At the age of twelve, Payne began making home movies of himself performing as his favorite singers.

Acting as his own agent, he used these home movies as demo tapes which led to headlining dates in Europe and Australia.

[1] By the age of sixteen, he had performed as the opening act for Bob Hope and Milton Berle.

In 1996, while in Texas taking care of his dying grandmother, Payne followed in his mother's footsteps and began working as a make-up artist.

In 1997, Payne collaborated on a HarperCollins book called Double Take: The Art Of The Celebrity MakeOver.

[1] In 1997, Payne transformed Sally Jessy Raphael into Liza Minnelli launching his career in television makeup.

Considered "a renowned leader in the field of beauty", he is a regular contributor to Elle; InStyle and Allure fashion magazines.

He has worked with numerous celebrities including Beyoncé,[6] Courtney Thorne-Smith, Jane Seymour, Paris Hilton, Sting and Kelly Ripa.

His friendship with Paul McCartney and Heather Mills put him in the middle of the media frenzy surrounding their divorce.

[8][9] Heather Mills first made Payne aware of the importance of "Green" products and the Vegan lifestyle.

Because of Payne's intimate knowledge of the hundreds of hours of footage, it was a natural decision for him to direct.