Today we’d like to introduce you to Alina H
Hi Alina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started doing makeup in 7th grade because I was inspired by my older sister. In little sister fashion, I wanted to be just like her! Quickly, I learned that it served as my safe place and that expressing myself through colors and art was where I felt the safest. I started off experimenting with bold lip colors and darker eyeshadows but soon started to use eye paints to draw different artworks. From that day on, I have done my makeup (almost) every day and have continued to practice and build up my skill set, and I am growing more and more every day.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I grew up in a very toxic household in Queens, NYC where I had to hide all of my creativity. Every morning in high school, I would go to a storage unit I had filled with my clothing and then would go to Starbucks at 5:30 a.m. to do my makeup. I felt there was something very wrong with me expressing myself through my creativity, mainly my makeup and fashion style, because of the ongoing battle I had with my parents about it. However, I never quit because it is where I have always felt most at peace in my heart. In February 2022, I got kicked out for continuously wearing makeup even though my parents were against it. I ended up on my friend’s couch for a couple of months before I could get a place with my sister in the Bronx, which drained most of my savings. I was living in survival mode my entire life and I felt the only safe place I had was my self-expression through my art. It helped me through the hardest parts of my life. In August 2022, I decided that I would move across the country to Los Angeles to fulfill my dream of being a makeup artist. I wanted to show that makeup was more than just something used to conform to the societal beauty standard. It is something you can use to show yourself unconditional love and to help inspire individualized confidence in anybody.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Right now I am focused on inspiring people to use makeup as an art to help inspire confidence within themselves. I have been on social media posting different pictorials on eyeshadow looks that I have done from day to day. I am so proud of the consistency in which I create content and in which I invest in myself. For me, it’s not about numbers, but it’s about just knowing that I have inspired even one person to be themselves authentically and to express themselves the way I do through art.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory was my best friend in middle school. We started doing makeup together and helped each other learn and grow, and we felt so safe to express ourselves creatively with one another. I had never had that kind of influence in my life where I could be who I was genuinely without any judgment. Having someone in my corner with the same fiery passion for makeup artistry as me helped me feel less alone and gave me companionship when I most needed it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/alinasmakeup + www.instagram.com/_03.alina_
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@_03.alina_?_t=8oDKvlXqSGE&_r=1
Image Credits
@alinasmakeup on Instagram
