Where are you from?
New York City
Where do you live now?
Brooklyn, New York
Tell us a bit about your background?
I grew up in New York City, being the youngest out of five siblings. My mother was a purse designer in the 80’s and early 90’s. I enjoyed playing dress up as a kid and having a lot of fashion influence in my childhood. Graffiti in the 80’s had a big impact in my life which led me to be creative.
My profession all ties in with my personal. My interest in Makeup started at age 3 when there were few occasions I ate my Mom’s lipsticks. It had a fruity scent and I thought they were candy, haha!
How would you describe your style?
I question this myself often. Depends on my mood. I recycle my fashion frequently. I mix vintage with new almost always. Clothing should fit, flatter and most importantly, feel comfortable no matter what style it is.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Music, Runways, Paintings, Philosophy, Colors.
The psychology of color is pretty great. Colors are a form of non-verbal communication. It is not a static energy. Its meaning can change with any individual—it all depends on what energy they are expressing at that point in time. I sometimes describe people as a color. For instance, I tell people I am “Indigo”. Indigo is the color of intuition, it can mean idealism and structure as well as ritualistic and addictive.
Can you tell us a bit more about The Beauty Maiden?
I paid out the royalties to the maker… Just kidding.
I made the name before I got hitched. I knew I wanted the word Beauty to be a part of it giving the industry and services being offered. That is pretty much how that name came about.
When did it start?
Professionally it started when I graduated from Cosmetology school in 2002. I dabbled priorly curiously when I was Photography Major at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Can you describe your community?
My community is a mixture. I have built relationships with the people I worked with, who are followers as well clients. They consist of music composers, art lovers, creatives, fashion brands, photographers, makeup and hair stylists peers, agency's as well cosmetic brands, plus more.
When your passion for makeup starts?
Not to sound pretentious but it starts whenever the makeup brush hits my hand. Down to the technique, the mixture of colors, its structural and fluidity execution. It takes a lot of thought. It is not just making someone look great. You have to consider face shapes, tones of skin, symmetry, what flatters them, etc.
What do you think are your career highlights?
When I was walking by a busy intersection in midtown Manhattan and saw a campaign I worked on a ride in front of me on a city bus. I thought was that pretty cool. The second favorite was when I went to Portland, Oregon for the first time to work on an Orchestra for a benefit gala. Exciting to travel for work and love doing your job with fun people!!
Where do you usually like to go to chill?
Not to sound like a square-O, but aside from fashion week parties, I am more of a homebody. I definitely like more relaxed environment's given I live in a noisy part of Brooklyn and work in the tri-state a lot. I seek out calm and relax places almost always. For leisure, my other half and I like to go overseas to tropical places and really kick back and enjoy the beaches as much as we can or at least get out of the city and hit the hiking, outdoorsy route for nature outside the City.
What is your favorite place to travel?
This is a tough one because almost everywhere I have traveled was very fun. The last memorable retreat was Mexico. Aruba and Jamaica were a complete bliss. The world has pockets of beauty.
What is your motto in life?
KEEP GOING, Stick to something you like and grow being the best you can be to the people around you and to yourself.
