We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shanice Darius. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shanice below.
Shanice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I knew I wanted to purse a professional creative path when I graduated High School in 2021. I focused a lot on makeup and felt like sharing my growth and creativity with others. When it comes to makeup, I use it as my form of therapy. It helps me with self expression and just getting out of my head. I was always told that I need to start getting PAID to do makeup and start teaching others how to do makeup, so thats really where that came in.
Shanice, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Shanice, but I also go by Shanii. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I am a jack of all trades, but right now my main focus is Content Creation, Fashion, Makeup, and Modeling. Everything I do comes from me just being in my head all the time. Im always thinking. which is why I’m so quiet. I’m very observant. Growing up, I’ve always had issues with verbally expressing myself and how I was feeling or even what’s going on with me, so I turned to art. Being creative was always something I had the most confidence in.
I am a freelance model and makeup artist. Meaning I am not signed to any agency and I manage my own business. The only reason why I’m not signed to a modeling agency right now is because I want to build my portfolio and experience with modeling before signing to an agency. Modeling is my form of discipline. It helps me maintain focus, body positivity, and structure. Its also helps me with confidence and overcoming my insecurities.
What sets me apart from others is that fact that I’m very understanding and caring towards others. Sounds cliche, I know, but Im always making sure others are good before I am… in any situation.
I am very proud of how far i’ve come and how far I am trying to take my craft. I can definitely see a huge change within myself from since middle school. I feel like I’m a little more outgoing now, but still very introverted. I guess that’s what they call an “Extroverted Introvert”. I feel like now that I’m about to be 21, I’m actually living or starting to live my childhood dream. Being from Brooklyn and not having much safe and accessible access to modeling opportunities or not having a clear understanding of what is really going on and what am I supposed to be doing— I do a great job of just navigating my creative life on my own — self taught.
The main things I want my supporters to know about me is that I am a very genuine and chill person. Very shy but full of vibes as well. All of my work has meaning and is made to inspire. My goal in this life is to simply inspire everyone to tap into their creative side and to connect with each other. Everyone is filled with different forms of creativity that should and could be put to great use.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative has to be the outcome. The outcome of a long run. The outcome after doubt and breakdowns and just not feeling too great. The outcome always ends up coming out so beautiful. And then getting recognized for the work you do? Yeah that’s one of the best feelings in the world because it’s like the prime example of why I should continue trusting the process and keep going no matter how hard things get.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Something non-creatives fail to realize, is that this isn’t easy. Everyone thinks that being a model is someone who just poses in front of a camera all day and that’s it. They don’t really know all of the behind the scenes and how hard it is to be safe and still enjoy being a model. They dont really understand how hard it is to really get recognized or paid for the work you do.
Everyone thinks being a content creator and a influencer is the same thing. It’s not. People think that influencing and content creation is all fun and games – well it is – but theres a lot that falls behind it. Editing, Posting Schedules, getting people to actually engage, a good support system, finding and building your target audience, dealing with negative comments, etc. while still in college. All these things are what Spotlight Creatives have to deal with on a day to day basis.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaniitoohottii?igsh=MWttMDY0bGRnZzBjNg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanice-darius-a23282260?trk=contact-info
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@shaniitoohottii?si=Pv2-Fhbxst01trZd
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shaniitoohottii?_t=8qRGYlP9XB8&_r=1
Image Credits
(in order)
@shaniitoohottii
@high_defvisuals
@naeturnervisuals
@mmelapamm @thelowkeylens
@highdefvisuals
@shaniitoohottii
@mad_monkphotography
@spikedlovej