Artist of the Week: Caroline Kuhlman and Stella McKinney

Caroline Kuhlman:

Why is makeup art important to you?

I used to go to therapy for my anxiety. I used to be in clinics and stuff. And ever since I have done makeup, I haven’t had to do that because my makeup desk is like my sacred space. I can just sit there for hours working on a look that I want to do or a creative sort of piece that I want to do and not be bothered, not be on my phone. I can just sit there and focus on what the outcome of my look will be.

How do you personalize your looks to make them unique?

The color palette is a big part because I love working with color and I have pretty blue eyes, so if there’s any colors –– like orange really makes my eye color pop and blues do as well, purples do, and any cool tones –– I will try to implement that as much as I can because probably one of my favorite features about myself is my eye color. Working with color is a big one though, like working with neon pigments, working with gemstones. That’s probably how I personalize looks the most –– and also adding glitter.

What is your favorite look that you’ve done?

Probably my Euphoria-inspired look. This was the one where I used orange on my eyes and put gemstones all around it. Just because I felt so confident in it–– it felt like I was wearing jewelry around my eyes. It took a long time, oh my god, that took me like an hour and a half to get all those jewels in the right place, but it was so satisfying once I finished it all, and I was really proud of what I did.

What obstacles do you still have to overcome?

I just know that not everything is going to be perfect the first time that you try it. So the looks that I’ve posted on Instagram, specifically the creative ones, I’ve probably done that three or four times to get it perfect. And that all takes a lot of patience and a lot of trial and error. And I just know that not everything has to be publicized and that’s really helped me.

How did your confidence in your art change over quarantine?

Well, in the midst of being in quarantine, I was like, ‘Okay, screw it, I’m gonna do something fun. I obviously love makeup, I love skincare. This is kind of like my passion, but I want to go further.’ And I also saw a lot of people trying it on TikTok and on YouTube and stuff and once I practiced more and more at it, it was just like anything, you get better at it every time you do it. And so I just fell in love with doing more dramatic looks, doing more creative looks versus just [putting] on some foundation, some highlighter and fake lashes and call it good.

How long does one look take you to complete?

A creative look will probably take me two hours to do, two to three hours, but then just a normal glam look, the majority of them take me 45 minutes to an hour.

What advice would you give to someone who is new to makeup artistry?

Just do it. If you like art, and that’s your thing, try makeup. It’s a different medium. It’s a totally different process. If anyone wants to start makeup, just have fun with it. You do not have to do everything perfect the first time, you don’t need all of the super high end, fancy products that a lot of people publicize on their Instagrams and YouTubes and TikToks and stuff. Focus on what you want to accomplish and you should totally do it. It’s fun. It’s peaceful. You don’t have to be looking at your phone the whole time. Like if anyone is interested in makeup, male or female, non-binary, they should do it.

Find more of Caroline Kuhlman’s work on Instagram @makeupcarolinekuhlman.

Stella McKinney:

Why did you pick makeup art to be your creative outlet?

I just think it’s always been like a really big part of my life. Like I can remember the first time I ever got into makeup, and I just loved being creative in that way. I think that every person needs a way to be creative. I think everyone needs some sort of way to be expressive and sit down and just do something that they love. I think that this is just my thing. It just means a lot to me because I’d be really sad if it was taken away. It’s really important to me, and I feel like it’d be weird if I just stopped doing it.

What is your favorite look that you’ve done?

I really like the one I did yesterday [Oct. 6]. It was like, X’s through my eyes and my mouth, just like X marks. And I made them look like they were glowing, which I’d never done before. I think it turned out really cool. It was kind of simplistic. It was a lot less than I normally do, but it turned out really cool.

Who are some other makeup artists that you take inspiration from?

I really like this TikTok makeup artist, her name’s @abbyartistry, she’s from England and she creates really cool stuff. And then I like this other girl named Ruth, @makeuppbyruthie I think. I usually go to their pages when I want to do a look to find either a transition or a song, or just inspiration for makeup because I don’t really like copying it step by step what they do. I usually just like looking for certain colors or techniques that they used. 

How often do you work on your makeup art?

I feel like my day is empty if I don’t do something. It can be something little and I can take it off, like immediately, but I just feel like I need that time to do it because it just de-stresses me. So I do it every day, sometimes twice a day if I have enough time, and with online school I do. Or I’ll do like a look during the day, and then I’ll take it off and I’m going to redo it and do it better later.

How did quarantine affect your makeup art work?

I didn’t really have any time to do it. I didn’t feel like I could dedicate that much time to it. And then when quarantine hit, I started doing it and it was a way to kind of escape from all the craziness and just sit down and not be on my phone and just come up with like, some creative stuff to do.

What role does skincare have in your makeup art?

I have to really keep on track of my skincare and make sure that I’m using all the right products and good products and things like that and make sure that I always get all my makeup off no matter what. I also watch @skincarebyhyram on TikTok. I bought all the products that he recommends, because everyone loves his recommendations and stuff. So after I wash off all my crazy makeup, I’d go in with a skin mask or something like that to make sure that my skin is really clean, because it can get really damaged if you do this as much as I do, so I am really strict on skincare.

What advice would you give to someone who is new to makeup artistry?

Just do whatever comes to your imagination because if you think it looks too hard or too difficult, it’s not. And if you want to learn how to do something new, you have so many resources on the internet to show you how to do it. Also, invest in some solid makeup that will last you a really long time, just some staple items that you know that you’ll need for a while and will last you a while. Really just use your imagination and creativity. You can do any sort of makeup and turn yourself into anyone anytime you want –– and it’s just fun. It’s just makeup and you can just wipe it off and start over, so it’s not that big of a deal.

Find more of Stella McKinney’s work on TikTok @stella.mckinneyyyy.