LA is such a melting pot that it was just a little little bit of a tradition shock once I began touring for my job. Being surrounded by folks from all backgrounds has at all times simply been my norm, however I have been to some states the place there aren’t individuals who appear to be me. It made me notice how lucky I used to be to develop up in a spot that’s so numerous and so welcoming. I’ve at all times identified that magnificence is available in all shapes, sizes, and kinds.
The way in which I bought into make-up is one thing that may solely occur in Los Angeles. Whereas I used to be getting my diploma, I bought a part-time job on the MAC counter. In the future, Hailee Steinfeld got here in. She gave me a chance to do her make-up whereas she was on tour, and that is how I bought my foot within the door. Had it not been for that job and for her, who is aware of the place I’d be now.
I’ve seen so many individuals exhibiting up for each other within the magnificence group this week. The make-up artist Grishan Roof—who goes by Depot Chopra on Instagram as a result of she depots merchandise to make them simpler to make use of—is constructing out kits for artists which have misplaced theirs. It takes years and years to construct these kits—to seek out brushes and eye shadows and merchandise you’re keen on. I do know so many individuals which were donating gadgets to her.
In a time the place the world feels tremendous divided, it’s so stunning to see the outpouring of affection that is occurring proper now. Each time I am going on-line, I am crying—both from such unbelievable disappointment or from happiness that somebody is getting the assistance they want. As devastating because it all is, it is also so stunning to see everybody come collectively.
Andrew Fitzsimons, hairstylist and founding father of Andrew Fitzsimons Hair
I moved to Los Angeles in 2017 after residing in New York for 5 – 6 years. In New York, there’s plenty of satisfaction in how onerous every part is. There’s a pleasant however begrudging angle in the direction of Los Angeles dwellers that’s like, ‘Why are their lives so sunshine-y and straightforward?!’ I type of adopted that angle robotically with out ever having visited. After which as soon as I got here right here, it was like that Intercourse and the Metropolis episode set in LA. You need to hate them, however you additionally need to be them.
As I began going to Los Angeles extra for work, I spotted how a lot it has to supply. You may go to downtown LA and really feel such as you’re in a significant metropolis, after which moments later you could be on the seaside. I really like that I can actually curate my life right here, that I could be round nature however nonetheless do my job. I’ve discovered group right here. I’m an immigrant—I used to be born in Eire—and immigrants normally discover one another as a result of we’ve got loads in widespread. My pal Mariana Marroquin immigrated from Guatemala and is the director of the Trans Wellness Center in LA, the place we’ve got an ongoing donation program for unused magnificence and self-care gadgets.
The spine of California actually is the immigrant inhabitants, particularly the Latinx group. There are tens of millions of undocumented people who find themselves frontline staff in the USA. In California, it’s the undocumented inhabitants that’s rising meals, selecting meals, packaging it… They’ve achieved the toughest factor on the planet, which is to go away every part and go to an odd land to verify they may also help their households survive.
