Celebrity Make up Artist: Kevin Wade

 

 

When you wake up, what’s the first thing you do? You hydrate?
No, when I wake up, the first thing I do is light a candle in my room...Grab a water bottle. Chug one all the way down on the way to my bathroom...I just start doing my skin. I do it all in the shower.

What does your daily skin care routine look like?
I use a cleanser and then a wash. So, I do both of those. I follow that up with my serum from Rxescue, moisturizer, and then I lock it all in. And I go on about my day.

Your skin is so beautiful.
I really put so much effort into it. I’ve noticed a difference. You can have good skin. You can have great skin if you just put a little oomf, a little more effort into it. And the crazy thing is that a lot of people aren’t familiar with good skincare. Once you figure it out, or other people are putting you on to what’s good, then you learn. You know. You can literally start your own skin care journey.

Who was your first skin care influencer? Your mom? Anybody’s sister? Do you have siblings?
I used to be a magazine grabber. Look at the magazines. At that time, I didn’t realize people had retouching and all of that. You’d see these beautiful images of everyone and not realize they’re retouched. Then you would see them in person. Then, I looked at myself, and I was like, I could really have skin like this if I took care of it. And I noticed that the more I took care of my skin, the better it got. I didn’t really have one person...When I started doing hydrating and regenerative serums, the serums really worked for me. I’m eating a lot cleaner. I’ve noticed a difference in my skin with that. Lost 28 pounds. I’m really trying to get my life together.

Wait. Are you single, Kevin?
Yes! I’m all by myself. I would say nobody wants me, but that’s not true. Anyone that I’m ever talking to, we don’t ever seem to be on the same page for long, and that’s ok. I need to focus on me anyway, but I keep it open.

There’s a time. You don’t have to be with someone anyway.

That’s so true. That’s how a lot of people get so stuck, confused. It messes with your emotions. Then, you break out ‘cause you’re stressed. So, I feel like whatever is going on with me right now, in this happy little bubble that I’ve made for myself, I just need to stay in the bubble. It’s real cute in the bubble.

It’s self-love.
Self-love over everything.

Since we’re talking about relationships, when did you come out?
I’ve never had to; I was always me.

Did your parents say anything?
They were supportive. It just kind of was one of those things where it wasn’t even talked about. It was blatantly obvious. I think I was the only one who didn’t know what it was called. I was always allowed to be myself. And I’m more thankful for that than, like, really anything else.

Just hearing you be you on Instagram and social media, I’m just dying to know you.
I’m here. This is the time. Now we’re getting to know me right now. Anything you want to know, I’m literally an open book.

Have you ever run into issues?
I have friends that have been bullied and beaten up and just not accepted by their families. A lot of this horrible stuff that these good people are going through. I’m honestly so thankful to say that I’ve never been beaten up, I’ve never been bullied, I’ve never been targeted for some crazy hate crime or anything.

I wear little pink heart glasses everywhere I go. It’s like my little mood enhancer. What I’m received with is what I’m pushing out in the world. Like, I’m here. It’s a good time. I’m a safe place...You can talk to me. I’m not here to ruin your time. The little heart glasses, it’s an armor, a little mood elevator. It makes me feel good.

It really all boils down to a respect thing. Even if a person is like, let’s say, feminine presenting. And they say, “I am a man,” And then, you’re like, “Ok, boo.” Honestly, if somebody was like, “I identify as a chicken nugget.” I’d be like, “Regular or spicy.” It’s a respect thing. I’m not here to battle with you. It’s not that deep. It has nothing to do with me. I’m trying to respect you as you are. Like I said, every day is a learning lesson. I’m trying to give the people the respect that they deserve...every single day, all the time.

Kevin, I love that. It is about respect because when you truly love people, you don’t have to like everybody…
That’s the whole thing. If somebody is telling you exactly how to treat them, or like, “Oh, no. Call me this,” call them what they want to be called. That doesn’t have anything to do with you. How they’re living their life has nothing to do with you. It’s not harming you. It has nothing to do with you by giving that person the respect that they’re asking that you give them.

I never got to meet you in person, but you definitely radiate. And everybody has good things to say about you.
Oh, that’s so good. That’s nice to know.

And who cares about the other, maybe .0001%.
You’re not for everybody. And that’s fine. Life is short. We need to have tunnel vision. Everything needs to be moving forward. Anything holding you back like in the past, I am not looking back. I’m not bonding over trauma with anyone. I’m good on that. I just want to be ok. See my cute sunsets here and there. Go on a plane. Hop in a tropical ocean. I just want to have moments and my life to be cute and good. That’s all I have to give out in the world. And that’s all I’m expecting back in return.

 

I’ve seen that you’ve traveled. Where’s your favorite place?
Ooooh. Ok. My favorite place in the whole world is St. Thomas. The humidity, a tolerable humidity. The water is so warm and so beautiful. The Virgin Gorda is so gorgeous. I love anything tropical. I love anything warm. Anything beachy. Beautiful sand. That is a time for me.

