Ur Neighborhood MUA

Next stop is Canada. We’ve the pleasure to introduce Gabrielle or as you might know her online @gabiliciousxsx . We met Gabrielle while scouting for talent to test and showcase our goodies on IG. It was actually love at first sight: her style, vibe and skills radiate professionalism and she is so on point on makeup trends, we couldn’t have asked for a better match. But as you probably suspect, this level of commitment requires hours and hours of work and major dedication toward makeup and social media. So we sat down with Gabrielle in our virtual tea room (meaning we sent her an email 😅#socialdistancing ) to discuss makeup, life and inspiration for creating content in the shadow of this pandemic.

What inspired you to become a makeup artist?

I’ve always LOVED makeup! I remember as a little girl, I was always trying to do the hairstyle and do the makeup of everyone, even my uncles *chuckles* And when I was a teenager, I was wearing a bit of makeup at school, but not much ’cause I was pretty shy and I didn’t want to attract too much attention. But when I was coming back home after school, I was looking at actresses’ makeup on Google and I was trying to recreate their makeups.

I am my own canvas!

I was more extroverted at night and introverted during the day! I’ve never taken makeup classes and I’ve learned the old fashioned way how to contour and cut crease. Now, I’ve been doing makeup more seriously for about 3 years.

Would you call yourself an Influencer?

There’s a lot of MUAs that are influencers for sure, but there’s also a lot of fabulous MUAs that are not looking for an influencer type of fame.

Some MUAs are only using IG to have visibility to show their art…

or to be able to do more makeup contracts. Some are on IG just for fun and are not referring to themselves as influencers. I’m pretty much that kind. I don’t consider myself an influencer. I mean, not like the image that we have in mind when we think about an influencer: extra white teeth, extra tanned, perfect life, perfect IG feed, perfect body / face. I’m a normal person, with flaws, I have issues and bad days like everyone! I’m trying to be as real as possible. I try to keep in touch with my followers and to engage conversations with them, giving them my genuine opinion on what products I like or not. I wouldn’t promote products I don’t like just for visibility.

Have you ever worked in the beauty industry?

I would love to! I was previously a hair dresser, but I quit to go back to school and now I’m finishing my university degree in social work. More precisely, I want to work with the elderly people. I felt it was a good match for me ’cause I adore them and I also love helping people in general. But of course, my dream job would be to become a makeup blogger/YouTuber ! I’m planning to launch my YouTube channel soon. Wish me luck!

What does makeup mean to you in terms of self-expression?

It means everything ! When I do makeup on myself, time literally stops. Makeup is so good for my mind and for my anxiety cause when I do makeup, I forget all my problems, all the stress and there’s just me, my canvas, my brushes and my makeup. I can explore so many styles and techniques and play with many colors. It’s also helping me to gain confidence. I mean who doesn’t feel confident with a bold red lipstick, brows on fleek and highlighter?!?

For me, makeup isn’t only aesthetics, it’s art, it’s a statement, it’s a lifestyle, it’s empowering!

Are there any role models you look up to?

Both my parents are my #1 role models for real!

They’re like the cutest persons alive and I love them so much ️ they’ve built their own company together and they’ve worked so hard to be where they are right now. They’re the definition of passion, creativity, inspiration and love! Without them, I wouldn’t even be where I am in life but also as an MUA cause they bought my professional ring light and my macro lens and those two things literally helped me to increased the quality of my work. They’re the best and they taught me their love of art and photography!

Okay let’s dive a bit deeper. What are the fears and obstacles you have had to overcome to create your first artistic post online?

To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking about fears, I was just thinking “Why not ?!”. It was for Halloween and I was pretty good at makeup so people were responding positively to it and after I posted my first lip art and at that time when I had 50 likes it felt good so I was pretty happy! And step by step, I posted another makeup post and now we’re here!

I would say now that the biggest obstacle for me is to be shadow banned by IG itself.

What are the most common misconceptions people have about you?

I think that the people who don’t know me think that I’m more important cause I have a couple of followers on IG. Some people are writing to me sometimes to talk about my art and I always engage with all the conversations or the comments that I have and when I’m answering to them, they’re often like “OMG you’re answering to me, I would never thought you would”. And I’m thinking…

OMG why, I’m a very normal person…

and I’m always saying to them that I’m a normal human being and that I’m not cooler than them and of course I’m answering and I’m there to respond to their questions!

What has been the most surreal moment of your life in & outside of social media? We’ve heard some crazy stuff so far so don’t hold back 😎

I would say that the most surreal moment of my life in & outside the social media was meeting my boyfriend ’cause we met on a social media app! I’ve never clicked that much with an other human being and it’s been almost 2 years now that we’re together and he’s my life! He makes me laugh everyday and he’s always supporting me, and for real, he IS my rock!

So when I’m thinking of my best social media moment, I’m thinking about him right away…

’cause without social media app, I wouldn’t have met him!

Awww that’s cute AF! And we are back to makeup. What are the makeup products you’d never leave your home without?

I can easily go to the grocery without makeup, but when I go to work, my daily makeup routine takes me like 40 minutes and I would say that I’m never leaving the house without a light covering foundation, setting powder, bronzer, brow pen, mascara and chapstick.

What’s your best beauty advice for those struggling with body issues?

I’m struggling myself and I’m working hard to be less rude to myself trying to accept my curves instead of criticizing them. It’s not easy, but I’m focusing on the fact that I’m feeling good with myself and if it wasn’t about the social pressure and rules, I wouldn’t have any problem! So, the problem is not our curves, our big noses, our cellulite, our tiny breasts, the problem is the social standards! So, embrace your body and be proud of who you are ’cause those standards have to change and they’ll change the day everyone will stop following those unattainable rules!

Be thick, be proud and be fierce!