We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Asharia Calderon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Asharia, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

As a beauty creator, I am self-taught. My primary method of learning was from my mom and YouTube. As soon as I saw Manny MUA and Jaclyn Hill taking over YouTube, I was front row with everyone else and learned most of my basics from them.

In high school, I started doing my makeup bolder. As a girl in high school during the 2015-2016 makeup era, I stood by eyebrow blindness and contour. I always felt creative freedom with makeup. That love for makeup/beauty creation has stood with me for almost 10 years.

I decided within these last few years to share that part of me publicly. So far people seem to like it too!

To speed up my learning process in being a beauty/lifestyle creative, I think the most effective method is by simply doing. I stand by falling forward vs no attempt at growing in this space. I learned that lesson recently when I committed to an entire month of makeup looks. I did not make it past day 17(?) of Pride Makeup Looks. Now I know that month long series take a lot of work… but I will attempt a month-long series again at some point. Maybe with more of a schedule lol,

The biggest obstacle for me was my confidence. The initial move to start posting content is a shift not a lot of people talk about. I felt like I used to get embarrassed, but I feel like when I spoke about it IRL to friends or offered to make content for my jobs I was reassuring myself that …this is not “cringe”. Content Creation is really fun. Partnering with brands is rewarding. Also, I think feeling a lack of community stood in the way as well. I was mistaken, there is also community for content creators. The number of platforms solely for content creator partnerships is insane! but they work!

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?

My name is Asharia (Ahh-saria). I am a Peruvian American content creator from the South Bay area. I am a beauty/lifestyle creator.

I post makeup content like try-ons, tutorials, etc.. but I also consider myself somewhat of a lifestyle vlogger-esque.
I like to share my weekend trips and new food spots I try. I would consider my content pretty relatable!
Through my content creation journey, I am learning the importance of standing behind brands you promote. I like to promote products I truly use or would repurchase!

Also, through my content creation journey, I understand the importance of sharing important messages to my audience. As a local creator in the LA area, I want to share the new local business or family-owned restaurant. The importance of partnering with local businesses is so much more impactful in my opinion. I want to continue my presence in social media. In that path I would like to look for opportunities where I can promote where I’m from and bring much deserved attention to local businesses/attractions.

Ideally, I’d want to start that locally to me. I’m from Lawndale, CA. If you know, you know it’s the Heart of the South Bay!
With the lessons I have learned, I implement them in my content. From the beginning to now, my style has evolved. My engagement with my audience has evolved as well. All I aim for is to make an impact but enjoy it. I think through content creation I am able to do just that.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFT’s …. I’m sure there are pros to NFT’s. I just don’t know them..but I also don’t know the cons. I need to do more research

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think when brands I use daily interact with my content online, I find that rewarding.. Maybe it’s not a big deal but L’oreal has commented on my videos and I think that’s the biggest flex. We’re basically friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ashariacalderon.my.canva.site/contentcreator
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ashariacalderon/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AshariaCalderonn
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashariacalderon