“I’ve been working 8 years for what I want. I’m still am not where I want to be, but I know I’m going to get there.”
Alba Irahola’s life in Omaha, Nebraska was not turning out how she thought it would. While the circumstances of her arrival were not ideal, there was still an excitement in starting over somewhere new. The romanticized idea of the American Dream was proving to be far from reality though. At least for now. “Patience,” she reminded herself, “Patience.”
A memory of Alba’s life back in Venezuela stuck in her mind. She was eight years old at the mall with her mother when they stopped at the Lancôme beauty stand. Makeup wasn’t a big industry in Venezuela back then, but her mother always loved Lancôme. An attendant asked if he could show her some of their new line and Alba watched closely as he gracefully brushed color across her mother’s face. A little bit of eye shadow, a splash of blush, some mascara. Assuredly he moved with ease as he transformed his canvas. It was magical to watch. We all have definitive moments in our lives that shape who we become though we can’t always pinpoint them with such accuracy. But Alba knows. This was the moment she fell in love with makeup.
As she got older Alba began studying fashion magazines and experimented with makeup her mother bought her. She dreamt of working behind the scenes of fashion shows painting the faces of models before they stepped onto the catwalk. One day she told her mother, “This is literally the only thing I feel like I’m good at. I’m creative at this. If you give me a brush and eyeshadow I can do anything.” Yet it felt like it would always be a dream. Nobody she knew in Venezuela saw being a professional makeup artist as a viable career. So when it came time for her to go to college, she decided to pursue journalism.
Then by chance, Alba found herself working in the art department on a commercial set one day. A mutual friend needed some help making confetti for an upcoming shoot and asked her to join his team. This opened up a new world opened up for Alba and something told her that this was where she needed to be. As she took on more jobs working with the art department, Alba networked with everyone she met and even got the chance to assist a makeup artist. She could see her career path in front of her, but then in 2015 everything changed. Due to the political climate in the country, Alba and her husband Javier had to leave their home and come to America as refugees. Starting over in Omaha, Nebraska the couple wondered what this meant for lives. For their careers. For their dreams.
Nebraska was a culture shock for Alba. She always thought of America as a great melting pot, a country founded by immigrants, but when she looked around she didn’t see anyone who looked like her. She recalled the first time she was asked what race she was and how it made her feel ignorant because she had never thought about it before. Or the times at her job when a customer would ask for someone else because they didn’t want service from someone Latina. She learned that as BIPOC in America you learn to code switch, to downplay your identity to survive and assimilate into the white majority. She hated it. This was not the America she imagined.
Despite this, the couple was determined to succeed and rebuild the life they had in Venezuela. Javier went to film school and started assisting on local productions. Alba got a beauty certification and continued building her portfolio. It was a start, but neither of them felt like they would ever be able to fully grow in Nebraska. “Maybe Los Angeles? Or New York?” they thought. An impromptu visit to Chicago changed their minds though and a couple weeks later they packed up their house and moved to the Windy City.
A few recommendations from some kind strangers in the industry and soon enough they were both back on set. It felt different here though. Alba felt a warmth from the people she worked with that she didn’t always find in Nebraska. A Latina makeup artist, who gave Alba her first job in the city, stopped her after work one day and told her, “Come eat with me so we can remember home a little bit.” She felt like she could finally be her full self and her dreams were in reach again.
In Late 2020, Javier and Alba were driving home when something out the window caught her attention. On the side of a bus stop was an ad featuring three doctors for a local hospital. Her eyes started to well up. The images were from her first professional job doing makeup in Chicago. She was an assistant, but one of the doctors had been in her chair. It was the first time she saw her work out in the world. She smiled as tears ran down her face. “Patience,” she reminded herself, “Patience.”
Key Advice:
Don’t be afraid to be an assistant. That’s how you will learn and the people you work for may recommend you for lead roles one day.
Study. Study. Study. Know your color theory. Know how different types of faces and bone structures can be shaped by makeup. You can’t do the same look on every person.
You can practice by feeling your own face. Feel your bone structure. Where are the high points? What would you want to highlight? What would you want to hide? This will direct how you apply any makeup.
“Getting into the industry is hard and you’re going to get frustrated. And you’re going to have days and months where you’re like I’m not going to make it. But you’ll make it. Just have patience and be prepared for anything.” - Alba Irahola
Check out Alba’s portfolio of work at https://albairaholamua.myportfolio.com