Laura is a NYS licensed esthetician and professional makeup artist with over nine years of experience in her industry. After earning her AA in Liberal Arts, Laura was ready to take her education to the next level. A passion for creativity, customer service, and lifelong love of makeup and skincare led her to The Beauty School of Middletown, from which she graduated in the top of her class in 2012.

From here, Laura began working as a makeup artist and eyebrow specialist while she completed her BA in English/Creative Writing at the University at Albany. She has since blended her passion for the beauty industry with her love of writing to create various blogs for businesses on social media. She quickly realized her love of on-location wedding day makeup and enjoys being immersed in the happy vibes and high energy of the wedding prep. With almost a decade of experience in esthetics and makeup artistry, she has created hundreds of makeup looks for women of all ages, ranging from soft and natural bridal makeup to more theatrical designs for editorial work.

Laura proudly worked as an esthetician and manager at Spa Broadway at the White Sands in Troy NY for two and a half years. In 2021, after tragically losing the building to a devastating fire, Laura was determined to rise from the literal ashes - she decided to take a leap of faith and open her very own skincare and makeup studio: Dérive Esthetics & Makeup. Dérive is a French word meaning “to drift”, or to go on a spontaneous or unplanned journey. Specifically, it means having faith that even if you drift, you will still end up on the right path. This new path, though quite literally unplanned, has given Laura a chance to start fresh after the set back and offer even more to her loyal clientele.

When not practicing her craft, Laura loves to travel, hike, garden, and cook with her husband in their quiet, countryside home. They love animals and they have a friendly little cat named Isabelle who you will surely hear about!

"Skincare is a journey & our skin is our true foundation. It will represent us our whole lives. As an esthetician & makeup artist, I will teach you how to properly care for your skin, through all it’s ups and downs, so that makeup becomes less of a necessity and more of an artistic expression." -Laura