makeup master chelsea dorris

This Butterfly is Free

Makeup master Chelsea Dorris finds inspirations by challenging life's borders.

Emily Chavous Foster Health & Wellness, Watch & Listen - Health & Wellness

makeup master chelsea dorris
Chelsea Dorris: "“It is important to disconnect from all the distractions. It is creatively empowering to be out in nature and feel a moment of freedom.”
PHOTO BY FREDRIK BRODÉN

What do tennis star Rafael Nadal, philanthropist Harold Matzner, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Gabriel Luna have in common? They’ve all benefited from hair 
and makeup master Chelsea Dorris.

Though you’ll never see the imaginatively tattooed mother of two in a saggy pair of mom jeans (“thrifted threads are my favorite!” she says, describing her style as “an eclectic mix of rock ’n’ roll, hippie, and feminine edge”), when she’s not working an editorial shoot or overseeing her six-artist team at a wedding, family is her focus. The Dorrises are travelers and they often load up their 1967 Phantom Rolls Royal travel trailer for High Desert excursions and quick romps out of town.

“It is important to disconnect from all the distractions,” she says. “It is creatively empowering to be out in nature and feel a moment of freedom.”

Dorris graduated from La Quinta High School before attending the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and the Milan Institute of Cosmetology. Her husband, James, is a musician and, together with Dorris on banjo or tambourine, they are part of an Americana rock band that plays local gigs. The Wildflower Eclectic is her latest venture, a style-meets-beauty-bohemia blog that offers a peek at her girlboss life.

“Society still controls our perception of what careers [women] shall pursue, what they should wear, how they should act,” says Dorris. “My message is: screw that! Life is too short to live an unfulfilling or standard life. I try to live this way, and can only hope others get inspired to do the same.”

VIDEO: Palm Springs Life’s resident hair and makeup artist Chelsea Dorris dishes on desert style and her personal beauty routine. Hear her playing banjo on the background track, courtesy of the band Dorris is part of, Reborn by the Sunshine. This month, see Reborn by the Sunshine play at Plan B in Thousand Palms (Oct. 5), Record Alley at the Westfield Palm Desert (Oct. 11), and in the 10th annual Concert for Autism at Tack Room Tavern at the Empire Polo Club in Indio (Oct. 13).