As children, we were always asked the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" For most people, what they say at four years old is quite far from what they want to be in high school, or what they eventually turn out to be in their adult life. I, on the other hand, was one of those fortunate ones who knew very early in life that I wanted to be a teacher. Although I did have those changes in between my four year-old self and my present self, one other career path I did want was makeup.
Makeup was something I started becoming interested in when I first tried on my mommy's eye shadow, or watched my Ate put on when she was working. I was in grade school then (we have a very big age gap). Since we look very much alike, she would make me wear her office clothes and I would try on her makeup. When high school came and it was prom season, I had a horrific experience of having my eyebrows shaved with a tailor's blade, and a pancake foundation placed on my face, which seemed very white. Fortunately for me, I am on the fair side, and my Ate was kind enough to alter some of my makeup. When college came, I started attending debuts and I refused to have anyone else touch my face except for my sister. Reality check, she couldn't be with me all the time so I had to learn how to do it myself. That was when my loving relationship with makeup began.
Me putting makeup on my Ate for a wedding (The roles have been reversed!)
Since then, I began experimenting on myself and my two sisters, and for some reason, their makeup was always noticed in parties. I loved drawing, coloring and painting, and makeup to me was like painting on a different canvas every time. Then, I put that on hold for a while and pursued my first love, teaching, and became a preschool teacher, which I still am now. The funny thing about that though was how moms of my students would come up to me and tell me that their daughters would go home and tell them what color my eye shadow or lipstick was for the day. It turns out that their children looked forward to coming to school the next day to see what I would wear next. Sometimes, they would even request for my next makeup look.
One day, I just decided to take the one-day basic makeup course in Center for Aesthetic Studies (CAS) which I thoroughly enjoyed. I absolutely loved makeup! Then, I took the basic makeup course in Make Up For Ever, just to see the difference. Then finally, I was taken under the wing of Vicky Tantoco who graduated from CAS, and I became her private student from July 2010 till January 2011. We had lessons every week which we referred to as playing because we were really having so much fun! According to Tita Vicky (that's what I call her), she noticed that my specialty is "prettifying" people, or making people look like prettier versions of themselves. For me, that was great because that was what I would want for myself. She was truly an inspiration, and coincidentally, a teacher and a makeup artist at the same time.
Like my students, my journey as a makeup artist began with play and exploration. Under the guidance of a skilled teacher, my love for learning could only flourish. With that, I'd like to dedicate my work to all teachers who have helped others achieve their dreams, little children, and of course the children within, who have big dreams and continue to strive to reach for the stars!
