Alexandra Anele started developing her skills as a special effects makeup artist after finishing a Fine Arts degree. She has since created a large community on social media; spending much of her time filming in front of a camera, she shares her experience with beauty and self-confidence.
IN CONVERSATION WITH
ALEXANDRA
Who I am and who I’ll beI feel beautiful when I am wearing bomb ass makeup and a bomb ass outfit, but it is really just my level of confidence
19/99 Tell us a bit about yourself.
Alexandra Anele That is a pretty broad question. Let’s see; my background is in art. I went to college for Fine Art; both of my parents are artists, so that is the direction that I was moving in for a really long time. I thought I was going to go to school and become an art professor. Through a turn of events, especially my interaction with social media, I became interested in makeup, specifically special effects makeup. That became my focus all of a sudden; it was a combination of my love of beauty, fashion, and those visuals and my background in painting. So I started to teach myself how to do those things with really cheap, crappy makeup. I ended up moving out to LA with no plan, and sort of pursued that. And somehow I ended up here. Now looking back each step makes sense, with what has brought me to this point, it all kind of came together and now I am here.
19/99 How long have you been in LA for?
AA 5 or 6 years now, I am from New Hampshire originally
19/99 When and how did you start working in beauty?
AA When I moved out to LA, about 4 minutes away was a cosmetic manufacturer, and I had no job, and no prospects so I just reached out to them. I think at that time I had about 15,000 followers on Instagram, so I tried to use that a little bit. They were actually launching their own brand at the time, and were looking for someone who had a little bit of a presence, to run the social media and make graphics. So that is how I got my foot in the door. I was running their social media, and making YouTube tutorials for them. I was able to pay rent, which was good, and learn more of the behind the scenes of the cosmetic industry while growing my online presence.
19/99 You mentioned to us that the idea of aging, and aging in beauty has been really top of mind for you lately; can you speak into that a bit?
AA Well I am turning 30, so that is a big one. During quarantine I have honestly aged 10 years, and I don’t know if it is because I am home even more now and looking at myself on camera all the time. So I am concerned about aging and I don’t know if it is because I am in front for a very high definition camera and everyone can see every little blemish I have on my face, and every little wrinkle. I find myself straddling this thing as I get older; having confidence as I get older with how I am, how I look and then it is almost the opposite end of that, I am feeling like I am afraid of aging, fine lines, and loosing that youthful appearance that is so prevalent in the beauty industry. Being on social media and seeing all of these people get lip filler, and under eye filler, and I mean I have done that but I don’t know, I am trying to find a balance; I don’t know what the balance is, and I want to find that balance. You feel like you have to do certain things to match how you look on the outside to how you feel on the inside. I notice that I look at myself so differently as I get more confident in general; it doesn’t have anything to do with how much makeup I have on. Obviously I feel more attractive if I have a bomb-ass outfit on and my makeup looks fire, but if I just remove those things, it has so much more to do with how I am feeling about myself. It is going to be a slow process I think, but we need to re-teach ourselves what we find attractive, it’s not just about staying youthful, and looking smooth our whole lives. I feel like there are people who are getting fillers and other treatments and are getting really natural results, and I feel like if I don’t do that, am I just missing out?! It is so frustrating.
Image via @alexandra_anele
we need to re-teach ourselves what we find attractive, it’s not just about staying youthful
19/99 Can you take us through your daily beauty routine, morning and night?
AA Especially during quarantine, I mean I have basically always been under quarantine because I really don’t leave my house that much, but I only actually do my makeup once or twice a week so it is more about skincare for me. I am obsessed with hydration; I think that is the most important thing. I don’t really wash my face when I first wake up, my most important routine is at night. I am obsessive with removing any makeup, going in with a cleansing balm, and then a cleanser, and mists, serums. My skin care journey is constantly evolving because I am always trying new things, and looking for things that will work me for. And as I get older, my hormones are always changing, but hydration has always been key for me.
19/99 Do you have any key products or brands that you’ve stuck with throughout?
AA It is really always evolving. Right now I love Tatcha, I am pretty obsessed with Tata Harper. I started my skincare journey with Tata Harper and am now going back to it. Curology was what sort of allowed me to stop focusing on breakouts and start focusing on keeping my skin…whatever you want to call it.
19/99 Do you feel pressure to look a certain way?
AA I do and I don't. It is always wavering. I do when I look at social media, and look at people who are in my industry, because, like I said earlier, there seems to be a movement towards everyone doing the same thing; getting the same nose, getting the same lips, getting the same cheeks. I kind of feel like we are starting to pull back from that a little bit, which is nice. When I look at people who have everything done, I feel like I don’t look like that, and I am happy about that, but I definitely think ‘Are they more marketable than me? Do they have a bigger following than me?’ So I definitely feel the pressure, but am trying to use my brain to fight it.
19/99 Does the term age appropriate mean anything to you?
AA I don’t believe in age appropriate, that seems irrelevant to me.
19/99 If you could share advice with your younger self, what would it be?
AA This is something I should still be telling myself; stop worrying about what other people think. It is your experience you are having and that is all that matters.
19/99 What makes you feel beautiful?
AA Like I said earlier, I feel beautiful when I am wearing bomb ass makeup and a bomb ass outfit, but it is really just my level of confidence. And there are certain little things that will help which help me feel more confident, and then I’ll feel great, no matter what.
19/99 Do you think there is a point where we stop growing and learning?
AA No, absolutely not. That is crazy. I think some people do, but I think it is a personal choice. Some people reach a certain point and think they know everything and they don’t have to listen to other people, but objectively we never stop growing and learning.
_______________
Follow Alexandra @alexandra_anele