And what’s your dream? What’s Kevin’s dream?
My dream...What would Beyonce say? To be happy. I’m living a happy life currently. I just want to be doing exactly what I’m doing on a grander scale. I think we all want that American dream of a white picket fence, super cute house, and just not to worry about money. Now I’m in a place where I’m not worrying about money. And I’m really just trying to maintain it. I’m in a place where I get to work with people I love more regularly. I get to post videos and make money. I’m getting to do exactly what I want. I don’t really have to stress out. I finally put my bills on autopay. I was like; I never thought that would happen. At one point in my career, I was freaking out about a $45 T-Mobile bill that I couldn’t afford to pay. So, it’s nice to be in a different situation and look back and see that growth, especially with my birthday approaching.

You’re so gracious.
Thank you. I make it an effort to be so thankful for the things that I have, even though I don’t verbalize it online all the time.

You say you’ve worked with people you love. What are the steps to make their skin ready for makeup?
Skin care, skin care, skin care. I get all of my girls onto skin care. Oh, my gosh. Like cleansing, moisturizing, serums, priming. You just really have to take care of that skin. Because you could have the best makeup artist in the entire world, but if your skin is garbage, then your makeup is not going to be the best that it could be. You know? You have to really take care of what’s underneath to get the best result with your glam. Skin care definitely is number one. Immediately followed by great eyebrows.

When did you know you were going to do this?
I had this internship. I was assisting the photographer. And his makeup artist came in, and basically, she recruited me and showed me some tips and tricks on how to do makeup. I started watching Youtube and really getting into it. And none of my friends would let me practice on them. Put that definitely down on the record. Let’s just start there because nobody was giving me the time of day. I started working on myself and posting pictures on Instagram. Then, people started hiring me to do the looks I was doing on myself on them. I started getting celebrity clients, which was shocking. Then it just became consistent, which is amazing and still shocking, to say the very least.

You are self-made, Kevin.
Who would have ever thought this would literally turn me into a flourishing career where I would be ok in life? Like if it wasn’t for this, I’d probably be at Wing Stop or Jamba Juice or something like that.

You are a celebrity. You are high in demand, so I really appreciate you squeezing me in here. Since you’ve worked on so many gorgeous faces, what truly makes someone beautiful in your eyes?
I just think people that intentionally lead happy lives that keep things pretty light. Realizing that life is not perfect, but it’s cute. It can be a lot worse. You can not have legs. You know? People that keep that good energy about them. No negative intentions in the world. Like, I don’t want to hurt anybody. I want to sit in my yard, have my tea, chill out. I’m here to chill; I’m here to have moments. Taking it as it comes and not making it stressful. Living cute. Living your life the way that you want to comfortably.

When I see people doing that, actually genuinely happy...with their kids, people spend time with their family that appreciates it like I do. Life is 100% of what you make it. Your perception on something is the perception on everything. We control so much more than we even know.

Like, we think we are powerless, yet we’re in control of every single thing that we do. Every water that we take a sip of. Every meal that we put in our bodies. We choose not to, or we choose to start on things. We choose to dwell on things that are not that deep. We make up scenarios that are not even real--freak ourselves out.

Wait. Are you reading my mind? Because I was freaking myself out last night.
No, but I just know what it is. I just know because it was me. I was really out there, and I’m like, why am I freaking out? Everything is really cute. Like, stop. I literally had to slap myself on the hand, like, knock it off.

You’re such a therapist. You’re like a guru.
Haha No. Like I had to figure it out for me because I’m like I’m going to drive myself insane if I keep making everything a woe is me moment. And it’s not necessary. We have a whole life to live. We really do.

And we don’t need to keep living from what happened 10 years ago.

10 years ago. You survived it. You got through it. Let’s like leave it where it is and move forward. Moving forward is just the move. Period. What was I doing 10 years ago? Watching Power Rangers? Girl, I don’t know! What was I stressed about? Nothing that deep.

What is your favorite song? That one song that always makes you feel good?
I know exactly my song, too. Ok. You remember the Armageddon movie, right? Remember the theme song by Aerosmith? Don’t wanna close my eyes… It’s a whole mood. And every time I hear that, I’m like, awww. It’s one of those songs that makes you feel. And then, another Aerosmith song that I literally adore... when I’m cruising, basically... I’ll roll down the windows.

My friend came to pick me up in a convertible, and we blasted Jaded. And it was just lovely. It was like a whole moment. Basically, anything by Aerosmith with Jaded and I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing; those two are just mood elevators. Anything by Alaina Baraz. Any album. Any single one. I can listen to it all the way through. I listened to her latest album today while I was taking a bath. It was euphoric.

Kevin, have a beautiful birthday. Sending you lots of great wishes for tomorrow on Jimmy Kimmel. That’s amazing.
Please. Please do. I will be taking them all. I’ll be posting pictures. I’ll be trying to record on my stories.