Today we’d like to introduce you to Camilla Salas.
Camilla, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember – I grew up in a family of dancers, painters, musicians, and photographers, so I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. When I went to college, I originally went in for art, and I honestly hated it. The almost two years that I was an art student were the least creatively-inspired that I had felt in so long, and because art had always been “my thing” and my escape, for a while I almost began to question whether it was something that I really could realistically achieve or not.
Then I got accepted into Michelle Phan’s ipsyOS makeup community and started making content for YouTube and Instagram. That was when I learned that I could apply my technical art skills toward makeup artistry and that I was pretty darn good at it too! Ever since then, I haven’t been able to deny that art – and more specifically, makeup artistry – is my calling. I still have so much growing to do, but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come since I’ve started, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think my biggest struggle has been balancing my mental health with trying to stay creatively inspired, and remembering that the amount of content that I put out is not equivalent to my skills or talents. That’s one of the reasons why mental-health advocacy is so important to me because the world of beauty focuses so heavily on perfection and constant content output, that it can become so easy to get extra down on yourself when you’re in a rough place mentally.
I am a white and Latina woman, but I am very very white-passing, so I do acknowledge that I have a lot of privilege within the makeup community, so I haven’t had to struggle in that regard as so many of my peers have had to, and still do.
I hope that I can use the privileges that I do have in my community to make it easier for people of color, people who struggle with mental illnesses like myself, and those in the LGBTQ+ communities to feel safe, comfortable, and included in the world of beauty. I want to do all in my power to make the space less intimidating and more welcoming for all so that the road can be smoother for everyone in the future.
Please tell us about Astoldbymila.
I specialize in creative, detailed makeup! I don’t typically use prosthetics in my looks (so far, I’ve only used one!) – all of my detail work is done with eyeshadows, eyeliners, and paint palettes. I love using bright colors and my nerdiness definitely shows through into my work, too. A lot of my work is inspired by my favorite artists, comic books, characters, and films.
I think I’m set apart both by my aesthetic, as well as my focalization for mental health issues. Along with my anxiety and depression, I also struggle with a skin picking disorder, and as a makeup artist and someone who wears a lot of makeup, I often struggle with my self-image as a result. But if I’m having a bad skin day, or feeling down about myself, I talk about it as candidly as I can. I encourage others to do so too! It’s okay to have bad days, and I want my friends, family, and followers to know that just because you may struggle with something, doesn’t make you less of a wonderful, talented, kind, smart, what-have-you human being. Just because the sea is stormy sometimes, doesn’t mean that you should jump ship.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
If I had to choose, I think I would say moving across the country with my parents from New York to California. We drove across in our Toyota Camry and made a vacation out of it. We got to see the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Grand Canyon and made so many other stops at cool little local businesses and small towns. It made me realize how big the world is and made me feel small. But it also sparked my love for travel and taught me that there is so much more out there than what we know, and than what is right in front of us. That trip was very life-changing for me, and although I wasn’t happy about moving at the time, I’m very thankful I got to experience that.
Pricing:
- I price my work on a case-by-case basis, usually starting at $50 for a full face of glam.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://astoldbymila.squarespace.com/
- Phone: 5626390907
- Email: astoldbycamilla@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astoldbymila/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/astoldbymila/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/astoldbymila
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/astoldbymila/
Image Credit:
Personal photo – Bria Celest; Green look – in collaboration with Iliana Martin; Watercolor look – recreation of Elena Rossato’s work; Purple demon look – adaptation of Serendipity the Artist’s “Priscilla”
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
