Meet Laranda Stoakes | SFX Makeup Artist RuthlessCosmo

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

Hi Laranda, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
What I want people to remember about me most is that I paved the way for future generations of young creatives who needed a helping hand in finding their voice. I want to leave behind a foundation that helps aide women in the ADHD diagnosis process, as well as a community where everyone favors vulnerability and self confidence.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Growing up in a small town outside of Denver Colorado, I always admired the movie stars. Movies always amazed me in the way that you could not only tell but show a story to the whole world even if it wasn’t real. I loved Lizzie McGuire and the Exorcist. I loved the Disney channel and all things spooky/ gore. I remember telling myself that “when I grow up I’m going to move to Hollywood and be an Actress!” with the goal to look like Hilary Duff, star in a Marvel movie, and be in a horror movie franchise such as The Conjuring. My love for acting started at a young age. I started performing in plays in elementary school and continued all the way through senior year. Drama was my life and I planned my move to LA to continue this dream of mine. When I was 14 and struggling with poor self esteem/ body image, anxiety and depression, the idea that I would one day be living in my own place with a view of the Hollywood Sign is what got me through those nights I didn’t think I’d survive otherwise.

At 19, I moved to Los Angeles from Denver in 2015 to earn a BFA in Acting for Film and Television from the New York Film Academy. In my last semester of film school something started to feel off about my plan. I didn’t feel as connected to my craft as I once did and I couldn’t figure out why for quite some time. Wasn’t this all I had ever wanted? The depression, anxiety and poor self esteem really sunk it’s teeth into me with no promise of letting go. Then it hit me: I realized that I had been paying more attention to watching makeup tutorials on Instagram and YouTube than I was to my acting classes. I realized that I was way more excited about makeup than I was about creating my thesis film. I realized that I didn’t want to have a career where so much of it could rely on my looks alone. I struggled so much to see my own beauty in this environment, and I felt 100% more passionate about helping others find their beauty, in hopes that I would find mine. I knew I still wanted to be involved in film, so I decided to finish my degree (since I was a month away from graduation) and less than two weeks later I started school at Makeup Designory in Burbank to earn a certificate in Makeup Artistry.

While I was attending the Multimedia Makeup Artistry for Film and Television program at MUD, I found this sense of peace that I had never felt before. I felt very lost in my life outside of school at this time. I was in a relationship that I knew wasn’t going to last (but I held on to anyway as a young girl in her 20’s does before she figures that part out), I was on the opposite end of the country from my friends and family, and I was struggling with a mental illness that would take me a few years to get to the root of. So when I found this thing that gave me this overwhelming sense of not only calmness but purpose, that’s when I realized that I was put on this earth to do makeup.

I’m not a religious person by any means, but I do believe that there is a reason for everything, and I believe that my reason for being so passionate about makeup is to be the “older sister” to those who always wanted a strong role model to look up to, but didn’t have. Just like I wanted when I was growing up (and sometimes still do). The first few classes at MUD were based on beauty makeup and hair, which was fun, but when I got into the SFX class is where I found the most confidence I have ever had in myself. Taking these beautiful models and turning them into scary and ugly creatures and watching everyone feel so uncomfortable but still having fun with it was almost therapeutic. This is where my love for all things horror really started to shine through because I was able to build these supernatural and scary characters from scratch every single day. I had never been so good at something like I found myself to be at SFX before. I couldn’t get enough of it! I found myself always practicing on models and when I didn’t have a model, I would do full character makeup on myself.

In just a few short years my dreams went from wanting to be the perfect bodied, blonde hair actress to the demon loving makeup artist that I truly am meant to be. I am 26 now writing this in my own place (with a view of the Hollywood sign), reminiscing on how far I’ve come. This journey has not looked how I imagined it would, but that sense of fulfillment that I found at MUD hasn’t left me since. I am still figuring out the mental health part of my life, something I will likely be dealing with my whole life (like most people), and I’m not sure what this year has in store for me. I don’t really know a whole lot, but I do know that whatever is in store, I will be ready for. I often remind my inner child that things have always worked out for me in time and they will continue to do so. Right now I am working on building a community for like-minded and creative individuals on social media. In the future I plan on creating my own makeup line as well as a foundation to help women with expenses around getting an ADHD diagnosis, something that has quickly become very near and dear to my heart. I aim to build a career as a makeup artist for horror films, as well as a full time content creator focusing on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram and establishing my brand as RuthlessCosmo.

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 would start by visiting my favorite pizza spot in Burbank where I used to eat at all the time when I was in college: Renos. Then I would pop over to my favorite year round halloween store in Burbank Halloween Town. From there I would explore the spookiness of Griffith Park and then end the day with a hike to the wisdom tree.

I would also be sure to include visiting the most haunted places of LA: the Cecil hotel, the Baltimore hotel and the Hollywood Tower.

Food wise I would be sure to stop by Burger She Wrote off Melrose, Mr. Furley’s off Ventura, and Joe’s Cafe in Granada Hills.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My best friend and mentor Emily Rainey has been the biggest inspiration to me. Watching her live her life with compassion for all has been a breath of fresh air amongst the LA crowd. She is someone who sets goals and achieves them faster than I feel I can say about most, myself included. She is always aiming to be a better version of herself every single day and I love that about her.

Website: ruthlesscosmoartistry.com

Instagram: @ruthlesscosmo

Twitter: @ruthlesscosmo

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuoF3NZ9zIxBh5UwD8l5hCw

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ruthlesscosmo

Image Credits
Lightroom Presets created by Andrew Menjivar.