Katie Alves' Makeup Designs: Feature: Jericka Los

For my first feature, I'd like to show you guys

Jericka Los

She does beautiful designs, from eyes to full body! I asked her a

few questions to learn more about her and here is what she said.

1. How did you get started with makeup?

What's really funny about this question is that I never wore makeup in highschool or afterwards, but I used to do my sisters makeup all the time. I even did my older sisters wedding makeup. Then one day I was googling schools, and I came across Blanche Macdonald in Vancouver and thought, "Why not?" So I emailed them and the next week I enrolled. That was 1.5 years ago.

2. What is your all time favourite brand? What's your favourite product from that brand?

I absolutely LOVE Sugarpill. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to use any of their products yet, but their Burning Heart Pallette is definately something I want to try.

3. Where do you get your inspiration from?

I get my inspiration mostly from music. Anything with a good beat really gets my mind going. Whenever I am feeling creative, I will put on some good music and then my mind just goes. I also find inspiration for some things by reading books. My Zombie Geisha I did in school was inspired by the Memoirs of a Geisha book that I was reading at the time.

4. Favourite tool?

Airbrush. I LOVE to airbrush foundation. I love the way it works and it's so versatile. You can do your foundation, blush, eyeshadow and even body paint.

5. Have you gone to school for this? Or is this more of a natural talent?

As I said in my first answer, I did go to school. It was a one year program that covered everything from Fundamentals (Bridal and everyday wear) to fashion, to airbrushing, special effects and prosthetics. I dabbled a bit in makeup before I applied to the school.

6. Do you make a living off of your work or is it more of a hobby?

I TRY to make a living out of it, but i am still starting out as a recent graduate. I do a lot of volunteer work for fashion shows and I currently work for some photographers in the next town over that specialize in Boudoir Photography. I also do kids birthday parties by face painting.

7. Which design of yours is your favourite?

Oh, my favourite of my own? That's a tough one! As I have done special effects and prosthetics as well as fashion, it's really hard to pick. Thinking about it now, it would probably be one of my fashion looks. It was a lip focus where the lips were black and white checkered with a glossy finish. I spent a LOT of time researching products to use for this. Products that wouldn't bleed when the gloss was put overtop. I ended up using black cake liner and white acrylic paint with Bonnebell lipgloss.

8. How long do your designs usually take?

It depends on what kind of makeup I am doing. The longest look took me 5 hours, but it was a full body paint with special effects pieces and a bald cap wrap included. Usually for a fashion look I spend at least an hour prefecting the whole face.

9. How long have you been doing this?

Professional just over a year, but I did a lot of "fun" makeup photoshoots with my girlfriends before I started school.

10. Any advice for beginners?

Don't give up! If something is frustrating you, stop, take a breather and look away. I find that if I am spending a lot of time looking at something closely, I need to look away for a few minutes to clear my head, and when I look back at what I am doing I see things that I missed, or can fix. Get yourself out there. I know it can be scary networking with other people, believe me, I am a very nervous person, networking is the hardest thing for me to do, but I do my best. No one thinks like you do, so you'll always have something unique to you.

Here are some of her amazing designs she has done!