Meet Gina Caraballo | LA Makeup + Natural Brow Artist

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

Hi Gina, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
The most important lesson my career in the makeup and brow artistry business, is striving to seek endurance and resilience through the tough seasons. I’ve learned that there are no extraordinary people just born that way, they were ordinary people who kept going and never gave in when they felt the heat. If this career is certainly what you’ve been called to, then take advantage of lessons presented for you during the trials. They are happening for a reasons and can be your biggest teachable moments to get you to the next level. Also, nothing is that serious to stress hard over. It’s ok to not have the success you were first wanting, success can have different meanings in different seasons.  To me, its being present with my family, spending the most time with them. Money and wealth doesn’t have high importance to me, and loving what I get to do is pretty priceless too. I don’t believe you can do it all and be successful at every single area of your life. Something will have to give and take. You get to choose.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business name is For Love & Beauty, I would say what sets me apart is not only my natural approach to the makeup + brow services I offer. I not only focus on giving you a natural, fresh, effortless brow + makeup look, I also care about the ingredients that will be used on all of my clients. I strive to use high quality, ingredient- conscious products only in my kit. I don’t offer chemical services like brow laminations or micro blading, I use and sell custom made brow oils and brow wax stylers made from organic and well thought- out ingredients, I created them myself and my clients use and love them too! I also love speaking about what really matters- getting the inside right for the rest to then follow well. Im thankful I get to be a stay at home wife + mom for the majority of the week, I realize this is not really popular in our culture anymore, but to me it’s my most important and rewarding job. I get to create my own schedule around that and I work on my products at home while my little one helps me label and pack some of them too.  I only work at the salon on the weekends servicing clients while my daughter gets to stay at home with dad. I do get excited to see my little business grow and it wasn’t easy getting here. A little fun fact:  I started working in makeup 20 yrs ago when there were no influencers or social media. During college in San Diego, before my classes would start, I would spend the mornings at home going down the yellow pages and cold calling every local production company. One time I actually got through to the makeup department and I spoke the the lead makeup artist and he asked me if I could get there in 30 minutes since their current artist had just quit. I showed up and booked my first big makeup gig, it was a movie for the Disney Channel. I was 19 yrs old and it was a pinch-me moment. I’ve also always had a love for shaping all my clients brows, so after I had my daughter I wanted to redirect my career working shorter days and on my own time, this would make more sense as this new season of parenting came and I loved spending the most time at home with my little, growing family. I’ve learned many lessons but I think the biggest one for me is making sure you know what God has called you to be, and letting Him guide you in every step. Everyone has unique gifts and skills for a purpose, don’t waste them! I need what you got and you may need what I got! Another reason why imposter syndrome is a steal joy. A high stress, trying-to -get-rich career doesn’t sound appealing to me. I cannot pour out of an empty cup and serve my clients or home we’ll like this. Your purpose can be as a gardener, stay at home mom or a CEO, any can serve well and for the greater good in any place, I say work with a smile at every job.

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?
If a best friend was visiting the LA area, I would take them to my fav part of LA- the South Bay! I would start at Palos Verdes, a hidden gem, overlooking the water while having brunch at Terranea- the best! It’s not too touristy and plenty of parking available- shhhh don’t tell too many people about it!  I would choose to go down to Newport Beach or Laguna Beach, have dinner at Malibu Farm on the Marina, then finish off taking a little boat ride around the bay. Laguna Beach is another beautiful beach, in my opinion top 2 in So Cal! A day in the sun always sounds good!

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?
First, God gets all the glory, always. As a younger me, my Aunt (Godmother) Nidia Gracia- she would take me along her furniture business appointments around LA while I cared for her young daughter outside her meetings when I was a teen and showed me what working hard looked like. Presently, my hubby- Nelson, I don’t say it enough to him but truly he holds down the fort at home caring for our daughter while I get to go in the salon during the weekends. I get the opportunity to do something I really enjoy doing, for all this I’m thankful!

Website: www.forloveandbeauty.com

Instagram: @for_love_and_beauty

Facebook: For Love and Beauty

Youtube: For Love and Beauty

Image Credits
Ashley Opie