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- [00:08]
A
Okay, guys, it's a week off. It is the big holiday here in the United states. It's the 2. It's the 250th anniversary of our country. So I am taking my foot off the gas this week. But I wanted to make sure that we had a little something. A little something. Maybe you haven't heard it before. Maybe you haven't heard it. Maybe you're new to the show or maybe you missed this one. Marcelo Gutierrez is a makeup artist who we interviewed. Oh, my gosh. It's been, like, so long ago, guys. It was so long ago. It was 2022. I fell in love with Marcelo and I was working with him. I forgot how I found out about him, but we started working together at Harper's Bazaar. He did a beautiful shoot for us, but he was doing such great work with a lot of different celebrities. He was working with du. He was working with Lily Rose Depp. But his hand, his artistry, the way he. Even the way he wrote emails, I know that sounds crazy, but even the way he wrote emails, I liked just everything about his touch. I was like, I freaking love this guy. Okay? And sometimes, like, the way he approached a face was just very different. Like his. The sharpness and. Oh, please, look him up. But you know what? You don't need to look him up because you're seeing his makeup everywhere. Has been working with Madonna, who, you know, if you listen to the show, you know, I'm freaking obsessed. I. I keep saying freaking. I'm trying to keep everything, like, just take it down a notch, okay? He's been working with Madonna on her most recent album. So all the run up, you know, we saw the teaser a couple months ago, and then her new album is, like, dropping this month. We know her birthday is in. In August. He has been working with her around everything. Oh, her Kiko Milano appearance. We know about that. He's actually the makeup artist for. I'm not giving him his big fancy title, but like the global, you know, makeup artist for Keiko Milano. This is his year. This is his moment. It's all led up to this. So I feel like we need to give him a little bit of a reboost on fm. Let's get ref familiarized on fm. Let's. If you haven't met Marcelo, let's say hello. Let's go. Marcelo, first of all, thank you so much for being here. This is awesome. I'm so glad. You know, I'm bummed Jen's not here, but I'm also, like, selfishly like, oh, my God, we can have our own little cozy conversation. Because I just have so much to ask you about now.
- [02:48]
B
I'm so excited. Thank you.
- [02:50]
A
Oh, thank you. So listen, you know, we've worked together a couple of times. I've been a big fan of your work. But obviously I did a lot of research before I spoke to you. And as I was researching, I was like, oh, my God, your life. I'm gonna be a little corny here, but your life has to be a movie. Like, you've gotta have it made. But first of all, you can make your own movie. Cause you're also a filmmaker. Like, you are a true artist. Like, you were a 360 artist. We'll get to that in a little bit. But, like, you have, like, one of those ultimate New York stories. Like, you arrived in New York, and I could be like, you know, rose tinting this. I'm sure I am, but it's like things just started to happen. Take me to, like, when you arrived in New York. Like, you arrived in New York as an artist trying to make it. Am I right?
- [03:34]
B
Right. So I came. Yeah. I mean, it's. I mean, my. Yeah, my life has been such a whirlwind. But I moved to New York when I was 20, and I was doing an artist residency as a performance artist. And I was kind of using this residency as a preview to see if I would love to stay in New York. And I was still in college. And in that, those couple months during the residency, during the day, I would be in the studio working on my fine art practice. And then at night, I was doing what I learned was the best way to navigate New York socially through the movies. I learned it was to go out was to go and party and go to the clubs. And that's how I just started to kind of meet the people that I wanted to meet. And in those couple months, I decided that the best thing for me was I didn't have enough money to go back to California and then come back to New York. So my only choice in my head was, well, I need to just stay here. So I just stayed and I had, I think, like, $200 to my name. I was sleeping on a air mattress for six months. And then just really, you know, improvising and using my social skills and the night scene and social media to get, you know, meet people. I mean, that's a really quick and short.
- [05:02]
A
I'm sure we could spend this whole episode talking about your first few months in New York.
- [05:06]
B
Right.
- [05:07]
A
But there you Were, you know, navigating your way as an artist. But what actually brought you to doing makeup?
