Makeup artist: Matanzas senior finds her niche by helping to give people self-confidence

Diana Vilay: 'I don’t need to wear makeup. I wear it as a choice. I don’t do it for you.’


Diana Vilay, who took four high school-required classes while she was still in middle school, turned 18 on Nov. 20. Photo by Brian McMillan
Diana Vilay, who took four high school-required classes while she was still in middle school, turned 18 on Nov. 20. Photo by Brian McMillan
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Diana Vilay hopes to one day become a professional makeup artist in New York City or Los Angeles, and she’s getting a head start while she’s still in high school.

The Matanzas High School senior has gotten so good at doing her own makeup that her friends have encouraged her to publish photos of her work — and some have even paid her to do their makeup before prom and Homecoming. She has also been hired to do the makeup for nine people in a wedding party next year. She hopes to eventually be hired by actors and for things like fancy birthday parties and other special events.

She said one common mistake people make is that they fail to match their makeup to their natural skin tones.

“If you have a pink undertone, and you use a foundation with a yellow undertone, you will look orange, like a fake tan,” she said.

Vilay said she is sometimes conflicted about the whole enterprise because there is a double standard: “People expect women to always look put together,” she said. “At an event, if someone isn’t wearing makeup, people would think, ‘Doesn’t she care what she looks like?’”

But she sometimes doesn’t wear any makeup, to give her skin a break. On her off days, “People will say, ‘Diana, what’s wrong with you? You look really tired,’” she said. “I basically tell them, ‘I don’t need to wear makeup. I wear it as a choice. I don’t do it for you.’”

And when that is the attitude of her clients, she doesn’t feel conflicted.

“If they ask me to do their makeup, it’s just what they want: ‘I want to look good for this event,’” she said. After she does their makeup and they say, “‘Oh my gosh, thank you so much, I look so good!’ I’m really happy about that. They have self-confidence, and I helped them do that.”

Email [email protected] for pricing. Follow her on Instagram at @d.vilay.

 

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