Well, this is one way of turning lemons into lemonade. When former Texas A&M University student Marshala Perkins was arrested earlier this year for a trivial amount of marijuana, her mugshot ended up going viral. And now, she just might see her aspirations of becoming a professional makeup artist realized.
Perkins had just wrapped up a Facebook Live makeup tutorial in her dorm room on the evening on Feb. 6 when some friends stopped by and asked if she wanted to hang out. As the 19-year-old waited in her car, a police car pulled up behind her and an officer asked to run her license and registration. Everything came back clean, but unfortunately, the officer smelled marijuana, and a subsequent search of her vehicle turned up two grams of pot.
As a result, Perkins spent the night in Hunt County Jail, and after her release the next morning, she saw her mugshot on the Greenville police Facebook page.
Perkins told the Star-Telegraph this week that she was embarrassed at the time and would tell people, “Nah, I don’t know who that is,” when questioned about it.
That is, until two months later when her flawlessly made-up face made its way to the Mugshot Baes Twitter account, which boasts more than 80,000 followers.
https://twitter.com/mugshotbaes/status/986691850374443009
“I really thought it was funny because I know with those pages somebody has to submit it,” Perkins told the Star-Telegraph. “I’m thinking, ‘Who over here is thinking I’m cute enough to be on this page?'”
Fast forward to three months later, and her mugshot was retweeted by another user who joked that Perkins should be given her freedom so she could give tutorials on how to achieve her look, and that tweet was liked and retweeted tens of thousands of times.
https://twitter.com/proletariatitty/status/1022885694551810050
Perkins was initially flustered with the unwanted attention but then realized the positives. “When I started reading the comments I was like, besides me being in jail people are really noticing my talent and what I can do,” she reasoned.
Since then, Perkins has launched a YouTube channel and an Instagram account dedicated to her craft, and she’s even been approached about starting her own makeup line.
“It’s crazy. My mind is blown,” she said. “Now it’s turned into something so positive so I’m just going to embrace it and see where it takes me.”
If anyone is wondering what products Perkins used in the mugshot that might have just launched her career, a full list can be found over at the Star-Telegram.