- [05:14]
B
Makeup. You know, I've always loved fashion, and I've always loved, since I was a little boy, like, the transformative power of fashion and beauty came with that, how it can, like, bring about different Personas in each and one of each one of us, you know? And I think when I started clubbing and going out and seeing this club culture in New York and the characters and everyone really embracing their inner this and that, I really started to do it myself. So I started to go out and really play out the looks and the makeup. I wouldn't consider myself as glamorous as a club kid, but I was embracing makeup and playing with it. And then, you know, in New York, to be a painter or performance artist as a living is very difficult unless you come from enough financial backing. And I was just assisting a random friend on a Gap shoot, and I was steaming clothes, and I was making great money for that time in my life just steaming clothes. And I was like, this is really not even rocket science. There's no brains to this part. But then I saw that there was a makeup artist, and I just put two and two together, and I. And I kind of said, wait a minute. I do my makeup all the time. I know I grew up as a painter, and let's just do this. Let's just. I know this makeup artist is probably making a wonderful living, and I really saw makeup as the vehicle to keep my, like, creative soul alive while on the journey of pursuing a life as an artist.
- [06:59]
A
So it's like, okay, this is going to be your. I'm not saying you don't enjoy doing makeup. Clearly you do. But the makeup artistry would feed the more, maybe less lucrative, other creative parts of your body.
- [07:14]
B
Right. I just couldn't. I just couldn't keep.
- [07:16]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [07:17]
B
I just couldn't keep a day job, so I couldn't keep an office job or a restaurant job. And because I just.
- [07:23]
A
Did you have. Did you have those jobs?
- [07:25]
B
Yeah, I was working in two restaurants. I tried working, like, in an office, and I just. I just don't work well in those kind of social environments. But, you know, like you said, this became kind of the perfect balance to satisfy my soul and feed my inspirations.
- [07:50]
A
So how did you actually start, like, cracking in? I mean, you got. You know, what did you do? Like, tap that girl on the shoulder or guy on the shoulder and say, like, hey, I want to do what you do?
- [08:03]
B
Yeah. I mean, I literally started DMing. Absolutely anyone and everyone I had met in New York City up until that time. Every photographer, every stylist, everyone I met. And I was just like, hey, I'm doing this now. I'm really serious.
- [08:20]
A
I love the dress.
- [08:22]
B
Yeah, let me know. I was. I mean, I was DMing, you know, Mark Katasquillo. And he replied. And, you know, just people. People were very generous with their timing. I mean, I'm sure they kind of could see my hunger, but I was really just going for it through social media. And then one day, you know, Dame Pat McGrath found me on Instagram.
- [08:43]
A
So she found you? You didn't DM her?
- [08:46]
B
No, I didn't. I couldn't dare.
- [08:48]
A
So, okay, so you're like, I'll DM all these guys.
- [08:51]
B
Yeah, but.
- [08:52]
A
No, no, no, no, no, no. Leave that one alone. Leave that one. Leave that one alone. Okay. Okay. Also. So she DM.
- [09:00]
B
She DM to me. And I think it was 2000. I forget when it was, but it was like, maybe six years ago or something. And she DMed me, and it was when she was just launching her makeup brand, and she had gold lust, the, like, 001 or something. And I had used it on a makeup look I did on myself that wasn't even, like, a look. And she saw it and DM'd me, and she was like, hi, darling, I love your work. Can I please, you know, get in touch with you and fly you out to LA for a little meeting and we'll put you up in a hotel and get you started? And I was just. I screenshotted it, like, five times because I was like, am I delusional right now?
- [09:43]
A
Like, did you show it to people? Like, just make sure? Like, does this look legit? Am I. Oh, yeah. I would think this was spam. I would think this was a prank, a bot, anything.
- [09:52]
B
I just couldn't believe it, because at that point, I hadn't really committed to being a makeup artist and to have someone like her that obviously I had known of for so long. I mean, her years at Dior with Galliano like, defined my youth, and so I.
- [10:09]
A
So you had, like, a very big makeup, like, even though you weren't. Sorry to interrupt. You. Okay. But I just wanted to, like, set the stage for a second. So even though you. You were like. Because it's kind. You're kind of making it sound like you weren't, like, super serious about makeup, and you were doing a little of this and a little of that, but, like, you. You had, like, the makeup, the Beauty lexicon. You're talking about Pat and, you know, at Dior for Galliano, like, you were. I just want to make it, like, set the stage that you were, like, very. You're educated about makeup.
- [10:35]
B
Yeah, I was very. My. My art history and fashion history is very thorough. I'm like, that. I. And that is what I tell all of my assistants and people on my team. I'm like, be a student of art and culture and fashion and understand it. Be a catalog in your brain, because it really sets the stage for something that can feel fresh or inventive, perhaps. And so, yeah, sorry, I mean, to
- [11:04]
A
take you off track, but I just want to get it straight that you were on lock in all these areas. You were just like, all right, now. Now I'm in. Okay.
