Meet the NFL WAGs Makeup Artist Who’s Glammed Simone Biles, Camille Kostek — and ‘Dreams’ Next, Taylor Swift (Exclusive)
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Allison Kaye gives an inside look into her "crazy" life as the go-to makeup artist for WAGS in the NFL
If there's one person who knows how to make a game face glam, it's Allison Kaye.
You'd never know the full-time makeup artist is based in Florida because she travels the world for the job she believes she was destined to do. She previously worked as a dietitian before her unexpected career trajectory "spiraled" into making her the go-to for WAGs glam in the NFL.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Kaye — who's worked with everyone from Simone Biles to Camille Kostek — gave a behind-the-scenes look at her life centered around the glam chair, between her "crazy" travel schedule and her star-studded roster of clients for each game.
But first, Kaye made clear that the path she paved to achieve her successes was rather untraditional for those in pursuit of a cosmetic career. "I actually went to college for dietetics and I worked as a registered dietitian and personal trainer — so that was my first life," she jokes.
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While Kaye credits "a combination" of factors that ultimately led her to where she is today, it was her personal passion for makeup that drove her dream from the start. When her friends and coworkers took note of the glam she'd do on herself, they wanted it for themselves.
"The people that I worked with were like, 'Your makeup always looks so good, will you do mine?' And I was like, 'I don't do makeup'," Kaye recalls with a laugh. Despite only having a self-taught background in makeup, having done pageants early on, she glammed her friends.
"And they loved it!" Kaye says, calling those random opportunities the "transition point" that switched her full-time career as a dietitian to the gig she crushes now. "It was just one of those things that was meant to be and just ended up happening," she says.
But how did Kaye, who's originally from Cleveland but lives in Fort Lauderdale now, evolve from a self-described little girl who used to "play salon" for her pals as a kid to an accomplished businesswoman who's the top pick for the wives and girlfriends of the NFL's biggest stars?
The power of two forces: "Word of mouth and social media," she credits. Well, a mix of those mediums combined with her first client, who at the time, was dating a then-top prospect heading into the 2021 NFL Draft who went on to become a first-round pick that year.
The client? Sophie Scott. Her boyfriend? Mac Jones, who was drafted by the New England Patriots as the team's starting quarterback before being traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2023. Scott, meanwhile, was looking to have her glam done for the 2021 Draft.
"His girlfriend found me on Instagram just by searching the Cleveland makeup artist hashtag and my profile popped up," Kaye explained. "I did her makeup, his mom's makeup and his sister's makeup for the NFL draft," she says, adding that Scott then reposted the glam photos on her own social media.
From there, it was a ripple effect. "She has a ton of followers, so people in the NFL started following her... saw that I did her makeup... started following me," Kaye said of how she began to build notoriety and increase exposure of her work.
While Kaye's online profile was getting near-instantaneous attention, the real-life work took a bit longer. "My next clients after that weren't for almost a year," she admits, noting that she then got a call from a partner of player on the Miami Dolphins who saw Scott's glam from the 2021 Draft.
Upon doing the Miami-based client's makeup, Kaye says: "They referred me to the whole rest of the team!" She adds, "And then at that point since everybody was posting and tagging me... other people from other teams started following me."
"It just spiraled into all these other things because of their referrals," says Kaye, emphasizing, "Instagram is the best thing possible!"
Now, Kaye — who's sought after by clients that span the NFL, NBA, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and glam for high-profiled events — strategically creates a schedule that allows her to tend to her clients, while navigating the 18-week football season that culminates with the Super Bowl in February.
"In the beginning of this season, it was a fight between teams of who was going to get me for what week... so great!" jokes Kaye, who then broke down how scheduling works. "One girl from the team will put it together for everybody," she says.
"I create a signup form with time slots, send it to that one point person for the team and then she sends it in the group chat to the entire team," Kaye continues. "It's first come, first serve whoever books and secures their spot is who are the people that will be glammed."
She adds, "I obviously cannot do 30 wives, so I'm working with groups of five to seven people every time that I'm going somewhere." However, she did travel to two different states in one weekend to make games!
"It was week five. I went and did the [Atlanta] Falcons for Thursday Night Football and then I went and did the [Kansas City] Chiefs for Monday Night Football," Kaye recalls. "It's always 24 hours, sometimes less... but I literally just fly out there, do the glam and leave."
While it's hard to scroll through Kaye's Instagram and not see a familiar face, there's one person in particular she has her sights set on: Taylor Swift. She has a vision for the pop superstar-turned-WAG of the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Obviously that would be the ultimate goal and my dream, to do her specifically for a game day," Kaye says of Swift. "If it could be for the Super Bowl game, that would be the ultimate."
The makeup artist says she'd "love" to do her for a game day over a show because sporting event glam is her specialty. "I know that she has her signature look... but I would love to do something different to have it create a good buzz."
While she continues to manifest her Swift dream, Kaye has already checked off a top "bucket list client" for herself: seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles. "I just think that she is such a good role model for people, and that's what I've always admired about her... it's also cool that she's an NFL wife!"
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Getting Biles' attention is attributed to Kaye's incredible and trustworthy work, plus her well-established (and ever-growing) network. "I was able to connect with her through other NFL wives who I worked on and are friends with her."
Plus, it's a result of Kaye's dedication and non-stop hustle. "You can sit around!" she says. "If you're not making the right connections and doing all the things that you should be doing, you're not going to have the opportunity."
Kaye concludes, "I think that those are the things that definitely make me stand out."
Read the original article on People