Meet Jc Camarillo | CEO of CAMARILLO beauty & Celebrity MUA

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jc Camarillo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi JC, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I first decided to pursue my own makeup brand I was inspired by rejection. See I had been in the beauty industry for years and was a house name on social media yet brands were not reaching out to work with me. I understood that the industry wasn’t ready for minorities, specifically Latino men with beards to be the face of their cosmetic lines. Understanding that is what inspired me to take action and start my own makeup line. I consider CAMARILLO my second business as I have been a freelance MUA for over 16 years and that is also a business.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have been a professional makeup artist for 15 years. I am the owner and CEO of CAMARILLO Beauty. I come from two beautiful humble Mexican parents that immigrated to the United States in hopes of a better future for us, their kids. My parents worked minimum wage jobs to provide a roof over our head in a small 1 bedroom apartment where our family of 5 grew up. Despite living under these circumstances we definitely made some magical memories in that little apartment.
I knew I was gay ever since I was in 4th grade and trying to hide my interest in Hair and Makeup was so hard even at such a young age! I remember watching telenovelas with my mom but there was something special to me about the ones with the storyline of “the ugly-duckly turns into the swan”. I guess I just remember LOVING any show or movie that had an emphasis on makeovers, especially the Mommy Makeover ones. Fast forward to today, I now have my own Makeover TV show called “Head to Soul” on LATV network. Head to Soul is broadcasted on national television and the LATV+ app. It’s been a year since I started this journey and for some reason it still feels like a dream! I can’t believe it. That little gay Mexican boy made it all the way to this point. Someone Pinch Me, Hehe.
Like many gay men my age, I experienced A LOT of bullying growing up and as a result, for many years, I strongly disliked the word “GAY”. I guess when I was young being called Gay was considered a bad thing so for many years I connected that word with the emotional damage it caused.
Many years later, once I came out of the closet, I decided to take my power back and embrace the word “Gay”. I became proud, unapologetic and fearless. I guess it was a no brainer that when I launched my makeup line after a decade of being a professional makeup artist I would name my first product the “Gay Bestie” palette. The Gay Bestie is a TALKING palette that tells the consumer a positive message when they open it. The message is: “Hey friend, you’re gonna slay this look and everything and anything you do is gonna be amazing”. Yes, you read that correctly, it talks!
Over the past decade I have built an amazing and diverse list of celebrity clientele from Telenovela stars such as Adriana Fonseca to Drag Race Queens like Ongina, Laganja Estranja, Genie (rpdr Thailand) and even Baga Chipz from (RPDR UK). Christina Milian, Vanessa Simmons, Angel Brinks, Hazel E, Erica Mena, Zonnique Jailee, Royalty Brown, Poscha Coleman and Natalie La Rose are also a some of the Celebs that I have been fortunate of touching with my makeup brush.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am at a point in my life where I will pick a relaxed, zen nature spot over anything else. With that being said, I would spend the week with my friend exploring hikes and beautiful restaurants. The waterfall trail in Eaton Canyon would be our first adventure. For food, we would absolutely go to Casita in Sherman Oaks for the best Mexican food restaurant with a Tulum Aesthetic. If it was my friends first time in CA I would not deprive them of a beautiful sunset in Venice. Assuming that my friend is vibrating on the same frequency as me, I would encourage spending time connecting with our higher self such as Meditation experiences, Sound Baths, Yoga etc.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to dedicate this shoutout section to two very influential women in my life. First one being my Mother, Laura is the Queen of my heart. I get all of my love for the beauty industry from her.

Second woman I would like to shoutout is Lady J. from Lady J Manufacturing. This woman has been a huge part of my evolution throughout the years. She is like a big sister to me. Thanks to her I started doing makeup on celebs and have had many amazing opportunities as well.

Website: https://www.CMARILLObeauty.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jcmakeupmaster

Other: https://www.instagram.com/camarillobeautyy

Image Credits
I own all images provided