- [11:15]
B
Yeah, I knew who I was talking to.
- [11:18]
A
Yeah. So she says she wants to send you la. So, like, what happens?
- [11:23]
B
So then she flies me out to LA and puts me up in a beautiful hotel. I forget which one. And then we. I end up. It's me and a couple other makeup artists and then her at brunch. We were. We met for brunch. I think it was, like, at Soho House. And all we. All that was for was to just introduce ourselves and meet her. And she just was like, ask me anything you want. Ask me anything you want, and I'm here to answer and kind of support you. And I just, like, couldn't believe how generous she was being by just saying, ask me whatever you want.
- [12:04]
A
But did, you know, like, didn't you want to be like, well, why am I here? That's the question I'd have. Like, what is this about? Yeah, do I have a job?
- [12:13]
B
Yeah, I mean, I kind of just assumed. I. Yeah, I don't know. I actually didn't even ask myself that. I was just like. I guess what she did mention while we were there that we were going to be going. We're going to be doing the Tommy Hilfiger show later that day or later. That.
- [12:28]
A
Okay, that's really cool. Yeah.
- [12:30]
B
And then I. But I had never done a fashion show before. I hadn't even assisted anyone at all.
- [12:37]
A
And so I just applied makeup on anyone but yourself or, like, maybe a friend.
- [12:41]
B
I had. But I hadn't worked with a fashion model, like, of that scale or been in the kind of time urgency that a fashion that backstage has. And I was intimidated because I was so fresh. I was like, oh, no. I'm literally going to be just thrown into her team and expected to deliver. To deliver.
- [13:01]
A
Did anybody Know this. Except for you, like with like the other people who you're with. Were you like, did you keep this like a dead secret?
- [13:08]
B
No, I was telling my parents and then. Yeah, I wasn't. I just told my parents because I didn't want to like spoil anything. I definitely believe in.
- [13:17]
A
No, I mean the other makeup artists at the table. Were you like. Yeah, I've never done a fashion show. Or you just.
- [13:22]
B
Oh, no, I didn't tell anybody. I was just fully pretending I had been doing this. Cause everyone else that was there, I looked at like all their profiles and everything. They were already like working amazing makeup artists and I just like, was like, wait a minute, this, what's going on here? How did I fool myself into this?
- [13:44]
A
I love this story so much. Go on, go on.
- [13:47]
B
Yeah, and I just spare no detail.
- [13:49]
A
Spare no detail. Okay.
- [13:51]
B
Everybody had like their kids and they were just such professional makeup artists. And I just had had my technique of doing things and I was just like, you know, very, very intimidated. And I was just like, you know what? If she has me here, she trusts me to do what I already do. I'm not going to look left, I'm not going to look right. And once we got to the show, I just had my little kit and I started to go, go to it. And the most like nerve wracking part was, you know, finishing the model. And I think skin is the most important thing is really, can you pull off like gorgeous skin? Because she's also known for that as well. And that's what the whole show was. Basically. It was just beautiful skin. And I brought her to her at the end of when I was done my model and she approved and didn't have me change anything. And I was just like, oh, shit, okay. And so she approved. And you know what, I was very humbled and inspired right after that to take it seriously because I had, I saw everybody that was around me and I knew how amateur at that stage I was. But she saw the vision and the drive and I think she saw me as an artist, which I was already.
- [15:06]
A
That must have been so validating. That must have been so validating. So after that, you know, you, you got back. Well, first of all, what did you learn anything from her? Like, I'm sure, you know, you guys talked a little bit, right?
- [15:19]
B
Yeah, I mean, I think what I, I knew that what I wanted to learn most from the time that I was with her because I wasn't with her for too long. And that was a, that was a decision that I made Because I. I made a very conscious decision early in my career that I didn't want to assist for too long any other artist, because I already had, because of my background in fine art, an idea and a vision and a kind of thesis for what I wanted to kind of tell as a storyteller in makeup. And I think, you know, being. Being an assistant, kind of in that time, you start to develop that. But I wanted what from Pat, what I really wanted to learn and what I did learn was her leadership skills. I think seeing her manage a team, talk to people, translate her ideas and to words back to her team, how she kind of has each. And each individual on her team is an expert at one thing. And because the reality is when you have to do six models, you can't do them all, and you're not going to be the best at every single little thing. You know, to have an expert who loves doing liner or who loves doing body makeup is key to. To, you know, teamwork makes the dream work.
