We were lucky to catch up with Carolina Vasquez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carolina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I think the biggest and most rewarding risk I’ve taken was moving across the country from Tennessee to Colorado when I was 19 years old. I took the risk because I debated moving to Nashville and was kind of underwhelmed by the artist opportunities there. Now, looking back, I know this was the next decision I ever made because, for the first time, I actually feel like I’ve actually found a community of artists and creatives that I really resonate with and am attached to. It’s really incredible to move somewhere where so many talented people also live.

Carolina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into makeup while makeup Youtubers were super popular, so I started practicing different techniques on myself and my friends in high school. Very quickly I fell in love with the versatility and artistry of makeup. After that, I started looking more into celebrity makeup artist techniques and that’s how my style of makeup was born. I’ve always been super inspired by bold, abstract and artistic makeup, but also have an appreciation for soft glam and shimmer; I just love all makeup. I think something that may set me aside from other makeup artists is that I try not to put myself in a box. I want clients to feel comfortable sending me any technical or elaborate look because I could probably figure out how to recreate it or at least give them something similar that they will also love. The artistry aspect is my favorite part of it all, and my love for makeup has allowed me to learn a lot about many different types of makeup and how limitless the possibilities are.

As for modeling goes, I started modeling when I was 17 because I was a hobbyist photographer and so were my friends, but they were trying to get into taking portraits so I often ended up being their subject. I like to think I’m a pretty versatile model, but my favorite thing about modeling is collaborating with other models, photographers, stylists, and makers because I feel like their contribution to the end result makes it so much more valuable than me just being the subject of an image.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I had to unlearn to stop getting in my own way was that other creatives aren’t scary people and probably trying to learn from everyone they meet much like myself. I used to think the artists I looked up to would be too cool and knowledgeable to ever want to interact with me, and that’s simply untrue and probably just my imposter syndrome talking. Since unlearning this, I’ve exposed myself to so many opportunities for me to grow and work with talented creatives.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am still technically working on building my social media presence but something that I’ve learned is that posting what you’re proud of instead of what people on Instagram will like has made all the difference in my social media experience being enjoyable. However, meeting and working with new creatives has helped me discover more and more of the artist community that’s in or around Denver. My only advice is to take risks, branch out, meet new people, and don’t put yourself in a box.

Contact Info:

• Website: ahoycarolina.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ahoycarolina
• Facebook: facebook.com/ahoycarolina
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/vasquez-carolina
• Twitter: twitter.com/ahoycarolina

Image Credits
Strawberry_hive Colfaxblues Richardedens Persephone_stone