness
Dianna Kennedy is a woman of many facets. Between being the reigning Mrs. Washington Curvé 2025 and a committed wife and mother of seven children, she owns and operates a full-service salon and spa, The Makeup Within Beauty Studios in Milton.
Opened in 2018, The Makeup Within represents a conglomerate of thriving beauty specialists operating under one roof, dedicated to upholding Kennedy’s values of diversity, faith, and internal beauty. Amidst her current renovations of a third space in Milton, she aims to spread her powerful perspective on beauty and business.
Encouraging External and Internal Beauty
Motivated by the transformations in attitude she witnesses in customers, Kennedy provides a variety of opportunities for women to foster confidence and redefine their internal makeup through external beauty services.
“I kind of say my job is beautifying the outside but encouraging the inside,” Kennedy said. “So it's really building that inner beauty, and that's where The Makeup Within came from.”
The Makeup Within began a decade and half ago as merely Kennedy’s Instagram handle until developing into the official title of her business in 2018. Through this evolution, she remained dedicated to giving customers the chance to leave their struggles at the door and undergo physical and emotional transformations to help them tackle their lives with tenacity.
“People come in with heaviness, and they leave encouraged, with a smile on their face,” Kennedy said. “It's really the connections, the partnerships, the just the joy of everybody's going through something.”
An Incubator Space for Small Beauty Businesses
The Makeup Within is first and foremost a network of unique beauty specialists that sublease operational space from Kennedy. All service providers involved are independent contractors in partnership with Kennedy and align with the deep-seated values she brings to her work.
“I'm looking for diversity, I'm looking for integrity, I'm looking for someone amazing at their craft, obviously, and I'm looking for somebody to be their own boss,” Kennedy said about her priorities in finding business partners.
The Makeup Within is made up of diverse specialists ranging from Hispanic, Black, and Vietnamese backgrounds, with nearly half of the contractors being Ukrainian. The 30 current contractors provide services from nails, hair, lashes, Botox, injections, and other medical esthetic needs.
Among this flourishing network is Kennedy’s personal business The Brow Blueprint, with services focused on brow waxing, tinting, laminating, and permanent makeup. Working in the same location enables Kennedy to work alongside her subletters as not just their boss, but as a business partner.
Motivated By Family and Faith
Led by a commitment to her family, Kennedy faces her professional endeavors with an inspiring go-getter mentality, dedicated to setting a steadfast example for her children. “Mainly because I'm a mom, I think I have more of a drive,” Kennedy said, explaining that her goals aim to create a better life for her kids above all else.
Kennedy’s service to her family is intertwined with her Christian faith, which she leans on through the unpredictable nature of business and life. A foster parent since last September, she and her husband recently took in a 14-year-old girl from their church in need of a home, a demonstration of her passion for providing whatever she can.
“If there's something for me, I'm going to say yes, because I didn't go out and seek the foster thing,” Kennedy said, expressing gratitude for the support from her business and family that allowed her to fill her capacity to serve the community to the brim.
From Pageants to Prospering Business
Before the salon existed, “The Makeup Within” was solely the name of her pageant platform, eventually evolving the title into the powerhouse salon and spa she operates today.
“Even knowing where I was 13 years ago and knowing where I am now, I'm a completely different person,” Kennedy said reflecting on her pageant experience, comparing her own transformation to that of her customers.
Woven into her business endeavors, her pageantry is a platform to spread the values of The Makeup Within across the country. As the current Mrs. Washington Curvé, she will compete in June for the national title of Mrs. US of A Curvé with the hopes of competing internationally if she wins.
“The pageants offer me opportunities…to plant that seed,” Kennedy said, excited to present what she stands for at the upcoming national competition.
Obstacles Hindering Black Entrepreneurial Women
Despite her success in expanding The Makeup Within year after year, Kennedy expressed a strong sentiment of inequity facing Black female business owners.
“We have to work harder as women. I feel like sometimes as men, especially in the corporate world, it might be a little easier for them. And even I would say people respect men a little bit more even in the entrepreneur world,” Kennedy said, working through the worry of being the target of financial manipulation or simply not being taken seriously.
As a Black woman, Kennedy described a societal demand of her to stay strong in the face of adversity. “We really have to be strong. It’s like that typical strong Black woman, but we have to be. We don’t have a choice but to be because of the challenges we’re faced [with],” she said.
The Search for Capital Funding
Through the chaos of Covid emerged a silver lining for The Makeup Within: increased financial resources that allowed Kennedy to continue her operation with significantly less negative impact on her bottom line. Since Covid’s decline, additional financial resources are limited, forcing The Makeup Within to move slower toward expansion.
“I would definitely say access to capital is [a challenge]. I wish there were more avenues for that,” Kennedy said.
Expanding the Milton Location
The Makeup Within encapsulates three operational spaces within the Milton location. Kennedy’s full-service salon operates below a 3,000 square foot spa suite upstairs, with a second spa unit about to open.
As the third space undergoes renovations before its official opening, she is excited to help impact an even larger community of people in need of her impactful services.
“I think that people make life a little more difficult [than] it has to be, and it’s pretty simple,” Kennedy said. “I want people to love people, and love people where they’re at. That’s the biggest thing.”
The Makeup Within Beauty Studios
2748 Milton Way #121
Edgewood, WA 98354
Email: dianna@themakeupwithin.com
Phone: (206) 606-3131
Instagram: @themakeupwithin
Facebook: The Brow Blueprint
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