- [16:44]
A
Yeah. Yeah.
- [16:45]
B
You know, I wish I could, like, on a shoot, you know, have six supermodels and just do them all by myself, but the reality is that if I can develop a team that understands the way that I work and knows what I like and what I don't like and can be my second pair of arms and legs, then we can have a much more successful product. Because I can't do six girls in two hours.
- [17:11]
A
That's really, really smart and, like, big picture way of looking at things. And it's. It's. Yeah, it's leaning on people, not just telling them what to do.
- [17:18]
B
Yeah. And I've always been very community oriented. I. I love supporting and I love nourishing and I love teaching. I love. You know, I think my journey into this job and into this career and this industry was so unconventional and, like, not very. It just wasn't very, like, clean and pretty. So I'm always happy to give someone else the space to grow as well.
- [17:45]
A
Now you're out from under, you know, the sort of, like, apprenticeship or, you know, assisted moment, and you kind of, you know, you're finding your own voice. How would you describe that voice or that. That artistry, that aesthetic?
- [18:03]
B
I would describe my aesthetic and my approach to makeup as sensitive. It's sensitive to. To the person, to the environment, to the intention. I think I really might. You know, I think a lot of makeup artists sometimes have a look that they. That becomes, like, their iconic face. And my makeup looks vary from one thing to another, but I think what they all share is a sensitivity to the person, and I think there's always a bit of a sensitivity in the photo and the final product. There's something that feels touchable and that feels also very genuine to the person wearing the makeup. I think I never want my makeup to feel like it's been just kind of copy and pasted on somebody's face.
- [18:59]
A
I understand what you mean. It's not recognizable. Like, that's the blah, blah eye, or that's so Marcelo. Like, you know, a signature. Yes, I think highlight or something.
- [19:12]
B
Correct. I don't have, like, a signature eye or lip. I think I have a signature, like, essence of feeling. And, you know, I think as an artist, I. My. My goal is to just create a body of work that represents what I want to put out into the world, which is sensitivity and inclusion. And then, you know, what I never saw growing up, which was this, like, ever evolving identity. You know, I. My identity is changing constantly. And now that's such a big kind of tagline and word. But I was, you know, thinking about it before everybody was a they or a them. You know, it's. You know, everybody has so many characters inside them. And so my makeup, I would just classify it as sensitive and hopefully provocative in the right ways.
- [20:03]
A
As somebody who has been watching your work, I think that is spot on. And probably not a word I could have landed on myself, but I think that is absolutely perfect. Sensitive. What influences or, you know, whether it's people, places, or cultures continually come up in your work because you have a tremendous archive of references that, you know, you hinted at before.
- [20:40]
B
Yeah. I feel like I'm constantly looking at. Firstly, I'm constantly looking at how I feel, how I. My makeup is very much correlated to an emotion. And, like, I'm very much inspired by angst or by lust or by emotions. I like makeup to feel like it's coming from a feeling, joy. You know, I like makeup to look like it's exuding something. And then I'm also constantly inspired by nightlife, young people, the way people are changing and evolving with the times and how that affects kind of the escapism of the nightlife. We live in a crazy world. And to see how, like, young people are expressing that in club culture right now versus 10 years ago is fascinating. I'm inspired by movies and films and lighting. I love lighting. I'm really inspired by, you know, like, the color of layering of graffiti on walls or when color combinations I can't think of only come to me when I see like five different graffiti artists painting over each other. And I'm like, I would have never thought of putting those colors together.
- [21:59]
A
How do you think your background informs your work?
- [22:02]
B
For me, my background is constantly woven into my goals and my intentions with the images that I want to be making and be a part of. I think being an immigrant coming from Colombia, coming to the U.S. you know, as the other and as the viewer, and being up against, you know, coming from nothing and only having cinema, movies and images and magazines as the only way to kind of aspire for more was what drew me to be part of making images. But I also never saw myself in those images. I never saw anyone like me in them or in Hollywood or I never saw this, a queer kind of fluid Latino boy just succeeding outside of the cliches of what someone who speaks Spanish is. And so I think my goal with my images are to just elaborate on my identity and the. Because my identity is a shared identity with so many people. And I hope that I can just keep expanding on what it means to be Latino, which is an expansive community, and then queer, which is in itself just ever evolving. And in fashion, that's a space that really is incredibly inclusive, but sometimes too exclusive.
