Meet Karissa Lorinne | Professional Makeup Artist & Hairstylist

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

Hi Karissa, why did you pursue a creative career?
I am a creative person by nature. I love all art from music to paintings, and incorporate art in my life wherever I can. It made sense for me to pursue a creative career path since I am not what most would call “traditional”. I truly believe having a 9-5 type career would literally be a slow a painful death for me because that’s just not me. I excel in a fast paced environment, therefore, chose to specialize in bridal makeup and hair styling.

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.
Something that sets me apart from others in my industry is my dedication to truly helping clients love what they see in the mirror. Any makeup artist can slap a mask on their clients’ faces and call it a day because they have what they call a “personal style” of doing makeup. I don’t believe in that at all. Of course every artist develops a style or preference over time, but it’s important to keep in mind the person in our chair and realize what their needs are. Every face has an extremely unique set of features from eye shape, spacing, depth, color, nose shape, lip shape, arch of the eyebrows, etc. and every person has their own opinion of what makes them feel beautiful when they look in the mirror. It’s my job to enhance those desirable features while making the less desirable features unnoticed. I always say every single face is a challenge because each person has their own set of unique features. One of my favorite things about doing makeup is the fact that it’s always a challenge. It’s never boring.

I got to be where I’m at professionally through practice and persistence. This is not an easy job by any means! Having your makeup done by a complete stranger (in most cases) is very a vulnerable experience, and sometimes it’s difficult not to be hard on myself if I didn’t exceed the client’s expectations. As an artist, we do tend to be sensitive about our craft if others don’t love it or appreciate it the way we do. It’s important to remember to keep our egos in check, or rather, not to have one at all when providing such a personal service for people. My goal is to please the client in my chair, and some clients are harder to please than others. I just try to remember that we’re all human, and we all have insecurities. As a makeup artist, my clients’ insecurities are placed right in front of me, literally inches from my own face. It’s my job to recognize those insecurities and make them go away with the flick of my wrist. We’re often referred to as magicians for a reason. It’s very raw and very real, and it’s the reason only some make it in the industry before the passion burns out.

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’m a huge Disnerd, so I would absolutely recommend visiting Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure!

After such a long Disney Day, relaxing in my favorite beach city, Laguna Beach, sounds fantastic. I love spending the day on the beach listening to the waves, browsing the shops and art galleries, and eating at the restaurants there. Honestly they’re all great, but if I were to choose my favorite it would be Alessa; a tiny little Italian spot on Forest Ave.

I’m also a huge Tim Burton fan, so visiting Beetle House LA is at the top of my list. It is such a cool experience.

As a museum lover, I always recommend LACMA, Griffith Observatory, and I’ve always wanted to visit the Huntington Library.

Of course LA has a great nightlife. Some of my favorite evening activities include dinner at one of the best fine dining restaurants in LA, Boa Steakhouse in West Hollywood, and a Tease If You Please burlesque show at Palace Theater.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The first person who sparked my interest in makeup at a young age is my mom. Watching her apply her own makeup inspired me to play with makeup myself. Before going to school, she taught me how to apply makeup on myself.

As I grew older, I was introduced to a book called Making Faces by the world famous makeup artist, Kevyn Aucoin. I used to read this book from cover to cover, studying every technique and practicing the looks in the book endlessly in my room for hours as a teenager. Kevyn Aucoin was a master at enhancing natural beauty, and he inspired me to do makeup on others.

Once I decided to pursue a career in makeup, I researched makeup schools in my area which led me to Donna Mee at Empire Academy of Makeup. Donna is an absolute angel on this earth and an all around badass and genius. Her teaching and mentoring gave me the knowledge to be a resourceful, sanitary, business minded, and overall successful makeup artist. I would not be where I’m at in my career without the teachings of Donna.

I also owe a shoutout to my dad and stepmom for always supporting my choice to take a non-traditional career path.

Website: https://www.karissalorinne.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/karissalorinnemua

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karissalorinne

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/karissalorinne

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/makeupbykarissalorinne

Yelp: https://yelp.to/tRQr2q1UFtb

Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/KarissaLorinneMUA

Other: TikTok: @misskarisss

Image Credits
Camryn Clair Amanda & Nico Charlie Octavia Cassidy Ramirez Donna Mee Rachel Kirchhoff Stephanie Reed Tara Deaton Sun and Sparrow Photography Hilary Kao Creating Good Times Blissful Diaries Events