Q&A with Vanessa Ruiz
Vanessa Ruiz speaking with El Sur’s Victor Mercado during the second Las Reinas del Beauty Industry event. Photo credit: Desiree Guerrero.
Last month El Sur sat down with Vanessa Ruiz as part of the speaker series Las Reinas del Beauty Industry hosted at American Eat Co. Most Tucsonans probably know Vanessa as @MyVanety for her makeup tutorials, gym workouts, and her most recent trip doing hair and makeup for nationally-renowned dermatologist Dr. Sheila Farhang’s appearance on The Today Show.
When she’s not doing makeup tutorials on Instagram, Vanessa Ruiz is an aesthetics and wellness coordinator with Skinani Med Spa and a paid speaker with Eli Lilly, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the US.
Here are some excerpts from our July 20th conversation with Vanessa as she speaks with El Sur on what inspired her to enter the beauty industry, how she balances her commitments and energy, and shares tips on what it takes to stand out on social media in one of the fastest-growing industries out there.
El Sur: What inspired you to enter this industry?
Vanessa Ruiz: Pop culture and being your best version of yourself. Sometimes you don't feel your prettiest. Whether you're struggling with weight issues, or trauma issues, or self-esteem issues. As long as your makeup felt good, you felt good as a person. That really motivated me to get started learning how to kind of transmit that energy to other girls, because that helped me…
Also, Kim Kardashian. Honestly as much as people hate her or love her. In 2009, 2010 she was an icon, and once she started doing her highlighting and contouring and showing it off to the world, that's when I was like, ‘I want to look like her.’ And I invested and I learned and that's what really got me to this point. And even now when I get booked, they say, ‘I want the Kim Kardashian glam.’
El Sur: What was it like getting started?
VR: I started learning how to do makeup on myself… I got a lot of makeup! My parents are looking at me because I've struggled with money and they're like, ‘Okay, sell lipstick to buy your groceries.’ Pop culture, the Kardashians…everybody who was out there looking pretty inspired me. So I would take that on and learn it so that I can transmit it to other people. Beauty is such a big industry and there's so much out there that can get lost in translation. There's so many people trying to be other people, whereas I just grabbed what works for myself. I applied it to myself, and then people would gravitate towards me and say, ‘Show me your way or do makeup on me.’
El Sur: It sounds like you had to be scrappy.
VR: When I started, I started charging $20 for a back rub—anything that gave me exposure to get me access to other people. My love for makeup just grew; it was an evolution. I had a baby when I was really young, so I had to hustle. And my interest was in cosmetics. I started as a medical assistant, that was the easiest job to start. And then I focused on a dermatology specialty. I have 17 years of experience in it. [My employer] saw something in me that showed potential and they sent me to laser certification school. So they're like, ‘alright, you want to challenge yourself?’ Laser school. ‘You're bored again?’ Let's do skincare. ‘You're bored again?’ Let's do make up. I was constantly challenging myself. And then I became probably a little too big. I’m doing three jobs right now. I mean, I'm looking for another one if anybody's hiring!
El Sur: What’s a typical day like for you?
VR: I wake up at 4:30 a.m. I go work out at the gym every single day, showing up for myself. I have two kids. I'm a single mom. I'm a cosmetic coordinator at a med spa. So I show up, make her business; I come and go. And then I do my own makeup. So as I'm literally getting my hair done, I'll be answering messages, uploading content, networking with other girls. I do other jobs for other doctor’s offices. I was in Beverly Hills recently for another makeup gig. I’m flying to New York, this Saturday for more opportunities. So it's finally after so many years, having that domino effect, where all that hard work is showing. But the networking, the social media, it's all over the place. I spend a lot of time with my family, who are right over here! I have my friends, who are my support system because they help me through drama. It’s just all over the place.
“The nice thing about the Tucson community and the beauty industry is that we all support each other, and there's enough business for all of us. If I send someone clients, she’ll sends me her own, and we all just share the wealth! There's enough business for everyone,” says Ruiz. Photo credit: MHJ Photo.
El Sur: When did you realize that you had a recognized brand?
VR: And I know exactly when it was. I was walking to some makeup place. A girl was walking out and she looked at me and said, ‘You're a makeup artist. Right? I follow you!’ And right there was when I was like, ‘I’ve made a name for myself.’ It's always been about that. It's never been about how much money I make or or how many followers I have. I want to walk in the room and have people to know who I am.
You are prolific on social media. What advice do you have for influencers on how to stay true to themselves?
VR: I love to share. If I win, you win! And if you win, I win! If I find a better way of doing something, then I want to share it with all my followers. The more inspired I am, the more purpose I have. And the thing that's different about me… You go on TikTok and everybody's doing these trends. I want to do something different, something that's unique to me. I had a friend who once told me, ‘You're uploading too much. You're doing it all wrong on Instagram.’ But I wanted to be true to who I was. And if I have followers along the way, then so be it. I have my signature because I’m true to that.
Supporters of Vanessa Ruiz in the audience at the Las Reinas del Beauty Industry event. Photo credit: Bloomhaus Media
El Sur: As you continue to evolve, is there something you don’t do anymore?
VR: I have specialized a look. MyVanety has a signature look. People would come to me and show me a cut crease with some green glitter. I used to be okay with trying to do that. Now, I am very true to who I am. I say, that's not me. You don’t go to a sushi chef and ask them for tacos. You ask them for their specialty, right? I now have the courage and the following and the reputation that I don't do that. I get folks based off of what I do, and not because I'm a makeup artist.
El Sur: What’s the craziest gig that you have done? How has that informed how you set your limits?
The worst experience was 10 people, 10 hours a day! People when they book you they say, ‘I have 10 bridesmaids and a bride. Can you do that?’ That’s 10 hours without eating or peeing! And that's something I have set limits to. But the best thing about my job is being at a bridal party and the energy that's there. The bride feeling good about herself, and you having a slight fraction of that is very fulfilling. My daughter who assists me, she’s 18 years old, and she loves what I do and just picks up on the feels and that’s just transmitted energy! And that does have a domino effect. That’s how I’ve met a lot of my friends here they’ve become really close to me. It's just networking. It’s the best thing ever. It truly saved me.
El Sur: What made you understand your growth potential?
VR: I'll give some credit to my sister over there. She told me to stop treating it like a hobby, and treat it like a business. And that's really when things started changing for me. Also, one of my friends told me what other people were charging, and I was completely undercharging. There was a day I couldn't do her makeup. So I referred her to people, and my friend said, ‘they are double changing what you’re doing, and you're just as good [if not better].’ At that moment, I was like, I need to change things and start treating it like a business. I started realizing my value. I had a good following and I had the potential.
El Sur: What kind of energy do you try to pick-up on or transmit when you’re doing a makeup gig?
VR: This happens to makeup artists all the time. You're touching your clients all the time. And as I'm grabbing their head, I can pick up energy, like I never thought I could. There's people who have very good energy, and they will inspire me. And there are people who just drain you and it's not because they're a bad client, but it's because they’re carrying a lot. So throughout my make up session, I make it a priority to have them trust me.
Publisher’s note: A very special thank you to Ben Mauseth at Bloomhaus Media for capturing the footage of the event which was used in transcribing this story.
