Paula Heckenast’s career started the way a lot of good ones do: by accident. In 2006 she gave a friend a ride to a makeup school orientation and, on a whim, enrolled herself. She kept her office job while she learned the craft, then went full-time in 2012 — and never looked back.
What she built is deliberately different from the industry standard. City Lights does not charge extra for “add-ons” like lashes or skin prep — everything is included in the base service, because a luxury, red-carpet result should not be a series of upcharges. And her team is made up of full-time production artists, so the same long-lasting, camera-ready techniques used in television and film are applied to every client — makeup that holds through humidity, tears, and all-day events.
From Chicago, the agency has grown to Tampa Bay, Dallas, Greenville, and Daytona Beach — and now operates nationwide under Florida Talent Agency License TA1765. Along the way Paula has been featured on national television and in national editorial, launched “The Makeup Lesson Podcast,” and built a roster of beauty talent she represents for brand deals. Her driving purpose, in her own words, is empowering people to feel confident.