Our Story

Meet the owner and creator of Cultivated Beauty.

My name is Melissa Anderson. I am a happily married wife and mother of two beautiful kids. My passion for all things beauty started when I was a little girl and continued on as I got older. I became a self taught makeup artist and went to beauty school for a brief time. I realized that as much as I love making other women feel beautiful and empowered; beauty school just wasn’t my passion, so I dropped out. I began working in the banking industry, finding ways to help customers with their financial needs, but more importantly getting the opportunity to build relationships with customers.

Makeup for me was not only invigorating but relaxing as well. I could spend hours getting ready for absolutely no reason at all. After becoming a mom, I quickly realized that taking time for myself wasn’t always going to be easy. My sister began her journey in permanent makeup and in 2018 I decided to ask her to do my eyebrows. After years of feeling insecure without makeup (without brows), taking the leap into permanent makeup quickly became a life changing experience for me. The moment I looked in the mirror, there was a feeling that I honestly never knew I could feel. A confidence had been restored in my soul that I hid from everyone including myself. Waking up with beautiful brows was truly euphoric. Crazy right? Who would think that brows could make someone feel that intense of a feeling? I knew from that moment on that my goal would be to make other women feel that same confidence I felt.

My journey into the world of permanent makeup began that same year. I started as an artist at my sisters studio in Modesto and worked with several other great artists. After the 2020 pandemic, I decided it was finally time to open my own studio closer to home. If there is anything that Covid taught me, its that having a work-life balance was just as important to me as having a successful business.

You may wonder why I chose a hummingbird for my business logo and how that correlates to beauty. My mom died in January 2010 when I was only 22 years old. It was the absolute hardest loss I’ve ever faced in life. Losing my mom who was also my best friend has been really hard for me over the years. When I hit milestones in life that were supposed to be some supposed to be some of the happiest times, were also shadowed with sadness and grief because I didn’t have her here with me to enjoy those moments. Every so often when life got dark, just as I was thinking about her or talking to myself like I was talking to her; needing and praying for her love and guidance, a beautiful tiny little hummingbird would show up. One day after telling my sister about these encounters, she told me to look up the spiritual meaning of a hummingbird. Upon reading, I found that in many cultures and religions hummingbirds are considered “messengers from heaven”. Since then I have been able to find a little bit of peace to make up for that loss that never truly leaves, because I know that she is always with me. Creating my logo with a hummingbird is my way of having her with me and a part of this business that I am so incredibly proud of and truly love doing.

I am so grateful for all of the continued love and support from family, friends and clients in this journey. Thank you for choosing me to be your artist and thank you for supporting our business.

-Melissa Anderson