The Art of Makeup with Denise Flores

Makeup is a therapeutic activity as well as a way to express yourself. Junior, Denise Flores has been doing creative makeup for 2 years. She shows up to school every day with intricate makeup looks unlike any other. Considering makeup is known as an art, Denise is one of San Dimas’s very talented artists.
Ever since she was young Flores loved to see how people used makeup to express themselves. “Special effects makeup, graphic makeup, and just regular daily makeup were interesting to me” she explains. At age 15 Flores got her first eyeliner and mascara, and that’s where the makeup journey started. From then on she started wearing more and trying new things. “I wanted to create looks like the people I saw online,” she says. Using the patterns and designs she saw online, she mixed them together to create her own unique looks.
Alongside makeup, Flores also draws and makes art that way. Before she started makeup, Flores would put all her creativity into drawing which eventually led to her makeup designs. She talks about how she implements her drawings into her makeup, “I drew a lot growing up and when I first got into makeup I didn’t watch any tutorials and I just kind of went based off of what I did in my drawings, but when I draw sometimes I create a makeup look for the character and the next day ill try it on myself, and drawing helps me be steady and create ideas for looks” she states. It’s amazing to see how being creative in one art form can beautifully transform into another form.

On the contrary, some people don’t find makeup as an art form or simply just a beautiful visual. As much as Flores gets compliments on her makeup when she goes out, she sometimes receives judgments and looks from people around her and even her family. “My family prefers me to have a more simple and natural makeup however they support some of the bold looks I do just as long as it’s not all the time” Flores explains. Even though she doesn’t always get the kudos she deserves from her family she definitely gets it from her friends, “My friends love the looks I do and even send me ideas of looks they find online for me to do” she says. And with the public, she always expects mixed reactions of love and hate towards her makeup.
Even if people don’t support her art, Flores will continue to pursue her passion no matter what. Makeup takes skill and practice just like any other form of art. So there is no denying that Flores is a very impressive artist with what she does.