Photo: TikTok
It was a true celebration of life.
By Jonathan Alfano — Written on Aug 21, 2022
A makeup artist shared the touching reason why a family was requesting to have face paint at a funeral for their loved one.
The makeup artist, who only goes by her first name, Shelbi, shared the story on her TikTok account after she had a somewhat unusual experience while working.
The funeral had a circus theme and all attendees were dressed accordingly.
Shelbi says that she initially received the job from another makeup artist who was unable to do it themselves. She initially didn’t believe the theme would happen, but she realized it was real once she arrived.
“Face painting, fiery dancing, open bar, balloon twisting, it was like, it was all there,” Shelbi said.
While she was confused at first, Shelbi then learned the reason for the circus theme.
The deceased woman was a circus performer and wanted her celebration of life to be circus-themed.
The woman who passed away wasn’t just any ordinary circus performer, either. Shelbi revealed that she learned that a movie about her career in the circus was in the works.
The woman’s friends honored her at her funeral the way she wanted, by putting on an amazing show.
“So I start looking around, people are laughing, crying, juggling and I notice like a bunch of interesting characters,” Shelby said. “They were her friends from the circus, but they were all, like, pretty old at this point.”
Shelbi then shared a story about one man at the funeral that especially touched her. The man requested that Shelbi give him makeup just like he had in the circus, and he was thrilled with the results.
“A man probably in his eighties asked me to paint him as a drag queen, because that’s what he did in the circus,” Shelbi said.
“He was a drag performer, and he ended up giving me like $70 at the end because he loved it so much.”
Viewers shared their enthusiasm for the woman for choosing to celebrate her life on their own terms. They also praised Shelbi for allowing her vision to become reality.
“I mean that’s how I’d wanna be remembered,” one commenter said. “That sounds better than people sitting and crying.”
“You let her leave on her own terms,” another commenter said. “I love this so much.”
Shelbi ends the video by saying that the funeral was an experience she won’t forget, and that she was honored to be a part of it.
“Her guests from the circus, they were, like, wild, they were like, it was really cool,” Shelbi said. “Anyways, not my average gig, but I’m really happy to be a part of her celebration of life how she wanted it to be.”
Jonathan Alfano is a writer who focuses on news and entertainment topics. Follow him on Twitter to keep up with his content.