AR: | How did you get started working in beauty? |
EO: |
I started working in beauty in my teens back in Colombia, beauty has always been my dream. Another one of my dreams was to be part of the creators group of Hollywood films, so I moved to the U.S. to pursue that dream. I went to the UCLA extension in the early 90's for ESL classes and got involved with the film department, where I learned the basics of how movies were made. For makeup purposes, I learned how to break down the screenplays scene by scene and how to create the characters looks from those screenplays by using the art of makeup. I also learned various tools that have helped my film and beauty career. I had offered my makeup services to those students who were graduating from film school, they had to make their own movies in order to graduate. I did makeup for 6 student films, as an exchange for a copy of each film and my credit in them. To create my first reel, I got the scene that would feature my best work from every single one of those films, then I put the scenes all together in a VHS tape. Remember this was the early 90's and the internet didn't exist yet :) I made many copies from that original reel tape and mailed them, along with letters, to multiple production companies, asking them for a job as a makeup artist in their productions. I was working in a salon in Beverly Hills at the same time I was going to UCLA for my ESL and film classes in the evenings. One of my clients from the salon, a Mexican actress who was starting her career in Hollywood, had a very important studio screen test for a movie, and recommended me with one of the producers to do the makeup for it. The actress who recommended me was Salma Hayek and a week later after the studio saw the screen test, she got her first starring role in Hollywood and I was offered my first Hollywood film as a Makeup Dept. Head for Columbia Pictures Studios, called DESPERADO starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Also, I have always loved beauty and editorial makeup and I have been fortunate to be able to do it all throughout the years. I now have over 40 Hollywood productions in my resume, countless editorials and red carpet events. I love beauty :) |
AR: | Who had the biggest beauty influence on you growing up? |
EO: |
One of my biggest beauty influences growing up was Vivien Leigh, I grew up watching Hollywood movies and I was obsessed! With the movie Gone with the Wind, I saw it more times than I can count when I was a kid, Vivien's beauty was flawless, her skin! And OMG her lashes were everything!! Another big beauty influence was Sofia Loren, her exotic beauty, her beautiful shape cat eyes and again those lashes! |