Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brenda Garcia Jaramillo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Brenda , thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I have been enamored by the glamour of runway makeup and also a spiritual practitioner since I was a young girl. But while thirteen year old me through honestly even most of my 20’s has been very headstrong and determined to accomplish whatever I set my mind to…when it came to my creative and magickal expression, I always felt this intense imposter syndrome. I was afraid of not knowing how to explore makeup artistry as a career and growing up in Catholic I felt an internalized rejection of being a witchy, magic loving person so I couldn’t dare imagine offering spiritual services professionally. Until a series of really heavy events in my later 20’s (which I have now understood to have been what I would have to experience as my Nodal Opposition and Saturn Return), pushed me towards embracing both those parts of my passions and identity. So now I don’t regret the timing of when I came to allow myself to be a creative through makeup or when I started exploring astrology and tarot and other healing modalities. I’m grateful for the journey that got me here because without I wouldn’t have realized those answers I was so desperately looking externally for, would only come when I was exhausted enough to consider looking inwards and with grace for what has always been beautiful, encouraging and healing for me.

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?

I’m an NYC based professional makeup artist, astrologer & tarot reader. I started dabbling in makeup in 2015/2016 when I was living abroad in Morocco and I saw a niche possible of providing makeup services for Western and/or English speaking women in Marrakech. But I didn’t fully allow myself to be a makeup artist until 2019 when I was working as an executive assistant readjusting to living in NYC after almost 3 years in Morocco and I lost my job. I had also been first volunteering then working as an assistant to celebrity makeup artist Stephanie Flor, owner of Around the World Beauty, a beauty & travel blog plus travel trips called beauty journeys. I remember telling Stephanie about losing my job and not knowing what direction to take next especially since we were coordinating beauty journeys to Morocco only 3/4 months away. I’ll never forget that she told me,”I know what you want to do, but I’m not going to be the one to say it.” And I paused and finally said,”I want to be a makeup artist” and from there she helped me focus and strategize getting into the industry with a crash course of getting experience behind the makeup counter to become familiar with different complexions, assisting her and others on set and learning proper sanitation, makeup artistry and techniques by attending makeup school. So that after we came back from Morocco I could focus on my new career path. Simultaneously, I had been exploring astrology more since 2017, especially from the perspective of not just focusing on how it impacts me but wanting to study it to understand and relate to other people.
Where these seemingly different paths start to cross over is after my father’s death a few months later, on August 30th,2019, my life was at another crossroads… The pressure to hustle and survive was on my shoulders and following my own astrological insights at that point, I decided if I would have to work double as hard for the foreseeable future then it would be doing the things I loved and valued. So in addition to makeup, I decided to become a consulting astrologer and tarot reader. The almost eerie synchronicity that the global Covid19 pandemic lockdowns would happen only a few weeks later when I wouldn’t be able to work directly on people’s faces and I would have to pivot to virtual work is not lost on me.

My virtual work became tarot readings, natal chart, transit and synastry chart readings that focus on themes like career, money, love and relationships. Since then I’ve expanded to in-person readings which started with The Culture Candy’s artist collective’s pop-ups, birthday parties, corporate events like team bonding or holiday parties, bachelorette parties, and of course one-on-one private sessions at locations in Queens and Manhattan.

As makeup work became more feasible, I’ve worked across the spectrum of freelance work in NYC: taking private clients, working retail/boutiques, assisting established makeup artists in bridal, fashion & e-commerce, tv & live events like NYFW and the MTV VMA’s.

I focus my astrological and tarot practice by helping my clients understand their subconscious emotions and patterns, what drives them, and what they need to nurture themselves to show up and live their lives boldly, bravely, and beautifully.

I see the work I do with my makeup clients as intimate and transformative as my readings. I love talking to the person in my makeup chair about their astrology, exploring what they’re currently going through by looking at their transits and natal placements or pulling tarot cards to inspire the energy of a test shoot.
One of my proudest full circle moments has been being able to be the bridal makeup artist to my astrology client who when we first met I told her she was entering a great few weeks for dating if she was open to it even though she was primarily focused on her solo healing at the time..fast forward to doing readings and event makeup for the new couple who later would also trust and give me the honor of doing their glam on their very special day. I gave them both tarot readings that morning and blessed their bouquets before they walked down the aisle.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Non-creatives definitely struggle to understand the lifestyle of being a creative. Financial stability is not guaranteed by pursuing creative work but often people in non-creative fields don’t take someone in a creative field’s work seriously which is difficult when these are your own friends and family. Often your own friends and family won’t be the ones to support your creative endeavors until they see others supporting you and that’s both emotionally with having patience for you not being able to attend social functions due to work or financially by booking you or buying your products. They also struggle with understanding that for example being in the makeup industry, I often work with Net 30,Net 60 and Net 90 pay terms. So let’s say they saw or heard I worked a lot recently but I still may not be able to afford attending your event/party/wedding or joining a group trip because I’m not seeing that money for months. It can often be a “feast and famine” lifestyle so we can have times of the year where we make good money and other times where we barely or don’t work at all. I’m just starting to figure out how to prepare and ride out these waves but the first few years can be the most difficult and I wish more non-creatives would make an effort to be more understanding or flexible to learning what creatives juggle in order to have better relationships dynamics.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is being able to create a uniquely authentic life based off my values and passions. It comes with its own challenges and struggles without a doubt but learning to lean into my own authority and decision making for my lifestyle and future is absolutely worth it.

My passion for makeup artistry is definitely due to my Libra Rising, which loves beauty, harmony and making people feel comfortable in my chair. This is why I’m known for bringing out the best in a person’s complexion with radiant, glowing skin. But I’d credit my love for audacious, edgy and luxe aesthetics to my moody, intense Scorpio Moon. You can find me on set with a client explaining how the current cosmic transits are affecting their love life while touching up their lip color or having models pull tarot cards while I interpret them during their skincare prep. My love of astrology and magick fuse with my passion for beauty and aesthetics creating what I call my signature Glamcraft.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://calendly.com/labrujabrenda/
• Instagram: @labrujabrenda @bgjaramillo.beauty
• Other: Makeup portfolio: Www.brendagarciajaramillo.com For in-person readings in Queens at Inner Pttrn: https://innerpttrn.com For in-person readings in Manhattan at ActiveCare Physical Therapy: https://calendly.com/labrujabrenda/

Image Credits
TJ Ferrari (@bolexstudios) for the picture of me touching up my client, Amber Ink Creative (@_amberink_) for the photos with the sunflower arc and the mirror, Will Dacosta (@wdacostaphoto) for the photo where I’m giving a tarot reading