- [23:29]
A
You've said in another interview that you think, like, beauty is playing it really safe right now. Can you elaborate that a little bit?
- [23:36]
B
Yeah, I feel like, I think New York, which is, you know, this capital of capitalism and commerce, I think for fashion sometimes, and beauty can be a little hard to push boundaries in New York because everyone is so focused and used to kind of just creating images that are selling a look or selling a product, whereas I think. And money. Yeah, like, everyone's so consumed by money, but creating aspirational images that might be a little weird or kind of feeling provocative. I think the US in general is always a little bit nervous about being provocative, especially in the world where we are today. And I think.
- [24:23]
A
As opposed to Europe.
- [24:25]
B
Yeah, I think Paris right now is really exciting with what they're producing in terms of beauty and styling. And, you know, I think when I think of a beauty, of a really successful beauty image, it's not a close up of the makeup. It's an. It's the styling, it's the set design, it's the lighting, it's the hair. It's a total image. And I think that can sometimes be hard to do here because people kind of are just trying to make money here, and there's not a lot room for poetry.
- [24:59]
A
Question. Do you think that. Yeah, I think it's Definitely. I think it's definitely the poetry. There's not a lot if. Well, if it's a commercial shoot, like, you and I work together on a commercial shoot, and, like. Yeah, that is.
- [25:13]
B
Yeah, there's a goal there.
- [25:14]
A
And, like, there's a goal. So let's. Let's table that. But if it's. If it's editorial and you and I worked on an editorial shoot, do you think that's like, lack of just, like, budget? I mean, but I can imagine the shoots in Europe are probably, you know, they're probably not like, a wash in cash.
- [25:34]
B
Yeah, no, for me, it has nothing to do with budget, because you can do the most incredible work on $0.
- [25:40]
A
Probably even more incredible because it's like, all right, we've got no money.
- [25:44]
B
Exactly.
- [25:45]
A
Or maybe not. I mean. Yeah, I mean, listen, there's no money in editorial in the US either, so I don't know what I'm saying, but, you know.
- [25:50]
B
Right.
- [25:51]
A
It's just an. It's an attitude shift.
- [25:55]
B
Yeah. I think. And I think. I think trusting. I think we're in a really special time now where makeup artists are kind of being appreciated more as creative directors as well as being more in charge of creating images. I think there's so many makeup artists today who are producing their own images with just their friends and the people that they collaborate regularly. And I think that's proving to be successful because we. You know, as a makeup artist, I'm also. I also know lighting really well. I also know what I want the styling to tell with this character and the hair.
- [26:35]
A
I remember writing you on email, and your email had the word studio in it, and I said, why is it studio? And do you want to give me your answer?
- [26:42]
B
Because I'm a studio. I mean, you know, when I first came to New York and I made this email, it's really so funny. It's really kind of. You know, it's my foresight, it's my vision, and I always have wanted to be an image maker, and right now it's starting out being a makeup artist, and I think slowly more and more with, you know, more of a platform and with trust and collaborators, I hopefully can be given the opportunity to work like my own studio.
- [27:16]
A
Yeah, I think you will. I think, you know, you have such an incredible vision for how things holistically can look in an image. And, you know, there's not. We talked about this with Dick Page, like, over the summer, how images, like beauty imagery is being shrunken because of, you know, magazines closing and Everything being shrunk into an iPhone.
- [27:38]
B
Yeah.
- [27:39]
A
And I'm kind of going off on a tangent here, but you know what I'm saying. I think we need people who are thinking bigger and creating the most amazing images, whether it's for ads or for images or, you know, editorial, whatever it is. But people who are big thinkers like you are, we don't see them that often. So, I mean, like, I'm blowing. Definitely. I'm just excited about your work.
- [28:01]
B
Thank you. And I mean, it's. I'm excited. You know, I. I think people underestimate the value of sometimes in, like, commercial space. The value of just creating really iconic, aspirational image. You know, I think, sure, we, like, swipe through, you know, I listened to that one with Dick Page, and we swipe through images so quickly now. And it is a shame, but some images really do stick with you. And when they do that, there's a lot to be said for that.
