We recently connected with Daiana Aponte and have shared our conversation below.

Daiana, 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?

From a young age I would play with my grandmothers makeup and practice, completely unaware that I was subconsciously teaching myself how to do something that so many years later I’d be doing professionally.

My first job was at a MAC Cosmetics counter, and although I got the job without ever actually having done someone else’s makeup, I was immediately thrown into doing services. It was true hands on learning. Although there were many trial and errors, I dedicate much of my learnings to that experience. I worked on multiple clients every day, from different faces shapes, skin tones, ages, and aesthetics.

I then moved to Los Angeles, where I studied fashion/print, special fx, film/tv, and prosthetic making. I also began assisting celebrity and fashion makeup artists. Watching and learning from them on set.

It took me many years to feel like a true expert in my industry. I think one of the obstacles I faced was focusing on my path. I knew I wanted to be a makeup artist, but I didn’t know what kind. There are many different fields within this industry. You can work as a makeup artist in bridal, celebrity, film, ecom, special fx, and many more.
Once you know where you’re focus is, you can prioritize mastering that field. This will speed up your learning as you can focus on what is relevant to your journey.

For example, my mindset was to learn everything about makeup artistry, even if it wasn’t an area that I was passionate in. It took me a long time to learn prosthetic making, which I never utilized. As that is not where I wanted to take my career.

Identifying in which field you’d like to work will also help you to market yourself to those kind of jobs. Giving you a more consistent clientele.

Surprisingly, the most essential skill sets I gained are not related to my artistry. But more so in my professionalism and how I carry myself. Learning from other artists, how to interact with clients/celebrities/set crews confidently and professionally was one of my biggest take backs. Do not underestimate how far confidence, and work ethic will get you.

Creating new looks, learning new techniques, and working on a new canvas every time – as an artist I am constantly learning. I am so grateful for every makeup application I have done. As every time I touch a face I am practicing and perfecting my craft.

Daiana, 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?

My name is Daiana Aponte, and I am a makeup artist. I focus primarily on fashion/print, brand campaigns, and e-commerce.

As a teenager, my past time hobby was watching MTV music videos and recreating the makeup looks I saw in them on myself. Instead of researching famous musicians or actors, I’d look for who their makeup artists were. I would stay all day in my room – applying, removing, applying, and removing my moms “hand me down” makeup until I perfected the look.

I started doing makeup professionally at a MAC Cosmetics counter, and later moved to Los Ángeles where I studied at Makeup Designory (MUD).

Since then I have worked on many different sets including short films, fashion shoots, music videos, celebrity press days, and many more. I recently relocated to Miami, where I am expanding my career.

One of my biggest accomplishments was recently working with actress Dania Ramirez for Univision and Telemundo. As a Puerto Rican makeup artist, it was a goal of mine to work on
their sets. I worked alongside celebrity hair stylist Ricardo Rojas and stylist Gali Barraza. It was especially inspiring because I got to work with an all latin team.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Similar to other jobs, working as a makeup artist means starting from the bottom and learning, networking, and climbing your way to the top.

It can feel like a very long journey with no destination at the end. There are often times where I am getting the consistency in jobs that I want. As much as giving up and pursuing a more stable or financially rewarding career seems is tempting, I continue pursuing my dream.

And with every new opportunity that I arises, I see that my perseverance was worth it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is getting to do something that you love and find fun everyday. It may sometimes feel like a lot of work, but it’s a lot of work doing something that you enjoy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://daianaaponte.wixsite.com/makeup?fbclid=PAAaacUlq8hohKckt6Tce7ZdJF0c9aevVYSnsh3ScZ2Rgm_qlBnIR52X9th88
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deeeaponte/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daiana-aponte-67640b11a?original_referer=