Meet Tara Rey | Special Effects Makeup Artist

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

Hi Tara, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Art has always been a passion of mine. From a young age I knew I wanted to do something artistic. There’s so many different careers you can have as an artist. I fell in love with playing with makeup and bodypaint as a young age. I would spend hours painting myself in the mirror and realized it was a passion of mine. My family was already in the movie industry, and they suggested doing makeup as a full career. Then I fell down the rabbit hole of special effects. To make a character from scratch. Something that you thought about in your head whether it’s an alien or a monster or anything your brain could imagine, and to see it right in front of you is the biggest reward of all. Special fx is a way to have your artistic skills shine in a very unique way and I love it. Everyday is a new challenge with having to make a different character for a movie or event, and it’s so rewarding to see a character come to life.

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.
I fell in love with the art of makeup and it has opened a whole new world to me. Makeup doesn’t mean just beauty, it means so many things. You can be a body painter, you can do avant-garde looks, or you can do my favorite which is character work. When you first start out as a makeup artist, it’s the hardest several years. Freelancing is not easy and sometimes you have to take a 9-5 job during the day so that you can pursue makeup. But if you continue to hustle, and meet these amazing artists, you can have a beautiful career. I’ve worked with A listers, but I’ve also done tiny short films that no one has heard about. But you learn so much and my art has progressed in ways I could never imagine. With this career in particular, I feel like you can only get better. There’s so many different ways to paint something, or to sculpt something and there’s always ways to progress and I’ve seen my progress and It makes me want to continue growing. I’ve been doing this for 5 years and I’ve come so far, that I can’t imagine where I’ll be in another 5 years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When coming to Los Angeles, I’ve you’ve never been you would instantly think of Hollywood and the movie world which is actually my whole life. However I would definitely take them to places that are more underground. Places you haven’t heard of. Driving around the city there’s so many unique places to go to. There’s art festivals all the time, flea markets, concerts, and random events. So I would definitely take someone to something that’s artistic and new for them to experience.

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?
There’s a lot of people that have kept me going in this field. This career is not easy, it’s all about the hustle. I am very thankful for my family for supporting the unsteadiness of being a freelancer, but I would have to say i owe most of my success to my wonderful and supportive fellow makeup artist friends. I have had past coworkers guide me and teach me new things. The makeup world is a small community in general, and I’ve met so many amazing artists that continue to provide new opportunities to me. Without my makeup community, I don’t know if I would continue. We all support each other so much. I found a great group of people that are not jealous of each others career, and we are more supportive and want each other to have all the success we can. That is what I’m most grateful for, and it has opened so many doors in my career.

Instagram: Tarareyfx