We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Irma Garcia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Irma below.
Irma , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
The first time I knew I wanted to pursue being a makeup artist was in my teens. Growing up my grandmother was a true fashionista and was a cosmetologist so being raised by her I was always in her stuff and makeup and in middle school she allowed me to use eyeliner, mascara and lip liner and lipsticks but more nude colors. I loved it but when I lived with my son’ family, I would binge watch makeover shows because this was before YouTube lol and so, I would study everything they did and said. I would do my son’s grandmother makeup before she would go to church. A while after that I would do makeup on some of my family members and some close friends for events. So, I always knew I wanted to do makeup and getting into my 20’s I definitely knew I wanted to be a celebrity makeup artist and work in movies, tv shows, anything and everything else .
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
So how I got into this industry was kind of like a push I needed. I always knew I wanted to be a makeup artist I just didn’t know how exactly to do it because I was a young single mother at the time, I always needed to have a steady income to provide for my son. So just jumping in it was extremely terrifying. After losing my grandmother in 2012 and mother in 2016 I was in a office 9-5 job after a while working there, that job had became super stressful I didn’t have any time with my kids and family I was always tired and after losing my mom, I knew I shouldn’t be wasting my time doing something that made me miserable. In 2018 I go to a breaking point at my job and boyfriend encouraged me to quit and pursue makeup full time. I started to read a book one of my best friend had giving me a while back and it was about how to become a makeup artist and I read some of it and one of the steps was to start working with local photographers and setting up a website and social media account and just networking and collaborating with a lot of other artists. For my first two years it was a lot of collaborating which means no pay but have pictures for a portfolio to show your work.
There was plenty of times of I just wanted to quit and get a regular 9-5 but something in me just can’t do it. I feel like I lost so much time working a 9-5 and as a mother we already don’t get enough time with our kids because of school, work and extracurricular activities. Yes, I still work some long hours with some projects but for me I feel like I’m giving them an example of making some sacrifices to do what you love, being happy and giving it your all. There is no way I can’t quit now, I came so far I CANNOT quit. So, I am proud to say I have done some great projects and got the privileged to meet some celebrities and some great hard working entrepreneurs.
What sets me apart from other artist, I still don’t know, I’ve been asking my self this for a while but I do feel like it’s in my blood because of my ancestors and my grandmother. I absolutely love makeup and everything it can do. I love how makeup can make people feel amazing and gives us that extra boost of confidence, watching my clients expressions in the mirror after I’m done just melts my heart. It makes me feel like I’m giving back to the universe, I’m just sharing my passion with the world.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My resilience I guess comes from the amazing women i had in my family, my grandmother wore sooo many hats from cosmetologist to a chef and watching my mom working double and sometimes triple shifts. It showed me resilience, despite what we go through in life we have to keep moving forward. Growing up I went through a lot since a little girl, went through foster homes so, I guess that kind of made me into a rebel as a teen, I made plenty of mistakes. But I think what helped me throughout the years is invisioning my goals and picturing how I wanted my future. I won’t stop or give up until I have it, I still have so much to do so, stay tuned.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My Ultimate goal is to work on a big box movie and or on a tv shows and being a world wide makeup artist. For some reason I just want to see my name on the credits makeup artist – Irma Garcia lol . I want to travel the world and work with beautiful passionate souls. In my future I want a salon, boutique and soo soo many other business. I have soo many ideas and business that I would love to have. I am also working towards getting a home and having generational wealth and health for my kids future, my future grandkids and great grandkids. This year I just finished working on a local movie and I’ve been working on some music videos so, I’m slowing getting there, I’m just trying to enjoying the ride. My ultimate mission is to spread genuine love around the world and showing people you can do what you love despite what you’ve been through in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.irmafashionista.com
- Instagram: IrmaFashionista
- Facebook: Irma Fashionista
Image Credits
@joepanliliophotography