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

Hi Gabbi, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
The single most important decision I’ve made was investing in myself holistically before I invested in anything external or material. My choice to invest in myself and my future was not always a monetary expense, but a time expense as well. I cashed out on the time I had and used it to leverage a sense of personal fulfillment, one of which was traveling. During my travels I got some of my most creative ideas and was able to gain confidence and clarity around poignant business decisions. I also invested in my health and overall wellbeing. I dove into everything from therapy, life and business coaching to even wellness coaching like hiring a personal trainer and sitting down with nutritionists to understand how to fuel my body. I wanted to show up as healthy as possible for everything life demanded of me, including running a business and freelance career.

Making the choice to utilize my time and resources for my overall wellness was the most impactful contribution to any of the success Ive had. It continues to be a top priority and the progressive strides I make through my mental, emotional and relational health is only thing that fuels my future goals and business endeavors.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started working in Beauty in 2008. My story is really colorful, and one thing really led to another. There was no blueprint or roadmap on how I got to where I am today. It was more of a series of unfortunate events that happened, but Ill save that story for a different interview (ha).

I moved to LA in 2010, at the break of Instagram and social media which led me to begin building a career in beauty that paralleled the rise of the “influencer”. The disruption our creative industry felt at the time, especially in entertainment, was real. It made artists, like myself, who were mentored by the OG’s in media and fashion to have to shift rates and create new lanes for ourselves if we wanted longevity in this industry.

It was not easy at all, there were many challenges that tested my desire to continue on. But to have been able to experience a renaissance in beauty and media in real time and to see the impact its had on the true veterans made me want to get creative and find ways to almost pioneer into what it looks like to be a true creative. I got clear on my ultimate career vision and started exploring how to utilize beauty as a platform to diversify myself into different roles outside of being a makeup artist.

I’ve been working for myself since I was 19, and being a freelancer, you’re naturally an entrepreneur. Through my freelance career I found myself in Television and Entertainment, and because of the stability, I was able to develop and launch a beauty brand that allowed me to understand the ins and outs of what it meant to be a millennial founder and business owner.

That business opened up doors that had me traveling around the world, moving from LA to New York City and then back again because of the pandemic. Because of the events of 2020, I had to refocus and get creative on how to find longevity in two industries that I knew and loved so much, beauty and entertainment.

Due to all the shutdowns of the network studios and California’s strict salon closures, I really couldn’t work and I had to dream bigger and think outside the box. Spending hours on social media gave me intuitive direction to continue with the content development I wanted to implement as a beauty brand and because of it, I’ve now evolved a product line into a beauty media company that is focused on storytelling and capturing brand content for beauty, wellness, travel and lifestyle brands.

One of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned has been: Trust the process, be clear on your long term goals and holistically focus on only taking the one step you can with the resources you have in front of you.

Everything else just falls into place eventually and turns out bigger and better than you imagine. Practice cultivating your faith to let go of the “how you’ll get there” and learn how to commit and surrender to enjoying the ride.

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?
Eat: Bavel, DTLA
El 7 Mares, East LA for fish tacos
El Compadre Hollywood to share my truest LA Nostalgia
Esperanza, Manhattan Beach for a south bay dinner trip
Sakura, Mar Vista for the most authentic and stripped down sushi spots in all of West LA.
Nobu, Malibu because theres nothing else like it.
Neptunes Net, Malibu + Malibu Seafood for its true California charm
West Side Brunch @ Great White, Venice
Pasta night at Scopa, Marina Del Rey

Drink/Hang:
Sunset Bevs @ Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica
The Proper Hotel, Santa Monica
Venice West for shows
The Hollywood Bowl for a summer concert series

Visit:
Terranea Spa, Rancho Palos Verdes
Lake Hollywood Park
Manhattan Beach for a full day on the water

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Mom and Dad for believing in me, Lori Taylor Davis for feeding me when I was just starting out, The Beyond Project for playing a part in my recovery story and helping me get sober – all of which I could not do without a clear head.

Website: gabbipascuamakeup.com

Instagram: gabbipascua

Linkedin: gabrielle pascua

Twitter: gabbipascua

Other: asobmedia.com

Image Credits
Andi Elloway @andi.elloway, Alan Dennis @alancdennis

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.