- [28:36]
A
Is there an image that sticks with you in beauty that you find yourself, whether going back to as a reference or just like, that moved you? Like, I have, you know, images from, you know, Harper's Bazaar, you know, when I was younger that, like, I stuck on my wall or even just like campaign imagery from a beauty ad that sticks, you know, sticks in my mind.
- [28:55]
B
I think for me it was.
- [28:58]
A
Or celebrity, you know, Madonna images.
- [29:01]
B
Right. I think for me it might be. It's either, you know, something that I'm always kind of getting back to in my head is either like every McQueen show or, like. Or I'll say Lady Gaga in Alejandro, directed by Stephen Klein.
- [29:22]
A
Got it.
- [29:22]
B
Yeah. Like her.
- [29:24]
A
Perfect.
- [29:25]
B
Yeah. Like her in that tiny little bleached bob with almost a bare face and the darkest lip. And, like, it doesn't even look like she has lashes at all. There was something. Something so provocative with how clean it was. Like, it was. It was crazy to me how provocative it was with how simple the look was, makeup wise. And I was just like, this is genius. Like, this feels so sexy and expensive and controversial, but she barely has anything on. It was beautiful.
- [29:58]
A
Sexy, expensive, controversial. I want that on my, like, mirror. That's what we're going for every day. Sexy, expensive, controversial. Oh, my God.
- [30:07]
B
How do I.
- [30:09]
A
Somehow me with no makeup and, like, a hoodie, sweatshirt and Adidas does not feel sexy, expensive and controversial, but I can try. Okay, so let's just, like, get a little practical here. All right, so, you know, I know that when you, you know, you're mentioning that your little tiny kit going to meet Pat McGrath. Like, basically hiding the fact that you had no experience, you said that you had to slowly build your kit. Okay. You know, you couldn't exactly just splash the cash for, like, everything. What are some key pieces, like, critical pieces that, like, as you started getting some. Some cash, what did you start putting in your kit? So we, as listeners can start, like, building out our Marcel. Our Marcelo grade kit.
- [31:11]
B
Right. I think for me, it's always about working with products that you can stretch in terms of use. Like, for me, it was, like, mandatory to have a couple liquid matte lipsticks, because that could turn into a bold lip, a bold liner, a lip stain, a blush. You know, you could use it in so many ways and mix the colors, create new colors. That was a product that I had every matte lip color liquid lipstick ever in my kit. And then I also had. I had foundations that I could build, but I could also sheer out. And I just had a couple of, like, I had always the lightest shade and the darkest shade and a couple of the, like, special undertones. I mean, the biggest tip I have for any, like, super new makeup artists building their kit is, like, spend your time understanding color theory, because if you know how to mix colors and you understand undertones and you learn how to create new colors, you can go from having three colors in your kit to then 20, and that's really a kit on a budget.
- [32:29]
A
Do you have favorite brands for. I almost said manufacturers. Do you have favorite manufacturers for the. For the. For the matte lipsticks and for foundations? Any brands you feel are reliable?
- [32:42]
B
Well, firstly, the Mac Pro conceal palettes, the ones that are, like, in a little grid. Those I still have in my kit, all of them. And I think if you can just get those, you're good. The NARS Power matte liquid lipstick is absolutely gorgeous. And then. But you know what? Like, drugstore makeup today is so much better than it was when I first started out. Like, the foundations you can get at a drugstore are such beautiful textures. And, you know, you can have, like, really clean model skin. So I would say Maybelline foundations are beautiful, I guess. Yeah.
- [33:24]
A
So, okay, well, what's. What's. What's coming up for you? What's the dream?
- [33:27]
B
You know, I. The dream? You know, I think I had that piece in the Cut recently, the New York magazine article, and I was able. That was the first time I was allowed. Thank you. Yeah, that was. That felt like a very validating moment where I was allowed to creative direct it, and I really. I was nervous to Put it out. Yeah. And. But I was excited, and the response was so amazing and genuine, and people could. People. The response I get from everybody is that I really saw you in those images. I really felt you in those images. And to me, that is successful shoot. Those. Those are what I want my images to do. And so I'm hoping that, you know, with that will come many more.
- [34:14]
A
Those were you. Those were you. But I'm. But I got the McQueen vibes right away.
- [34:19]
B
Yes, definitely. There is that.
- [34:21]
A
Yeah, right away. Right away. But not like, oh, it's McQueen, but like McQueen. Like, yeah. 15 years later. 15 plus years later.
