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

Hi Candido, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I feel like my background and story is a pretty unique one. Both of my parents are deaf, and I knew American Sign Language before I spoke English. Early on in my childhood I was diagnosed with ADHD and was even misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. It was pretty evident to my parents that I wasn’t going to be easy to raise, but their patience and genuine love for me allowed me to grow into the person that I am today. I consider myself lucky to have had my ADHD identified so early on in my life, as I’ve gotten accustomed to living with it on a day to day basis. I also feel like it was ADHD that gave me such a creative mind. I remember listening to music on the radio and creating scenes in my mind that matched up to how the music ebbed and flowed. It impacted how I approached my education and school. I struggled with school until the beginning of high school, where I finally found some level of footing and actually ended my Freshman year with a 4.0 GPA, which was an achievement that my parents and I were very proud of (it was somewhat short lived, however. due to my high gpa I was placed in AP classes, and those weren’t easy for me, so my GPA tanked. I managed to graduate with a 3.0, but looking back I think I could’ve done better if I had just applied myself).

During high school, I explored myself creatively. I joined the Musical Theatre, Chorus, Orchestra, and took a video editing class in Sophomore year. I think me joining these courses and extracurricular activities planted the seeds for my creative vision and mission. I’ve always known that I was a creative person, it’s just a feeling that I had. My father, despite being deaf, actually played the drums in a high school band that he was in. Despite his deafness, he was able to feel the rhythm of the music being played through vibrations, and enjoyed spending his time writing essays and painting. My aunt still has pictures that he painted, like the scenery of a tranquil stream with bright greens, muted blues and vibrant yellows, and a picture of a Yorkshire puppy with a pink flower upon it’s head. My grandfather was known for being a Cuban Casanova but was also an esteemed professor, teaching at the University of Havana, several high schools, and even teaching at prisons. He was a talented artist in his own right, painting murals at the schools that he taught at. My great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were educators in Cuba as well. My aunt pursued her own form of education in the form of Special Education. She was inspired to do so after taking care of a special needs child while in high school and would go on to obtain her Master’s degree in Special Education with a minor in Emotional Handicapped Assistance in 1985. This gave her the knowledge needed to help me when I was younger, and helped cultivate my creativity.

In 2017, I remember sitting on the couch with my mother and father, watching the news like we usually do. I remember it fondly, as it was those types of days that you take for granted. The only worry that passed my mind was whether or not I was going to turn in a homework assignment for a class that I dreaded taking. During this time I wasn’t the best student, and while I loved doing Musical Theatre, I felt like I was lacking something doing it. I loved to sing, and I genuinely love to act, but something deep in me told me that it wasn’t the thing that I was meant to do. I was somewhat oblivious to this insecurity, since I was kind of delusional in the beginning of high school, but I felt it still. While watching the afternoon news, something interesting was being announced. The first male makeup artist to become a CoverGirl, James Charles, was introduced to me for the very first time. My parents immediately took a disliking to this pretty historic announcement, being old-fashioned. I pretended to dislike it as well, but inside, I felt a surge of inspiration. I was closeted during this time, so seeing this sort of representation made me feel emotions that I never knew I could feel. A man doing…makeup? The concept had never crossed my mind, yet it would be what inspires me to be who I am today. Skip to 2020, I moved out of my parents house to live with my aunt and uncle in Phoenix after graduating in the class of 2019 and the lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic is still in full swing. A friend that I had made while working at Target was someone who enjoyed doing makeup as a hobby, and I loved seeing her put together a look while we hung out. Seeing her blend her eyeshadow, chisel her jawline with contour, adding a blinding shine of highlight to her cheekbones, and finishing everything off with a refreshing setting spray reintroduced me to the inspiration that I felt years prior. I decided to ask if she would be interested in teaching me how to do makeup, and the rest was history.

