Jamaican-born New York-based entrepreneur Yolondo Salmon-Thomas is happy that she has been able to use her Jamaican heritage to help establish her own make-up line, Playing In Make-up By Yolondo as a successful, internationally recognised brand.

“One of my most popular products in my Eyeshadow Palettes which I call Jamrock and which is my top selling product,” she said.

Now, she is focussed on helping women draw on their creativity to express their unique identity.

As Yolondo states, “what makes me feel meaningful every day, is the ability to invigorate other women to be the best version of themselves.”

In a date to be announced, Yolondo plans to mentor ambitious mentees on her formula for success.

“I want to do a mentorship programme teaching women how to brand themselves and market that brand, not necessarily in cosmetics, but in other areas of business,” Salmon-Thomas said.

A certified makeup artist, Yolondo is renowned for her popular on-line tutorials that highlight her fast-selling original makeup, sold at a fraction of the cost offered by her competition. The collections include: Highly Pigmented Eyeshadow Palettes, Mix Race Contour Palette, luxurious eyelashes, lip glosses, and so much more.

Yolondo lost her mother at the age of eight. She remembers her as a very caring and affectionate person. At the age of 17, the 31-year old solo entrepreneur migrated with her father to the U.S., settling in Georgia. Her strong work ethic were showcased in her very first job.

Her first job was at a fast food restaurant. As a result of her hard work, she earned a salary increase within two weeks of being hired but that amounted to just ten cents per hour.

Nonetheless, she realized the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and thus, tempered her determination to become successful in life. Her strong work ethics, positive attitude, and drive to succeed never wavered. In fact, she entered the health-care field, which allowed her to accumulate a modest savings. She started her company in 2018 without financial assistance.

As of September 15, 2020, the company has generated over US$1M in revenue for the year, an increase of 560 percent over the total revenue for 2019.

“My company has really grown over the past year, making over a million dollars in the pandemic,” Mrs. Thomas said.

“My products are affordable yet the quality is unmatched. My customers is a mixture of white, black and Hispanic, and most of my customers come from all over the world such as France, Dubai, Australia, Japan, Canada, United Kingdom and Russia.”

Not resting on her accomplishments, Yolondo expects additional growth from revolutionary, in-demand products and through focusing on customer retention and acquisition.

Yolondo currently resides in New Rochelle, NY, and is married to Rayon Thomas with whom she has two young daughters.

“For me, make-up is a creative form of self-expression. And it’s really good fun to play with, I’ve been playing with make-up my whole life, and now I am making a living from it,” she said.

Hailing from Mitchell Town in Clarendon, she is a graduate of Old Harbour High. She migrated to live in the US in 2006.

She began working as a make-up artist in 2011, doing gigs backstage on reality shows, video and photo shoots for reggae and pop artistes.

She eventually attended make-up school in New York, in order to gain certification, and for the past five years, she had been a certified, professional make-up artist.

She has gained a growing customer base with her make-up tutorials online via her Facebook page, Playing in Makeup by Yolondo LLC. She has attracted more than 93,000 followers.

“I started with no followers, no one knew me, but I hired public relations personnel and got celebrity endorsements to also grow my business,” said Salmon-Thomas.

The New York-based make-up artist has used a mixture of online channels and traditional advertising to build her multiracial and multicultural customer base.

For more information about products offered by Playing In Makeup By Yolondo and the opportunity to join her learning platform, please visit her on.