Ayinde Castro: Celebrity Face Beater

Puerto Rico native Ayinde Castro, 5-star celebrity makeup artist, is one of the many gay men working behind the scenes that keep Hollywood in motion. In our conversation, Castro talks about becoming one of the most sought after makeup artists in the industry, working on hip-hop video sets, and how homophobia almost kept him from his destiny.

Meet Ayinde Castro, celebrity face-beater.

AE:So when did you finally decide to get into the business?

AC: It finally happened when I was watching Full Frontal Fashion and saw an Alexander McQueen fashion show, the makeup was stellar and overshadowed his clothes, at least in my head...I went out the next day and got a job at MAC. I immediately landed the gig--lying my way through the resume.

I bull**** my way through the whole thing but my first sale was $900 dollars, the business degree came in handy. The manager saw that my makeup skills were perfectly deplorable but my sales were fierce, so he gave me a crash course in makeup.

My first industry job that I bull**** my way into was for a David LaChapelle cover shoot, and from then on I began working with celebs...not that easy of course, it's a very difficult profession to break into (the industry part).

But I had worked in a beauty salon in Puerto Rico and hated the experience and anything associated with gay men's professions; floral design, pastry chef, designer, stylist, makeup before I made it to this point.

AE: How did you learn to overcome that?

AC: Making men and women feel their best made me feel like a little colour doctor and immediately those feelings disappeared. Then I discovered a myriad of straight male makeup artists in the industry and realized that as a gay man, I still have one over them...

AE: And what's that?

AC: Makeup as we know is all parts psychological and when a woman is being made up by a gay man she realizes that we have her best interest at heart. With straight men, the client might feel reserved. Female clients are not immediately prone to trust other women either.

AE: If you had to say what the "Ayinde" style is...what is it? How do you describe it?

AC: What sets me apart from the rest of the makeup artist out there: my style is natural with strong but seamless contours a favorite among many celebrities... my finish is incredibly lacquered without overshadowing the individual.

Model: Omahyra. Photo by: Pieter Henket

Click the READ MORE link to find out about Ayinde's celebrity clients and a homophobic incident on a video shoot!

AE: Who have been some of your celebrity clients?

AC: Vanessa Williams, Mariah Carey, Mary j Blige, Beyonce, Cassie, Veronica Webb, Ne-yo, Jamie Foxx, Tatum O’Neil, etc...

Model:Supreme. Photo by: Itaysha Jordan

AE: So you've done some work on hip-hop videos. And a lot has been said and written about homophobia in hip-hop. What's your experience like as a gay man on a hip-hop video set?

AC: The first job that I was offered in hip-hop was for a b-lister, he'll go unmentioned. While setting up my makeup table, which I take great pride in, I was approached by his management (male) and I was told: " yo homo' none of that faggot shit, okay, just lotion, nothing else... so I gave his manager a tube of lotion, packed my stuff and left the set...

I began doing more hip-hop, R&B and reggae music videos and my experiences have all varied from client to client and from set to set.

I’ve had to hire female assistants to touch some men while I was behind my artist instructing them in precise detail... I’ve had amazing experiences with some male artists who are incredibly diplomatic and respectful... and I have a huge dancehall artist that's incredibly homo-phobic, but only allows me to make him up...and when I say "touch" I mean make-up.

AE: So what's next for you? Where is Ayinde headed?

AC: I’m currently working as Creative Director for Fiberwig Mascara, and formulating my own line of cosmetics for the savviest of makeup divas...

AE: Now that there are so many style shows on TV and whatnot (Top Model, Project Runway, What Not to Wear, etc.), how has that changed the status of makeup artists, who were previously unknown to the larger public?

AC: It's given us a better platform to express the behind the scenes aspect of our jobs... our status really happens within the celebrity/industry underground...I was recently featured on ABC's Extreme Makeover and it's not changed my status...it's just given me a bigger platform from which to say hello.

AE: Gotcha. AfterElton has readers from all across the country. What advice would you give our younger readers who may want to get into the industry as a makeup artist?

AC: My advice to younger readers that want to get started in the industry is to really study the industry and the marketplace, to immerse yourself in a business course—it's not all just a painting game. Some people can really take advantage of you when you're not looking and you should always be looking...never drop you career onto anyone else's lap (agents). Remember, you work for you - always... on the art side of things, never apologize for your work and develop you signature style ASAP!