Noelle Marinelli has made people look good in magazine layouts from Rolling Stone to Redbook and Men’s Health to Glamour. She’s worked on advertisements for companies such as Lord & Taylor, Capital One, American Express and Tommy Hilfiger.  She’s decorated runway models for Nanette Lapore, Christopher Deane, H&M and others. And she’s worked with The Food Network, The Style Network and E! Entertainment TV, for starters. Among her celebrity clients have been actors David Hyde Pierce, Juliette Lewis, Matthew Gray Gubler, Tom Arnold and Paula Deen, as well as people in the political arena such as civil rights activist and talk show host Al Sharpton and former house speaker Newt Gingrich.

But since moving from New York City to Mt. Lebanon last year with her husband, Brian, son, Max, 8, and their French bulldog, Dante, to be closer to family, Marinelli has expanded her career options. She will continue to travel back and forth to New York for some of her clients such as Wilhelmina Model and Talent Management, but she also wants to work locally as much as possible.  She is branching into weddings, proms, face painting and makeup classes, and she recently started selling the makeup she uses, LimeLight by Alcone.

Marinelli recognizes and appreciates the uniqueness of Pittsburgh: “Pittsburgh is very different from New York,” she says. “People help you out and mentor you in a way that New York doesn’t.” One of her Pittsburgh-based mentors is Patty Bell, who specializes in beauty makeup, men’s grooming and airbrush makeup for film, television and print work.

Marinelli says she was always interested in makeup art, starting out helping her friends. She began working in the business by assisting other makeup artists and eventually came into her own as a commercial makeup artist.  She works with people of all ages, but says being a mom and former teacher makes it very easy for her to work with children. “I use a counseling approach when working with kids,” says Marinelli. “I always get them into the process and get them involved.”

Marinelli is a fan of minimal makeup that highlights the features of her clients, encouraging them to be themselves. She doesn’t believe there is one standard of beauty. “Makeup is a powerful tool that makes you feel good and makes you your best self,” she says.

She has few regrets about moving from New York City to Mt. Lebanon.  “A yard and my own laundry unit are a huge bonus from my previous apartment in New York,” she says.

To learn more about Marinelli or to book a service, visit www.noellemarinelli.com or call 718-930-6586.