Meet Kaitlin Lyerly

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlin Lyerly.

Kaitlin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I want to first thank my family and friends because without them I wouldn’t be the makeup artist or the person I am today without them. So let’s start from the beginning. I was always a very weird child in my opinion. I loved school and had a passion for art, but art was never the career I thought I would pursue in life. Many times I would preach to my family about how I would one day be a doctor, lawyer, and US Women’s soccer player.

My standards were always set high for myself even from a young age. Yikes! So I did all the normal schooling, played a lot of sports, some video games, and then graduated onto college. I attended the University of South Alabama and had the time of my life! I did it all! The sorority, the fun, the intramural sports. Anything that kept me from sitting still, I did. This is where I got my bachelors as a geologist, I hope my child self would be proud.

I was ecstatic to get out into the world and explore! I wanted to travel everywhere and write scientific articles on my findings. Geology ended up not being my calling though. There were a lot of issues that popped up that made me feel, at this point, very down in my life. A lot of people would take one look at me and not take me seriously as a geologist. I struggled to get a job or even an internship, not for lack of grades or will power.. It was almost as if the universe was telling me that this was not the career for me. So I packed up and moved back home. I did not go through four years of college to become a waitress.

Before I made this decision to move back home though, my life was changed. For my entire life, my dreams have always been so vivid and story-like. I have written some into short stories and others I have “attempted” to write into novels. There was one story that I was making really good progress on, and it just hit me-I wanted to make this creature from my book. So I went through the process of thinking how I could make myself into this creature on a budget and before Halloween. This right here is where it literally all began.

Once I started watching tutorials, I started to practice other makeups. My boyfriend at the time was so patient with me and allowed me to make toilet paper and latex wounds on his body. I would start taking up the entire bed for a day with makeup while I sat there and applied for hours to go out for the night. I then began applying makeup on other people. There was something about the process that was so intriguing to me, so wonderfully fantastical. Skip ahead half a year and I have now moved back in with my parents at age 25, with no job and basically nothing going for me. Except that is where I was wrong. Those six months living with my parents again gave me such a drive to do more.

This is about the time I decided to tell my mom that I was officially going to Los Angeles to do makeup. She looked at me like I had sprouted wings and a snout. She asked me how I planned on doing this, and I told her that I planned on working my butt off for the next six months and that I didn’t care if I had to live in my car. Los Angeles was calling me. Makeup school was calling me.

So I’ve arrived in Los Angeles, and I couldn’t wait to get my feet off the ground and soar. While in school still, I was constantly applying for makeup jobs. I had already gotten a restaurant job to pay bills here because let’s face it Los Angeles is not cheap, also I didn’t end up living in my car. From there life has just been a roller coaster. I get disheartened sometimes, as I’m sure everyone in this industry has at some point or another, but when I’m on set doing someone’s makeup, it feels right.

I feel like I have finally found my place in life. And to me, that is what really matters. I have finally found a purpose in my life and it is being a makeup artist. One day I hope to see my work up on the big screen, but for now, I’m going to keep making movie magic!

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been up and down. The struggles have mostly been finding out how to live in Los Angeles. Becoming financially sound, while also pursuing my dreams. It is not the easiest and I have had to give up a lot to make sure that I’m always on call for makeup jobs. I make the most of it because you don’t always have to have the most luxurious surroundings or the most money in order to pursue your dreams. All that will come in time.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a makeup artist that specializes in makeup for film and television. Whether it’s beauty or special makeup effects. If something needs to be done on a film/tv set from a makeup artist, then I specialize in it. I also do makeup for fashion shoots and would love to do a few artistic shoots soon.

I’m most proud of just being here. Having the will power to move across the country from my family and be excelling at my dreams. I’m a makeup artist and that is amazing!

Hmm, this is a tough question. I bring an energy with me wherever I go that is usually very positive and lively. I’m really good at connecting with talent when they are in my makeup chair, and I get a lot of good feedback from the talent for this. I’m very good at adapting to make the talent more comfortable. So if they don’t want to talk much because they are trying to get into character, I’m very good at just focusing on my work and making it a very peaceful and comfortable environment. And then other times the talent wants conversation and I do that too. I guess I could sum it up to being very adaptable, and that, to me, is key in this industry.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
In my opinion, everyone is going to have a different path. I don’t recommend just moving out here unless you have saved up some money because you could run the risk of having to cut off your dreams and move back home for a little. But this is one of the reasons I appreciate Los Angeles because it’s not a cakewalk. You usually have to work hard for what you achieve, making your career that much more purposeful. LA doesn’t need to change that much unless you count in transportation. Honestly, though LA is a whole way of life and I really appreciate the opportunity to live here. I get to experience so much of life and pursue my purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: Kaitlinlyerlymakeup.com

 
Image Credit:
Dawn Lyerly (mom)
Lily Lyerly (puppers)

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