When I decided to include interviews on my blog, the first person I thought of was Cynthia Angelina. She left her corporate job to become a successful makeup artist and hairstylist. Her most recent assignment was the Emmy Awards Red Carpet on Sunday (we’ll get to her comments on the event later). She traded in a structured occupation and steady income for entrepreneurship and creativity. She is truly an inspiration.
Cynthia was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her love of makeup began when she was a child. She would open up her mom’s brand new eye shadow palette and she just had to touch each and every color. Her creativity was nurtured by her mom through makeup, hairstyling, and arts and crafts.
Fast forward to adulthood: After a few years at her corporate job, her employer started downsizing. As she wondered about her own job security, she knew she wanted something more. She debated whether to take classes to get certification in makeup and hairstyling. It was her boyfriend (now husband), Aldo, who encouraged her, “How many people get to say that they do what they love? You just need to go ahead and do it.” Cynthia’s decision was made. “Not that I needed someone’s approval,” she says, “but it was like that extra validation which was so amazing. He’s awesome!”
Cynthia worked at her job by day while her nights and weekends were busy with makeup and hair classes. When training was complete, nights and weekends were then filled with freelancing to build her portfolio. This hectic schedule went on for about three years. “It was insane,” she confirms. “People said, ‘I don’t know how you do it,’ and I thought, ‘Me neither.’ I just don’t think about it. You have to keep your head in the game and don’t even stop to think about it.”
She started to see more opportunities from her freelance work. “The longer I stayed, the more jobs I had to turn down doing makeup…really good jobs, good paying jobs,” she explains. She gave herself a target date to leave, but stayed longer to help them find 
a replacement. She booked a lot of makeup jobs ahead of time and she notified her contacts that she would soon be available full-time. “I also saved up before I left and gave myself a good cushion for a few months just to be okay,” she adds.
Then, in 2014, after eight years at the job, she left to become a full-time makeup artist and hairstylist. She remembers her initial feelings about branching out on her own: “It’s scary. You know, I’ve got everything in order, but who knows what’s going to happen next month? That uncertainty can be scary. But I did it and I haven’t looked back.”
Even with your preparation, did you ever question your decision, like “Did I do the right thing?”
Oh, yeah, I did. With my work, I could be busy for two months straight, no days off, and then, all of a sudden, I’ll be off for two weeks. And so, for me, if I’m not doing something, I feel like I’m wasting time. Definitely for the first year, I wondered, “What did I do?” It was never, “I should go back.” That was never an option. I decided that when I left, I was gone. In my mind, I destroyed that safety net on purpose. Not burning my bridges, but there was never an option to turn back. I worked this hard and made a lot of sacrifices…and Aldo’s made a lot of sacrifices, my family too. There were times when they never saw me. I thought I’ll just get a job as a bartender, or walk dogs, whatever it took, but I would keep going. And eventually I started trusting myself more.
Did your family support your decision?
My parents are both entrepreneurs so it was easy for them to support me. We also know how hard it is to go through that. But they said, “We know you’re a hard worker. Whatever it is you want to do, you’re going to succeed.” My whole family has been really supportive.
Did you face negativity? Did anyone make any comments?
Oh, yeah, comments for sure. It wasn’t from my family, but people I know. At first when they found out I was going back to school, they asked, “So is this a new hobby of yours?” It wasn’t until they started seeing me doing work on the Red Carpet or on TV shows that they got it, “Ohhh…so you weren’t kidding about this not being a hobby.” People don’t know. You get a good job which, by most people’s standards, is what I had, and then that’s it, you stick with it. You stay there until you retire and that’s it. I’m not very conventional, apparently.
Knowing now what you didn’t know then, is there anything you would’ve done differently as far as leaving the corporate job and starting your own business?
I would’ve still been there through the early years because I was able to buy my house; I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I didn’t have the steady income. I knew nothing about saving—for a home or for life—so I did learn a lot. But I would’ve done it sooner and I would’ve just believed in myself a little bit more. You have to be a trailblazer for yourself.
The fashion and entertainment industries are often depicted as cut-throat. Did you experience this when you started working professionally as a makeup artist/hair stylist?
I did and I didn’t. I’ve been really lucky and have been surrounded by really good people. I have seen it and it really is cut-throat as far as there’s no room for errors. There’s always someone better, faster, etc., so you just have to be on it consistently. But I feel like that has shifted. I work with a lot of really amazing artists that have been doing this for a lot longer, some of them longer than I’ve been alive. I’ve had them as mentors and they’ve told me that the industry isn’t the way it was back then. People were a lot nastier and it’s shifted to where you don’t have to be so aggressive or mean to move up. It’s almost like if you’re that way, you’re considered difficult now. And unless you’re some big-time makeup artist, people aren’t going to put up with that.
I’ve been really lucky; I feel you surround yourself with what you want to be perceived as so I’ve been very fortunate to work with really great artists and not just makeup artists and hair stylists, but also the production companies, the talent, and everything. The feeling is always like we’re here together, we’re here to support each other and boost us up versus bringing people down. That’s always been my mindset because when I started, people weren’t always the nicest or they were treating you like crap because you’re a newbie. I thought when I go through this journey, I’m not going to be that way. I firmly believe that you can be a good person and still succeed. So that’s what I’ve surrounded myself with.
