Meet Maria Castro | Makeup Artist

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

Hi Maria, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The thought process was a scary one. I wasn’t sure how I would make it on my own and where and how to even start. I used to work for a makeup/beauty salon and working for someone is easier because they make your schedules and bring you clients, but I knew I didn’t want to work for anyone and I wanted to work for myself and be fully freelance. Covid happened it and kind of forced me to take the leap of faith and start my own business, it was the best and scariest decision I’ve ever made and I’m so glad that I did.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I do a lot of everything. I do weddings, photo shoots, commercials, music videos and personal clients. I love it because it’s never the same and it’s always so fun. There are months out of the year that are slower than others and on those slow weeks/months it feels like you’ll never work again and it’s a bit scary, but that’s the life of a freelancer. During those slow times I really try to focus on myself and do the things I love and enjoy that I’m not able to do when I’m really busy with work. Sometimes I go into the week only having one thing booked and end the week with having no days off.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Omg, I don’t even know hahah every time someone asks me what I like to do for fun I never know what to say, as if I haven’t lived in LA for 7 years lol.

I would probably take them to some touristy places like the pier and the promenade. I would 100% take them to the beach for a picnic and sunset. To my favorite restaurants/bars like Ysabel, Laurel Hardware, Casabel, Roger room. I would also take them on some hikes like the Hollywood sign one and of course Runyon.

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?
Yes, I want to dedicate this shoutout to everyone who took the time to teach me and believed in my skills. I doubt myself quite a bit and I was sometimes thrown into things I wasn’t fully comfortable with. A couple of examples: doing makeup on deeper skin tones or tattoo covers and because of that now I am confident with any skin tone and tattoo covers. I have many friends in the industry and we are always learning from each other and taking advice from one another and perfecting our skills, it’s never a competition and I love that so much.

Website: Luz-beauty.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/luzbeauty