Giulia Nazarie Hamilton
Boldly and Courageously Empowering Other Women
story by JENNIFER BROWN-CARPENTER photos by PAUL NURNBERG
Women crave connection. We all want to feel like someone understands us, that someone cares, that we are seen. In a world that is constantly focused on hustling and outdoing each other, it can be hard to find that. But not if you’ve sat in Giulia Nazare Hamilton’s make-up chair.
Giulia, also known as Gigi, was born in Italy. Her parents had moved there from Romania, and they lived there for a total of 15 years. They moved their family to the United States when Gigi was 5, with her dad on a work visa. He worked as an artist and sculptor; her mom has an electrical engineering degree. “I got a little bit of business from Mom and a little bit of art from Dad,” Gigi says. Gigi’s parents settled in Hamilton, New Jersey, which is a very artsy town.
Right after Gigi graduated high school, she knew the path she was on. Her brother’s girlfriend at the time was a make-up artist who had attended Make-up Designory School (MUD). Make-up Designory only has two campuses, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. MUD allows students to come and train under all different styles of make-up artistry. It prepares students to begin their journeys as make-up artists.
“It was a moment of truth for me; the heavens just opened up, and I knew I wanted to be a make-up artist.” Gigi toured the campus in New York and was immediately sold. She loved art and had been artsy her whole life, and this was a new and different medium.
Gigi completed the master’s program at Make-up Designory in New York, totaling about 812 hours. It was a make-up boot camp, Monday through Friday. They covered everything from corrective make-up to studio make-up, set hair styling, and special effects make-up. By the time she graduated, Gigi was creating with fiberglass and clay, molding prosthetics, and applying them to her model for a photo shoot that was added to her portfolio.
She was living in Brooklyn Heights at the time, continuing to work in New York. Her mom knew someone through work who had a daughter who was doing the type of work that Gigi was interested in: magazines, print work, and editorial-type work. Gigi decided to reach out to this woman, and after a year, she was able to start working with her. Through that mentorship, Gigi was able to collaborate with big names like Calvin Klein, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia magazine, V Magazine with Victoria’s Secret models, InStyle, Essence magazine, and more. “These shoots were so beyond what I had ever imagined,” Gigi said.
Gigi also spent time in Los Angeles and worked on the second season of a Hulu Original TV show called Freakish. It was a zombie show, which was a super fun experience for Gigi post-graduation.
Gigi met her husband, Evan, on Bumble dating app, and it was love at first sight. They got married a year after meeting, and a year after that, their daughter, Mila, was born. One year after Mila was born, their son, Bailey, was born. “It’s been chaotic family life ever since.” They moved to Beaufort while she was eight months pregnant with her son. Her husband is in the Marine Corps and is currently stationed in Beaufort, and they have been loving the Lowcountry life.
Since moving to Beaufort, Gigi has met and made connections with so many amazing artists and photographers. One of these is Mark Andrew Boudoir, where Gigi does hair and make-up during the week for their photo shoots. She will also be working with Nadia Hurtt Photography starting in the Spring. Gigi is also constantly island-hopping with different bridal hair and make-up teams. She stays busy with all this work. This was a pretty big pivot, changing from editorial and magazine-type work to primarily doing bridal make-up, but it’s been an incredible experience for Gigi so far.
When asked if living a more subdued Lowcountry life is as fulfilling as the hustle and bustle of living in New York and working on big-name magazines, Gigi says yes. “I wasn’t married when I lived in New York, and I didn’t have my kids. The city opens you up; it molds you and shapes you, so it was almost shocking to move to Beaufort and see how slow things move. But it was the necessary chapter I needed in my life. Not just for me, but for my whole family.” Gigi appreciates being able to step back from the hustle culture that was so prevalent in the city and have the chance to slow down and enjoy her work more.
Gigi’s favorite thing about Beaufort is the beaches. Each weekend, her family makes their way to Hunting Island to look for seashells and enjoy the break from the week. “It’s my peace each week.”
When Gigi first started working in the make-up industry, she swore she would never do bridal make-up. “I had heard all the horror stories and did not want to deal with bridezillas.” After meeting her husband, she was enamored with hearing everyone else’s love stories. She loves to hear how people met, whether it was love at first sight for them like it was for her and her husband, and all the unique details. The fact that she gets to play a part in that moment is such a beautiful experience. “When these brides are sitting in my chair, it’s the last few moments of them having some peace before the madness of the day. Being able to connect with them in that moment is just really magical.”
Bridal make-up provides more of a personal connection than you might find doing editorial or magazine work. “We’re part-time therapists,” Gigi laughs. “You could have just met me, but I’m here to show you the beauty that is already in you.” Gigi can connect with these individuals as women, wives, mothers, and go-getters who are just as busy as she is.
It has been a healing journey for Gigi as well. Gigi jumped right into working when her son was 3 to 4 months old, and it was so beautiful for her to have that connection with other women, whether they were older or younger, moms or not. It’s very easy to feel alone as a woman, especially as a mother, and even more so when you are a military spouse who may be far from family. Having that connection with other women is so vital, whether they are new mothers, have six children, or have children who are all grown and moved away. “It’s calming on the soul; all I need is a little connection to feel less alone,” Gigi says.
Gigi is still able to exercise her creativity through the Boudoir photography and photo shoot make-up that she does. Still, bridal make-up has been the unexpected chapter and work she has found herself loving.
On top of doing bridal make-up and working with the photographers, Gigi is also the owner of Amavi Lash. During COVID, Gigi felt like she needed something to challenge her. She started to think through what she needed personally and what she felt other women needed and she kept returning to lashes. “I hated it,” she says. She didn’t want to be just another person selling lashes. But it kept surfacing for her until she couldn’t ignore it anymore.
She worked to create a more comfortable solution for people who might otherwise struggle with wearing lashes—contact-wearers, those with dry or sensitive eyes, etc. She developed a solution that worked for her, vetted over one hundred manufacturers, and hand-designed every aspect of the business. She designed her website, designed the packaging, and picked out all the lashes. She gave them all traditional Italian women names and named her business Amavi, which means “loved” in Italian, paying tribute to her Italian roots.
Almost right after launching, Gigi was blessed to see her lashes worn on red carpets in Los Angeles. Shortly after that, she was cast for The Blox, a competition TV show for startup companies. She was there for a week with about 80 other entrepreneurs. “It was just a pitch war all week.” After that week, Gigi made the top 10. (Prime Video picked up Season 8 of The Blox, and it will premier soon.)
While there, Gigi met a woman who struggled with alopecia. She shared with Gigi that she couldn’t leave the house without a wig and lashes. To this day, that woman is placing orders from Amavi Lash every month. “That is the kind of stuff that makes my heart happy.”
Gigi hopes that she will eventually be able to partner with an alopecia foundation. “It was never just about the lashes. It’s about the balance of health and beauty. If putting on some lashes is what it takes to help women feel courageous, then we should be doing that. We need more bold and courageous women in the world.”
Gigi still has big dreams, including overcoming her fear of public speaking and giving a TED talk (Technology, Entertainment, Design) one day. In the meantime, she’ll stay busy being a wife, a mom, and a make-up artist, focused on empowering women and having a good time doing it.
You can find more information about Gigi on her website: www.giulianazarie.com, and you can buy her amazing lashes at www.amavilash.com.
