Today we’d like to introduce you to Yadira Lopez.
Yadira, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I guess you can say I became a makeup artist by fate. I was never really into makeup. I grew up mainly surrounded by boys and playing sports… I was going to school aiming for my criminal justice degree. Somehow, along the way, I ended up in a theatrical makeup course and completely fell in love with it. The visions, that I was able to bring to life with a full palette of colors and formulas opened up a whole new side to makeup that I didn’t know of. That drove me to the decision of putting my criminal justice degree aside and pursue a new dream.
I attended makeup school for the next couple months and shortly after graduating, I started my journey building up my clientele and mastering my craft. I freelanced at MAC Cosmetics for a couple years. But retail was definitely not my thing, so I kept striving for TV and Film. In the beginning, they were mostly unpaid jobs but I would take on almost any job that would give me the experience. I was always eager to learn and collaborate.
After, networking and making connections I began to assist many talented artists in commercials and photo shoots. That experience gave me the confidence to take on bigger opportunities as they came. Now, I can proudly say I’ve become a personal makeup artist for varies entertainment personalities, worked soap operas, commercials, red carpet events, magazine shoots, tv shows, press, horror films, to even making appearances in beauty segments.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No way! It has actually been anything but smooth. In fact, the struggle is never-ending. When I took on this career path, it required me to continuously have to prove myself over and over again. I’ve had to push forward and convince myself every day that I am good enough. Even when I have felt defeated, insecure, and discouraged.
At the beginning, some of my biggest challenges was trying to find work and networking. Back then, social media wasn’t what it is today. Getting contacts and exposure wasn’t as easy. I had to go on a hunt to make my connections and I needed to attend events to network in order to meet people. That alone was a struggle in itself since I wasn’t a big socializer either. I was forced to come out of my shell to make this work.
After making my contacts and growing my clientele a whole new set of challenges arose. I had to build my portfolio, my resume, and try to stay consistent with work to make a living out of it. Becoming a mother in the mix of all this also added on to my challenges trying to balance it all. Especially, with the inconsistency of the freelance life. In this field, the workflow always goes up and down. You know how they say, “when it rains it pours…”, and I mean that for the good and the bad. Sometimes, there’s a lot of work and other times there just isn’t any. At times it can get so scary, where I start to question whether or not I should continue doing it or just get a regular 9-5 job for the security of consistent income. That is when I have to remind myself that this is what I want to do. It takes a lot of perseverance, dedication, and self-reassurance to stay on track.
This is also a never-ending evolving profession. There is always a new product on the market, a new technique and there is always a new talented makeup artist. So, you always have to stay on your toes, always be willing to learn or you’ll stay behind. If there is any advice I can give to any new artist starting their journey, I would say to believe in themselves, stay focused on their goal and vision. And to always be open to learning. You could never know too much.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with your business – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a professional freelance makeup artist, based here in Los Angeles, but also travel for work internationally. My work ranges from clean beauty makeup to special fx and everything in between. I don’t like to categorize myself and say I specialize in one particular thing. I love doing all types of makeup and have experience in it. I also do hair when I need to.
I think what sets me apart is my attention to detail and my attitude towards my jobs. My priority has always been to be a team player. The constant changes that happen in this job are inevitable. But having a positive attitude and working with your team always helps.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yadiralopez.format.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yadiralopez/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3538593/?ref_=nv_sr_2
Image Credit:
@themanuc
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