Today we’d like to introduce you to Derling Rivera.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I would say that my story started before I was even born. My mom studied cosmetology back in her native country of Nicaragua. She came to the United States, continued with her passion, and got her cosmetology and esthetician licenses. As a child, I remember going to school with whatever hairstyle she was practicing at the time and she’s also changed my hair color more times that I can even remember. She taught me to do my own manicures and pedicures and then eventually makeup came up. My mom had an arsenal of beauty products at home which were always at my disposal. I gravitated towards the makeup, particularly anything with glitter. In middle school, I would be recognized by my friends because of my purple, blue, and green lipsticks and loads of glitter. In high school, I was part of the Flagette squad for Booker T Washington Sr High and I would do a lot of the girls makeup along with mine when we had performances.
After graduating high school, I decided to go into the Navy. However, it didn’t work out for long and I came back home with not much going for me. Since I wasn’t doing much of anything, my mom decided to enroll me into makeup school. She said, “I see that you have somewhat of an interest in this and even if you don’t pursue it as a career, you’ll have something to fallback on”. Many told me to put my focus on the makeup career but I thought that if I did that it would take the fun away from doing it as it would now be a “job” and not just a hobby. So, instead I decided to go to school in where I changed majors multiple times. I ended up working in various professions. I switched my mind about careers so many times that I became stagnant for a large period of my life. I also decided to start a family and put a lot of my time and energy into them.
However, after a series of events and then the pandemic I had a lot of free time in where I zoned in on my art (make-up). And once the doors opened I started getting a lot of inquiries, more than ever before. My client base grew abundantly through referrals. I started investing more into my craft and my business. I’ve taken classes by some of the top makeup artists like Mario Dedivanovic. I’ve received mentorship by respected Makeup artists like Lina Zuniga and Selena who is the owner of IDBG.
Now that I’ve really dedicated my energy to my makeup career and it starting to become my main “job” it’s still so much fun and I love it more now than ever before. I get so much satisfaction out of making my clients feel beautiful. Sometimes I wish I would’ve taken this profession more seriously at the beginning, but I do think that my extensive training in customer service and hospitality set me apart from my fellow makeup artists, and I would’ve never had that training had I only focused on makeup. I’m looking forward to the future of Derling Monroe Make Up.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s always a struggle to maintain a balance between the artist and the business owner. What you may want as an artist may not be what’s best for your business and what’s best for your business may not be what you would want as an artist. As an entrepreneur, you’re wearing many hats and you can’t focus too much on anyone because you risk another one falling. What I’ve learned along the way is to seek resources that will help you minimize errors that way, you can get to your end goal faster. Sometimes that requires you to pay for classes or mentorship but it does pay off.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in soft glam makeup. I am mostly known for my natural looks but with very detailed eyes. I take the most time on the eyes, possibly more than half the time. Honestly, it’s my absolute favorite part of the makeup. To me, the eyes is where the magic happens. I’m most proud of the service I provide to my clients. Their satisfaction is my absolute goal and being so open to their feedback, questions, and concerns, I know is what really sets me apart.
How do you define success?
Being successful to me is being in a position where you’re able to live the lifestyle you want while doing something that fulfills you. Sometimes people sacrifice the fulfillment for the lifestyle and that to me, isn’t successful.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
@ForeverPixels