My father has sound in the silence, feeling the vibrations through his feet, and conjuring beautiful colors onto blank canvas. My aunt has kindness and empathy, as well as a hunger for learning and growing. My grandfather had the soul of a Shakespearian romantic, the heart of a soldier and the mind of an encyclopedia. Me? That’s something that I’m still trying to discover. All I know is that I have a passion for makeup. It allows me to express myself at my truest, most genuine self. It gives me the confidence to face problems in my life, and is something that I want to do all the time. To me, makeup is more than just vanity and looking pretty. It’s taking the time to pour into my cup, and showing others that there’s more to life than black and white. In my mind, there’s color in everything, and makeup is a reminder of that truth.

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?

Hi there! I’m Candido Torres. I’m a makeup artist in Phoenix, AZ, and I provide bridal and editorial makeup services as a freelancer as well as working under Transformation Station, which is a luxury makeup salon. I got into the modeling industry first before doing makeup, as when I was a model, makeup was simply a hobby for me. I didn’t really see myself doing it professionally on others. I attended a modeling school from 2021 to the end of 2022 and it gave me opportunities that I had dreamed of achieving in 2020. I walked in NYFW 2021 and several fashion shows in Phoenix like Tempe Fashion Week Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. During this time, I was also experimenting with makeup and learned everything I could about it. Thinking back, I feel like I was much more invested in growing as a makeup artist than being a full time model. I also worked at Sephora in 2021 and that fueled my love for makeup. After graduating from the modeling school, I decided to fully pivot from modeling to doing makeup full time. I’ll still do it if any opportunities that I’m aligned with come my way, but for now I’m dedicated to being a makeup artist. Something that sets me apart from others is my ability to be honest about my work and to see it for what it is. As a makeup artist, it’s my job to make a client feel beautiful and stunning. However, there have been times where my application wasn’t the best, and so I’ve had to take critique and learn the hard way on how to properly serve clients. I think that has made me a much better artist in the short amount of time that I’ve been doing makeup professionally. I don’t know if I would’ve made it as far as I have if I wasn’t capable of taking criticism. I’m usually pretty hard on myself, because I want to live up to the expectations of my father, and other family members and friends who see me going very far. However, I’m proud of myself for starting this passion on my own. I always felt like I was being pushed to do things by others, so being able to do makeup on my own volition, because I genuinely enjoy doing it; it’s really the best feeling ever. I want people to know that I’m someone who is passionate. I want to not only grow as a person, but to grow alongside the people that I meet through this career that I’ve chosen. I could’ve gone to university like anyone else and networked like anyone else, but I wanted a different path. I feel like this path is going to bring really special people in my life, and I’m very excited to see what comes along. I also hope that my makeup artistry inspires you to be yourself. As I always say, I’m changing the world, one lewk at a time.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the feeling of relief that I was able to execute what I sought out to do in the first place. I want to grow as a makeup artist, and with that comes risks and going out of my comfort zone. I’ve recently started to dip my toes in graphic makeup art, bleaching my eyebrows with concealer, and creating actual art on my eyes, like stars. Sometimes what I want to do doesn’t really work out, but when it does? It’s a form of creative euphoria, being able to see in person what you saw in your brain for days, weeks, even months.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

NFT’s suck any opportunity for small or medium sized artists to earn a living for their work, and allow people with no artistic vision or talent to earn thousands or even millions off of digital art that isn’t even good. They also present an environmental issue, as NFT’s require a ton of energy and computing power to produce, which ultimately effects the planet. The planet has a finite amount of resources, and putting those resources into making pictures of ugly monkeys worth 100 times my annual income is very frustrating.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candidoxtorres/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@candidoxtorres
• Other: business email for any inquires: [email protected]

Image Credits
Photo with disco: Photographer: @blind3irdeye Photo with blue dress: Photographer: @alitsophoto Director: @corellaandco Styling: @lindsxles Makeup: @my_beautyobsession Photo with pensive look: Photographer: @morganzamboni Hair/Makeup: @regina_velenzuelamakeup Styling: @veronicaalopez_