- [34:29]
B
Yeah. You know, it's that combination of aggression, of sexiness, of beauty and tenderness. You know, the boys looked tough, but they looked soft, they looked vulnerable. And I think those are all the things that I love about beauty, is that their beauty can be emotive. It doesn't have to just feel like a product placement.
- [34:49]
A
Yeah.
- [34:49]
B
So I'm hoping for the future. I'm hoping for the future to just continue building on my collaborations and continue to pitch stories where I'm allowed to creative direct and be a bit more in charge of providing magazines with what they want, but also putting forward my vision of what an image can look like. Because there aren't, you know, a lot of people like me in the space. You know, a queer Latino refugee who's got a wild and long story. You know, it's. I want, you know, I get a lot of beautiful messages from young people, and if I can keep making images that continue to storytell and feed into the lexicon of beauty, I would love to be part of it.
- [35:37]
A
I think that's beautiful how you stated that, and I think that you're doing a. I love that you are bringing your experience to help make fashion and beauty more inclusive and not just in that kind of corporate speak way, in like a real.
- [35:52]
B
It's not a Pride Month ad.
- [35:57]
A
So the next five to 10 years, what are we going to see?
- [36:01]
B
You're going to see an ever evolving abundance of shoots that I'm going to be creative directing and in charge of to just kind of evolve my vision of beauty.
- [36:15]
A
I can't wait. Marcelo, this is awesome. I'm not gonna let you go without a quickie. Fat mascara. Five Lightning round. Okay, you ready, Marcelo?
- [36:24]
B
Ready.
- [36:24]
A
There's no prize at the end. There's no prize at the end, but I still want you to answer them. Okay, ready? Best drugstore cosmetic. You already dropped that. Maybelline is a solid buy, but what else?
- [36:37]
B
L' Oreal Voluminous Lash Mascara.
- [36:41]
A
Yeah.
- [36:41]
B
Okay.
- [36:42]
A
We know. You know, everybody loves it. All you and your makeup artist pals, you all love it.
- [36:46]
B
Okay, so then let me give a different one. I'll do a different one. Elf E L F Cosmetics. Beauty sponges. The best.
- [36:55]
A
Did not know that. Never heard that before. I love it. You heard it here first from Marcelo.
- [36:59]
B
Okay.
- [37:00]
A
Okay. A brand. It could be a brand or a product, but I kind of like the idea of a brand that's worth it. Like a fancy brand that's worth it.
- [37:09]
B
Chanel.
- [37:10]
A
Okay. Okay.
- [37:12]
B
Yeah. Love.
- [37:14]
A
Good stuff. Okay. You get excited when, like, new stuff comes out from them.
- [37:17]
B
I do. I really do. They're well thought out, and they're. They're text. I think it's a really, like, scientific brand sometimes. And Shiseido. I love Shiseido.
- [37:27]
A
Okay. Okay. I like it. We got two. We got two. Okay. Favorite candle. I feel like you probably have really nice candles at home.
- [37:35]
B
Oh, my God. I am loving this one that I have right now by Aesop. It was. But it was their Rick Owens collab, so I don't think it's out anymore.
- [37:46]
A
Okay. And all of this tracks. I feel like this is not surprising that you have a Rick Owens Aesop collab candle that. Sorry, you can't get anymore. It's too exclusive. Okay. What is a song that is in heavy rotation on your playlist right now?
- [38:02]
B
I've been listening to Carlos Iglesias by Lamos, like, on repeat.
- [38:09]
A
I know that. I know that. Okay.
- [38:11]
B
Yeah. I don't know why.
- [38:12]
A
In the movie of your life, who would be the narrator?
- [38:15]
B
Al Pacino.
- [38:16]
A
Hot.
- [38:17]
B
Yeah. A little spicy.
- [38:20]
A
I love it. I love it. Good stuff. Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much for hanging out for so long. Sorry, I feel like I kept you a while, but this is good.
- [38:27]
B
No, I loved it. Thank you so much.
- [38:34]
A
Thank you for listening to Fat Mascara. If you like the show, consider giving us a rating and review on itunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. This helps other people find the show. Follow us on social at Mascara and email me at infoatmascara. I would love to hear from you and to shop the products heard on the episode. Check out Fat Mascara on Shop My Shelf. This show is produced by Red Rock Music. I'll see you next time.