Meet Laura Aguilar | Hair & Makeup Artist

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

Hi Laura, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve always been a creative person since I was a child. Whether it was painting, drawing, or something as simple as just doing my hair and makeup it always made me feel happy and inspired to learn more and improve my craft. I knew that becoming an HMUA was one of the best choices I’ve ever made for myself.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a hair and makeup artist from Brookshire, Texas.

My career started back in 2015 when I was a junior in high school .In fact, I had absolutely no intention of becoming an HMUA. I’ve always been passionate for all things beauty but I saw it as more of a hobby of mine. Growing up in a small town there wasn’t much access to hair and makeup artists. So when prom and other events came around, I would occasionally do hair and makeup for friends and fellow classmates and that’s when I realized that this was my calling. After graduating high school I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life which was pursue a career in cosmetology. However I would get discouraging comments like “you’re not going to make any money” or ‘that’s not a real job” and unfortunately I let comments like that get to me so I went off to college to pursue a bachelor’s degree in bilingual education. After a year of college I realized that I was there for all the wrong reasons and that I needed to do what truly made me feel happy, so I switched programs and obtained my cosmetologists license along with an associates degree. After graduating college I worked at Sephora as a beauty advisor/makeup artist for nearly 4 years before I became self employed. I will definitely say that in the beginning it was not easy AT ALL. I think the best thing for aspiring HMUAs is to show up everyday for yourself and your clients. Make connections with other people in the industry, be open minded, learn from your peers, and most importantly have a lots and lots of patience. I am not anywhere near where I’d like to be professionally but I can confidently say that I have grown a lot as an artist and I absolutely love my career, I want the world of aspiring HMUAs to know that if I could do it, so can you. Do not let anyone discourage you from doing what you love and what makes you happy.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To be completely honest I’m more of a homebody. But, I do enjoy going to Galveston every once in a while. The water is not the best but it is relaxing to sit by the shore. If Asian food is your thing I would definitely recommend checking out Katy Asian Town. So far, Mala Sichuan is by far one of my favorite restaurants there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my family and friends for supporting me in this journey in the beauty industry.

Instagram: @aurarosaartistry @aurarosahair

Image Credits
Evermore Photography/ EC Films