BEAUTYTALKS
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH BEAUTY?
As a child, I was fascinated by Disney Princesses and very much fell in love with their beauty, costumes and strength to overcome all obstacles. I used to draw and paint them which transformed into a hobby of drawing faces and adding makeup to my artwork. In high school I turned my portrait drawings into photos when I took up photography class. I would ask fellow students to pose for me and I would shoot them in a fashion magazine style as I was very much inspired by Steven Meisel. It was when I was doing their makeup for the shoots, there was this fire that ignited inside of me. Seeing their reaction of joy after they had been transformed, I knew I was on to something big. Suddenly every girl in high school knew who I was and wanted to be my friend. It was a big compliment.
WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A SIGNATURE MAKEUP STYLE? My makeup style flexes between beauty and art. I don’t really have a signature look because MAC books me on all types of different jobs from body-painting roses on a model to getting a 16-year-old MAC Fanatic ready for a school dance. I’ve worked with all types of people with different ages, backgrounds, interests and I think the most important signature quality I have is being a good listener. Makeup can be a very personal thing and if the person wearing it doesn’t feel amazing—I have not done my job. WHEN IT COMES TO CREATING LOOKS, WHAT INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
Skin is the canvas for every look that I create and it’s just as important as all the color you might put on top of it. As a teen my skin was always broken out and I used to spend a lot of time concealing my spots—so I’m grateful for it in a way because now I’m so good with concealing! Now I can pile on a bunch of foundation if I wanted to but what makes me most happy is creating real looking skin. I love seeing the undertones, freckles, brow hairs and ruddiness—these are all traits to the unique face I’m working on and I’d rather celebrate that then overdo it with products.
HOW DID YOU BEGIN WORKING WITH MAC? MAC was the brand I always wanted to be a part of because of the celebration of makeup artistry and the individual. At the time, RuPaul the American drag queen was a spokesperson for the brand and it struck me hard. I thought here is a brand that is fearless representing a performer who is fearless. I had grown up very different from the rest of my friends often being mistreated because I was an artist; I had learned to be fearless and now there was a brand that would help me teach others who needed to hear the same. WHAT IS YOUR BEAUTY PHILOSOPHY? Wear what you like! This is your life so stay true to yourself. A more colorful world is definitely a more interesting one.
WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU HAVE FOR AN ASPIRING MAKEUP
A R T I S T ? Practice! Practice! Practice! (Laughs) But seriously! I’ve been a makeup artist for 15 years and every day is a test—I take my work very seriously and if I’m not prepared to get to the next level each time I’m wasting my time. There is a lot of training for beginners on line and in schools but my best training was with MAC. I’ve had management roles that taught me how to be a great leader and team member, education roles where I learned how to develop Artists and now as a Senior Artist where my job is to inspire. It’s a type of education that you can only get in store working with different personalities, an array of skin tones and textures while multi-tasking and completing makeup in a timely fashion. Because I worked hard and have remained fearless (to a certain degree) this brand has opened so many doors for me and I’ve traveled the world sharing my passion for makeup artistry. Working at MAC has made me the person I am today.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU?
I love meeting new people, collaborating and making art together. Now fully adjusted to my new job and life in Hong Kong I’m meeting locals and I’ve got some fun content planned for this fall as I’m experimenting more with video production. I am really excited to come back to Manila again and hopefully facilitate some kind of master class.