Today we’d like to introduce you to Kai Luvv.
Kai, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It honestly goes back so far, like before I was born. My whole family is full of artists, on both sides. My great-grandparents are muralists in Chicano Park and have/had a pretty big part in what it is now. My grandmother paints, decorates, etc. and my other grandmother decorates and styles as well. Both of my parents are artists in their own ways too, whether it’s painting, gardening, cooking, etc. So I was kind of born into a life where I was destined to be an artist in some way…
Growing up I would paint a lot, collage with my grandma, ALWAYS giving my Bratz and Barbie dolls makeovers and using my grandma’s fabrics to make them outfits. (side note, my grandma LOVES all cultures around the world and collects clothing, art, etc. so you can imagine how beautiful the fabrics were!) But I never really knew what makeup was or that being a makeup artist was a thing, I wasn’t even allowed to wear it until about 14ish. But I always remember my mom getting ready and putting it on and slowly but surely I was secretly playing around and experimenting with it too.
Then, Instagram blew up and I started posting photos of what I thought were amazing makeup looks at the time and slowly had friends reaching out to me for prom/school events and lots of Halloween looks. Over time I just found myself doing it pretty regularly and it seemed like that’s what most people knew me for. Around the age of 16 I started face painting at local EDM parties every weekend (don’t worry, my mom was walking me in and making sure it was all good haha.) Having this opportunity really helped me in pushing my creativity, meeting new people, including my boyfriend of 4 years, and helped me start the path I wanted to go down with makeup at the time.
When I graduated high school I didn’t plan on going to college really, I knew to be a makeup artist you didn’t need any schooling or degree. That summer I got to assist in doing makeup for a short film, Dandelion and that was what ultimately pushed me to enroll at Bellus Academy. I decided to not only go for the makeup course but to get my esthetics license as well, which eventually led me to start doing eyelash extensions too!
When you go to beauty school you make so many amazing connections, it’s a huge networking event for 6 months basically. This really helped pave the way for what was to come in the near future regarding both my career in Makeup Artistry and Eyelash Extensions.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I mean, nothing in life is easy, of course, there have been struggles along the way! Being an artist is hard work mentally & emotionally. One of the best examples I can use because I know artists of ALL kinds can relate are… not getting paid for your work. This is a huge struggle everywhere but in San Diego, I feel that it can be really hard.
But I’m starting to see a change in that, more and more people becoming aware of this and being vocal about it and that’s what matters in the end. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll do unpaid collaborations, I love to do them, but only when working with people who have that same passion and vision for the project. More people need to see how much goes into an artists job with time, craft and product.
Another struggle of an artist can be lack of inspiration and motivation as well as being overwhelmed with both of those things. I am constantly striving to become better at my craft, consistently getting bookings, creating new projects, pushing boundaries. But, of course, there’s always the thoughts of “who even cares?”, “why am I not getting any work this week or month?”, “why am I not getting enough views &/or likes” which is a hard one, the need of validation from others, especially with social media growing at such a rapid pace and all of these “makeup gurus”, Instagram models and photographers who we don’t even know in real life.
Last but not least, the validation we constantly seek within ourselves. It’s definitely hard and can hurt sometimes. It can feel diminishing, but ultimately these are also the things that I think push most artists to become better and try harder. So when you look at the bright side, these struggles are worth it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
“Hi, I’m Kayah and I am a Makeup Artist & Eyelash Extension Artist.” Is usually how it goes. I am working hard to change and expand that! I am a makeup artist who specializes in all styles of makeup from natural and glam, to special fx, fantasy, editorial, film and high fashion.
At a pretty young age, I made it a goal to work with some of the biggest festivals and companies who had the same vision. The last few years I’ve found myself working with local clothing companies like Hunt & Gather, Little Black Diamond & Thriftsy Gypsy, to name a few. As well as Insomniac Events festivals like Escape Psycho Circus & Electric Daisy Carnival, I also did makeup for the EDC Orlando promo video, and this year booked private clients the whole weekend of Desert Hearts.
I also love doing concept shoots and collaborations with other creatives. I am slowly starting to work my way into styling and creative direction as well. As far as my career as an Eyelash Extension artist, I’ve been doing lashes for about two and a half years now.
For the past year though, I have been working at Hello Birdie Nail & Lash Lab, doing both Classic & Volume Lash Extensions. I create any style a client wishes to have but I mainly specialize in more dramatic looks.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
This year I feel like I’ve finally found myself as an artist and really found what it is that I love to do and create. At the beginning of the year, I made it a goal to produce my own concept shoots once a month, where I would do the makeup, set design, styling and occasionally hair: creative direction all around.
These included my take on A Queens Wonderland, A Modern Marie Antionette, and few others including my most recent film project SIREN that I got to collaborate with a few other amazing artists, one being my boyfriend, producer & DJ ElezD who produced the song and Fernando Espino: Esfere who was the man behind the camera of this beautiful project! I definitely want to push myself to create more films with videographers, doing concept shoots or working with more house & techno artists, creating videos for their music.
Essentially the goal is to be creating these shoots not only for myself as an artist but for bigger clothing companies and musicians. I love doing makeup so much, it’s my passion, but I find myself loving it, even more, when I’m the one coming up with the theme and details behind the project.
I am also slowly starting to get into more editorial and fantasy shoots and the goal with that would, of course, be to come into the high fashion world, especially in Europe as a makeup artist, stylist and creative director. So, although this isn’t exactly what I specialize in yet, I say I do because I’m a firm believer in speaking this all into existence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.avantglam.co/
- Email: kayah.rybar@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Wendy Smith, Hunt & Gather, Anthony Ray Quisay, Alina Mendoza, Freelance Media Guru
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
