maelstrom. Shortly thereafter, both her career and her marriage came to a tumultuous end.
After Harth’s divorce from Houraney, she lived close to the ocean in Jupiter, Florida. She spent a year in Clearwater recovering from a bout of what turned out to be an autoimmune disease brought on by stress. Returning to New York, she ran into Trump again. (Another chapter for her memoirs.) Harth remained on decent terms with him but lived on Long Island. After years of turmoil moving into Manhattan was too much. By that time, Trump had moved on with Melania. Harth was counting on getting a job with the Miss Universe Pageant. Trump had always promised her a job with the Miss Universe Pageant, but it ended, a no-go. “I was counting on that job,” she said.
Getting a management position at Clinique at Bloomingdale’s in Huntington, Long Island was a breeze. “In retrospect it was a damn good job, but I found it disheartening,” she said. “It was all about sales. And I was into the artistic aspect of the business.” From that job, though, she learned where cosmetics are made and the intricacies of how the cosmetics industry works. Soon the wheels were cranking—she wanted to do her own thing. She went from job to job, doing makeup in salons. She says the hardest salon she ever worked in was Hewlett—the five towns on Long Island that had a tough, demanding clientele. “I knew if I could make them happy that I was good. It toughened me up.”
Next came the job with Zitomer. Venus, a friend, who worked with Harth in a salon, suddenly said one day, “Jill, why are you selling their makeup and making them rich. Do it yourself!” Harth had an epiphany. She knew she needed to have her own business. She bet on herself and took a risk. In honor of her mother she named her business Beauty and Grace, Inc. “My mother is still a beauty to me. She was my first muse. She was my best friend growing up.”
Jill Harth has created a line of beauty products for both men and women. As could only be expected, all of her products are cruelty-free and hypo-allergenic yet made from the highest quality ingredients that are available. Her products can be bought through her website: http://www.jillharth.com. She is also available for online consultation to offer you top-notch aesthetic guidance. Harth’s keen intuition for assessing complexion and skin tone has brought her the respect of some high-profile media personalities.
Among her clients are Erin F. Moriarity, an American Reporter who is known for her work on 48 Hours (1988), CBS News Sunday Morning (1979) and CBS This Morning (1992); Maureen Maher, an American television news reporter and correspondent, known primarily as one of the hosts of the CBS program 48 Hours; and Prue Lewarne, an international news anchor, who has served as an anchor for CNN International.
The Covid pandemic has put a damper on Harth’s business. Her career was in a renaissance. She was working with the top people at CBS: the producers and also Seth Doane from 60 minutes. The journalists from 48 hours. She felt really fulfilled to be involved with these shows. She had seen these shows for years. She felt all of the learning that she had amassed through the years had come to fruition. “As a makeup artist, you have to be fast. Quick, thorough. Consistent. You also have to learn not to get too close.”
Even though Harth’s work is indeed up close and personal, her clients are very focused on their work and aren’t always in the mood for aimless chit-chat. It’s not just about talented makeup artistry; Harth felt as though she was chosen because of the relationships she has established. “I know how to work with men and women who are in front of the camera. You have to be a certain type of person and I am that type of person. There is also a certain amount of discretion, of knowing what not to say.”