Second-year Delta College student Meredith Ramirez can recall watching her mother putting on makeup when she was a child. She would look at the eyeshadow, the lipstick and the brushes.
This sparked her curiosity.
Ramirez began experimenting with makeup during her freshman year of high school. At first, she created natural looks for everyday wear. As she got more comfortable, her looks became increasingly dramatic.
“My brother said I looked like a clown when I started out,” Ramirez said.
However, he came around as her skills sharpened and even requested for her to do his makeup on Halloween. He wanted to look like the Terminator. She used gray and white face paint to help achieve this look.
“It was my first time trying to do special effects makeup,” Ramirez said. “My family was impressed.”
After this experience, Ramirez discovered a newfound interest in special effects makeup. Like cosmetological makeup, she appreciated its ability to completely transform a person.
“You can turn yourself into a creature if you wanted to,” Ramirez said.
She turned to the internet to teach her what she needed to know about special effects makeup. She browsed through photos on Instagram to get inspiration and watched tutorial videos on YouTube.
“I would try to mimic what I saw,” Ramirez said on her learning process.
When it was time for her to register for classes at Delta, she decided to enroll in a stage makeup class. This only helped to expand her skill set.
“I really loved the class and I enjoyed every moment of it,” Ramirez said. “I saw the professor recently for the first time in over a year. She remembered me immediately and said she uses my work as examples for her students.”
It isn’t uncommon for Ramirez to receive such recognition. She has gotten many compliments for her artistry. Long-time friend Niomie Rosas is especially admiring of her work.
“She is naturally talented,” Rosas said. “It’s impressive seeing how much knowledge she has about makeup.”
Rosas has been used as a model for Ramirez to practice makeup on numerous times throughout the years.
“Recently she did a look on me that made it appear as though I had cut out hearts on my cheeks. I wasn’t able to see much throughout the process, but when I saw the end result I was amazed by how real it looked,” Rosas said.
This kind of praise makes Ramirez feel a sense of fulfillment.
“I like being known as the girl who does makeup,” she said.
But Ramirez would like to be known for even more than that. She has aspirations to become a film director and wants to be in charge of the costuming on her projects.
“Costumes and makeup go hand in hand,” she said. “I want to study costume design next.”