Meet Aaliyah Rodriguez

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaliyah Rodriguez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aaliyah, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I really had to sit back and jot down what I have done in the past 4 years . It turns out that not a lot of makeup artist in the first year went to actual NYFW or even worked with celebrities or even open up a cosmetics line. So I asked myself why you keep doubting yourself why you feel you are not good enough in the industry… and the answer was really “ I don’t know” like seriously I couldn’t give myself a legitimate reason on to why I felt that way after jotting down what I’ve done.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

So as you guys already know I’m a makeup artist and a business owner I’m also a new mother. So I try to focus on multitasking all those things at once which is not easy. Taking on another “full time job” can be exhausting. I’m literally making content as a content creator/makeup artist, trying out samples and having zoom meetings with manufacturers about my next launches (3 to be exact) and make sure I’m on time for my daughters next feeding.

My brand Purfect Cosmetics ( Instagram: purrrfectcosmetics) surrounds the concept of individuality and how makeup can be very versatile. My products ranges from pro to regular customers and everyone can enjoy being a kid again. To me the world “Professional makeup brands” are very boring and serious and people need to put a smile on their faces, hence why you see a cat on my packaging. However my formulation is top notch professional grade at a decent price. That’s also a serious issue in the industry like why break your bank to feel or look beautiful! I would want a regular customer to feel like a pro at home using my products while having a random cute cat on it to smile about. Also my brand represents what I learned in the industry like which products works best for me in the industry. Why depot your cream blushes (which takes lots of time and money) when you have a squeeze tube in my brand that is way more sanitary and easier to use!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

What I learned in my 4 years as a MUA is patience, confidence and being genuine. Those 3 things are very important as a MUA and business owner nowadays because not everyone has your best interests or even value you for what’s you worth. It’s just sad and it’s hurtful that someone will literally say this in your face “ I’ll find someone to do it for cheap”. That’s honestly when I started to feel like I wasn’t worth anything because no one cared who I worked for.

You will get lots of nos before you get any yes’s. So that’s when Patience come into play, even the most famous MUA’s admitted that they even had times when they didn’t get any clientele for a month! Yes a month! And that can be very mentally draining if being a MUA as your full on career. So I kept advertising myself on instagram with my tutorials and recommendations on makeup products until I was seen. That’s also when makeup brands such as Danessa Myricks wanted me to be their “Angel” (meaning their ambassador). Ever since I got that title I gained my confidence and was getting more clients.

Now when I was getting “popular” I was also getting a lot of “snakes” in the industry and would only use me for the people I know. There was one time a MUA went behind my back and told my client I wasn’t available and she took them. I lost that client because someone lied. So when I introduce myself I don’t tell anyone who I know and if you are genuine those people that truly value you as you will come around.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

This is a hard one … I have multiple people that help me to become the person I am today. I wanna just say Thank you Kassandra , Hosway and Danielle. They are all makeup artist and they are also business owners. They all taught me to stick to my gut and be consistent in my craft. Every time I just see them I can’t just say wow! Like wow this is gonna be me one day if I keep this up! Kassandra (Instagram: Kassfxstudio) is really big in my opinion in the SFX world doing a commercial for Twix!!!! Hosway owns a makeup school ( instagram: Mastermakeupacademy) and is now the official HMUA of the NFL LA Rams. Danielle Mclane ( instagram: diamondbeautycosmetic_boutique) has a school as well and has her own beauty brand!

So all that they accomplished in 10+ years I can do to especially I’ve done more in my 4 years than MUA’s that started the same time as me. Just gotta be patient, confident and have consistency!!!

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Image Credits

There’s none I’ve taken these myself.

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