  Welcome to my first blog post for my new blog, The Makeup Report. If you don't know me, my name is Jerica (JE-ri-kuh), and I've been in the makeup and beauty industry for 17 years. It feels super weird typing that out, but the reality is, I've been in this game for quite some time. If you know me, follow me, have worked with me, have met me before, or have sat in my chair and let me work my magic on you, welcome! I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now! Let’s talk about this blog and what it’s all about. The Makeup Report will dive into the world of makeup, skincare, and the behind-the-scenes reality of it all from the perspective of a real, working makeup artist. Now, you might be thinking, what exactly does "working makeup artist" refer to? Well, in the year 2024, where it's all about social media, what's trending, and most importantly, influencers, I'll dive into the differences between makeup artists and beauty influencers as well. I'll also sprinkle in my favorite product suggestions, TV shows, movies, entertainment, and the makeup featured in them. But all of that deserves its own posts! For now, let's focus on who I even am! Haha! I was born in Rochester, NY, on a sunny day in April! Aries baby! I grew up in a very Latino home with two Puerto Rican parents. My heritage and background are the backbone of who I am today, and I am very proud to be Latina. Growing up in a Latin household, there was always music playing, food cooking, and work to be done. Both of my parents have never stopped working from the day I was born until this very day. They will soon be retired, thankfully! I say all of this because this upbringing sparked my drive and determination to pursue my dreams of working in the makeup industry. Now, I never set out to be a makeup artist. When I was in high school, I started wearing a bit of makeup. My parents didn't allow me to wear too much—only mascara or eyeliner. The first thing I perfected was eyeliner. Growing up, I actually wanted to be in the entertainment industry, singing or dancing. As a millennial, we definitely had so many musical influences in our generation. But while I was in high school, I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I noticed that people would comment on my eyes. They would say, "Wow, Jerica, I love your eyeliner and eyeshadow! How did you do that?" And I just shrugged it off, being the painfully shy girl that I was. Fast forward to my first year in college, studying liberal arts (isn't that what we all did when we didn't know what the heck to do with ourselves?) and sociology, I realized then that something was calling me, and it wasn't here. There was a creative voice in me calling me to pursue something I knew nothing about. I was doing makeup on friends, family, and even had a few brides hire me for their wedding day. It wasn't until my very own parents told me that I should look into makeup artistry. I kind of laughed at the thought of it, mainly because I had no idea what they were talking about, and I had no idea how to go about it. That good ol' year of 2007, I was watching YouTube like everyone else. Well before Insta and TikTok, I was watching the OG makeup gurus like Kandee Johnson and Makeup by Koren (whom I later got to meet). Not even knowing that what they were doing was calling me, but I was ignoring the call. Once I had a moment to really think about makeup, I decided to open a search in Google and see what I could find about the industry. At the time, there was not nearly as much information as there is now. There were some articles here and there about the industry and some schools that offered programs. One in particular caught my interest: Makeup Designory in New York City, a prestigious school that had quite the reputation and tuition. I knew in that very moment that I had to go to that school. Before going to MUD, I knew there were several steps I needed to take in order to attend this school. I wanted to be educated and prepared to attend such a place. Before going to MUD, I wanted to get my state license for esthetics so I could understand the functions of the skin, and boy, am I so happy I did that. Skincare is the start of everything when it comes to makeup. I preach about this almost every day. Without skincare, there is no makeup. More on this in a later post. I went to Continental School of Beauty, got my license, and was determined to work for Sephora. Now at the time, Sephora was not easy to get into. But everyone knew that I wanted to work there, and I was determined to make that happen. While in my last few months of esthetics school, I applied at our local Sephora five times, each time never getting a call back. I was definitely worried I wouldn't get the gig by graduation. A week before I graduated, a dear classmate of mine told me there was an ad online stating that JCPenney was to open a Sephora within their stores and that they were hiring! I saw this as the opportunity that I was waiting for! I rushed to apply online on this janky website that I was praying wouldn't steal my identity and crossed my fingers that I'd get an opportunity to work for a company I knew would take me to where I needed to go, the first stepping stone to my career. The next morning, I got the call... To be continued. With love, Jerica 
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