We had the good fortune of connecting with Audrey Babl and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Audrey, how do you think about risk?
Since I was pretty young I knew I wanted to do makeup, but I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin so the only option for me there was to do bridal makeup. I worked in bridal for a few years and I liked it, but I knew I wanted to do more. I had an interest in doing makeup for film and in my mind the only way to do that was to move to LA. So three months after I graduated high school at 18 years old I moved to LA to go to school for makeup. This was probably the biggest risk I’ve made in my life, moving across the country alone to a big city at such a young age. However, this was also the best decision I could have made for my career, I have learned so much and had so many opportunities since. In the few months that I’ve lived in LA I already feel like I’ve accomplished more in my career than I ever imagined for myself.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have always been an artistic person, art was always my strongest class throughout school. I actually started with traditional art (painting and drawing) and kind of transitioned into doing makeup as another creative outlet. It was hard to really get into makeup as a career because the money really is in beauty makeup, but that can get repetitive and I personally felt that while I was doing bridal makeup consistently, I lost makeup as a creative outlet. As I grow into my career I am beginning to find a balance between making money with my makeup skills and still putting out work that futile me as an artist.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First stop would have to be the downtown walk of Burbank as someone who lives in Burbank. I think it’s such a different vibe from the rest of LA and it’s something that a person not from here would expect. The streets are clean and safe and there are so many food options. I love The Great Grill, it’s a 50s style diner with working jukeboxes and a great menu.
Next would definitely be Malibu Pier. I would go to Malibu Farm Café, they have a great menu and overall vibe. Then I would go down to the beach.I t’s always super clean, calm, and watching the surfers is super cool.
I absolutely think it’s necessary to stop by Melrose Trading Post. I’m a sucker for small businesses and vintage items and this has both of those! There are so many stands you could walk around for hours and not see the same thing twice.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First of all I would like to shoutout my mom. She is also in the beauty industry, she works as a hairstylist and salon owner back home in Wisconsin. When I decided I didn’t want to go to college and follow a typical career path, I had a lot of people look down on me and I could tell they didn’t truly believe I could achieve what I was telling them I wanted to do. At the beginning my mom was really the only one who was telling me to go for it. She did the same thing when she was younger so she knew what it felt like to have people not believe in what you want to pursue. She loves her job and what she does and wouldn’t change the path that she chose, and she wanted that for me as well.
I also want to shoutout my school, Make-Up Designory in Burbank, because they are a really great school and play a huge role in my career. The entire curriculum teaches you how to make yourself employable and they give you endless resources to find jobs which is so important for anyone starting out in the industry.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreybablmakeup/
Image Credits
William Hyun Lee Deverill Weekes Derek Althen