What are some of the pros and cons of working with other creative people?
Some of the pros, obviously, are you get to see such amazing things come out of people and the art is just insane…from creative directors, photographers, 
etc. The downside is sometimes this job is like being a mind reader. You sometimes have certain artists who can’t communicate what they want and you have to figure out what they’re saying.
From working in corporate America, I was used to having everything planned, so I’ve had to learn to let go a little. At 10:00 tonight, I could get an e-mail saying, “Hey, Cynthia, we need you for this 12-hour shoot tomorrow.” And I have to be ready to go. That’s part of working with creative people. You never know your schedule until the day before. Being able to just go with the flow and let it go sometimes, that’s kind of the hard part.
My previous job was to organize people’s lives and then now I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow. For me to make plans with someone is so hard. It’s not that I’m trying to be a flake or that I don’t care about them, but things happen. If I got called for Vogue today, I’d have to turn down plans with friends. That part kinda sucks but it’s part of the life I’ve chosen. You have to take the good with the bad.
What are some important qualities of a successful makeup artist?
Being diligent, following through with work, not being flakey. And, if you’re 10 
minutes early, you’re already late. Being on time, being organized, and remember you’re your own brand. In this life of social media, you’re always in the public eye. Just remember that those potential clients are always watching and you never know what they’ll find browsing through the internet looking for your name. So just make sure that you’re aware of that and represent yourself the way that you want brands, companies or potential employers to see you.
I read that you’re involved with an organization, Beauty Bus Foundation.
Beauty Bus is a foundation that works with men, women and children who are either fighting cancer or are terminally ill. What we do as volunteers is we go to their homes and provide services like makeup and hair, manicures, pedicures, massages, facials, things that you and I might take for granted, but it’s something to make them feel better.
If I’m doing makeup for someone or a haircut, there’s also a buddy that comes with me who talks with the client. We call them clients, not patients. They deserve to be treated and spoiled so that’s what we do. We also do pop-up salons and we do a lot of work with City of Hope, Children’s Hospital, and Ronald McDonald Home. Some of those kids can’t leave the hospital so we go to them. And we also take care of the caregivers, the moms, the dads, the wife, the husband. They do so much and their focus is the person who is going through this, but they’re also going through it so we come and offer our services.
Sometimes I feel the beauty industry can be considered shallow, and I understand it, but there’s something to be said for having a hard day and saying, “I’m just going to throw this red lipstick on and that’s going to make me feel better inside and, in turn, I’ll be able to transmit that to everybody else.”
That’s one of the things I do; I get to do makeup and hair, but I also give back to the community and brighten up someone’s day a little.
I heard about them through the school I was at. It’s such a beautiful thing that they do, I just continued on. I’ve been with them for a long time, I guess almost as long as I’ve been doing makeup and hair. I love it.
What advice would you give someone who is trying to find their own path?
I feel like everyone has their own way of doing it and it’s never wrong. Like I said, I wish I would’ve done it sooner, but that was what was right for me at the 
time and no one could push me or pull me back because ultimately, it’s my choice. I think that you really have to stop and think of what you want to do with your life and know that it’s never too late. When I decided to do makeup, I was already 27 or 28; I was still older than when some people start their careers. But it’s never too late and trust yourself. If it’s something you really want to do, you’re going to do it and you’re going to work through the blood, sweat, and tears. That would be my advice. I’m still growing so I’ll let you know in a few years.
What are your other passions?
Aside from doing volunteer work, I like to do a lot of arts and crafts. For my wedding, I basically made everything like the centerpieces, our invitations, all that stuff, and it was so much fun. It was a lot of work, but I had help. My sisters are amazing so they came in and did the set up and everyone had one job. I also love to bake, but I haven’t done it in a while.
What projects have you worked on recently?
I did a shoot for the Glamour España July issue; it was so much fun. I also worked on an ad for Murad which is on Sephora’s website.
And…what was it like to work the Emmy Awards on Sunday?
I‘ve done the event directly with the Television Academy for about three to four years now. I worked on private clients for the event before that. It’s an amazing event; behind the scenes is so fast-paced and beautiful.
I get a chance to work on the actual Red Carpet, along with my fellow Beauty Bus volunteers. The Television Academy is a sponsor of Beauty Bus and we artists volunteer our time in order to contribute to the efforts to help spread the Beauty Bus word.
We did touch-ups for Mandy Patinkin, Carrie Con, Rosie Abernethy and so many more. I also worked on one of the amazing executives for the Television Academy, Barrie Nedler, who brings Beauty Bus on every year, before and after the event. And I got to glam up DJ Smiles Davis (http://instagram.com/djsmilesdavis) for Fox’s Emmys After-Party. It was a lot of fun!
Didn’t I tell you? Cynthia is an inspiration. She knew what she wanted and she went after it like a boss…to become her own boss! Thank you, Cynthia, for sharing your story!
The photos included here are just a few examples of Cynthia’s talent and skill. Please check out her website for more of her beautiful and creative work.
Cynthia Angelina Website: www.CynthiaAngelina.com
Cynthia’s Social Media: Instagram & Facebook: CynthiaAngelinaMUA
Beauty Bus Foundation Website: www.beautybus.org