Meet Christina Roberson, a makeup artist and hair stylist located in Southern California (Orange County and Los Angeles). I'm really excited to feature her on Within Color because she is one of few who aren't afraid to step outside the box and be adventurous. I am in awe of her incredible talent and spirit and am so ecstatic that she's graced us with this fantastic interview.
1. What made you want to be a makeup artist? What is it about makeup that you love?
As a child, I wanted to be an artist. I'm thankful that my parents saw my talents at a young age and pushed me into the arts -- I attended art hakwons growing up in Korea and my parents always provided me with tools and supplies for whatever I wanted to create. As I got into my teen years, I became obsessed with fashion magazines. I would save my lunch money to be able to buy four or five magazines at a time, keeping at least one or two in my schoolbag at all times. I was so intrigued at how these were the same models over and over again..yet they looked completely different each time. As I got older, I realized that for the everyday person, makeup could make a difference in self-esteem and confidence, which seemed to be a factor that determined acceptance or rejection in our society. So though I was originally influenced by fashion models, I wanted to be a makeup artist for the everyday person; the woman who doesn't have time for herself because she's too busy taking care of everyone and everything else, the man with skin insecurities who wishes it wasn't stigmatized for males to wear foundation, the boy who wants to dress up and feel glamorous.
The transformation of makeup is what I really love. I get just as excited about an extreme undereye dark circle color correction as I do about complete drag queen transformation makeup. I started doing makeup for fun and experimentation when I was about 12 and just never stopped. As I moved up to high school, I started doing makeup for school play productions, school fashion shows, etc. I can't forget my little sister though! She has been the #1 model in my life -- she's always down for whatever whenever I feel like doing something new or just experimenting, ever since she was a kid. I credit a lot to what I know today because of being able to use her as my model ever since I first started getting into makeup and really knowing what it feels like to learn someone's face structure, skin, everything about it.
Growing up, I didn’t know anyone personally who was in the beauty industry, which made me realize I had to learn all this on my own. My supportive parents have been very influential in my life because of how much love and support they have given me and still continue to give me! Neither of them identify as an artistic or creative type of person and they both essentially took a chance on me to help and support pursue this career without knowing much about it. My dad bought me Kevyn Aucoin’s Making Faces book when I was in junior high school and I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop constantly studying every single page daily. It was the first beauty book I ever owned, and my parents saw how I had fallen in love with it and surprised me with Face Forward next. Kevyn Aucoin touched the hearts of everyone that he worked with and his iconic, timeless work speaks for itself. He was a makeup artist who was dedicated to representing the beauty of POC in an industry that was and still continues to be white dominated. These two books continue to be a huge source of education and inspiration for me as well as many other artists out there! There is so much diversity in age and ethnicity in these books, more so than any fashion magazines that I ever looked at growing up.
When I first moved to America after graduating high school, I was attending a university and was so miserable. I had no friends after attending for two and a half years, and all I wanted to do was attend cosmetology school. I had begged my parents when I was in high school but they insisted that I get a bachelor's degree instead of attending a trade school and obtaining a cosmetology license. I was just getting into my twenties and felt that time was slipping out of my hands and had a breakdown. They finally let me enroll in cosmetology school and I graduated after eleven crazy months, passed my state board exam and got my cosmetology license! My parents are my biggest fans and I’m very grateful to have them as my parents.
3. My favorite makeup products are:
M.A.C. Fix+ - I use this on my drier skin clients before and/or after (depending on how dry they are) they've been moisturized. It helps creme and liquid foundations apply smoothly. I use this on dry, powdery faces and it helps the makeup soften up and sink in better and look less powdery. I use this to foil metallic or shimmery eyeshadows and really make them stand out and look as reflective as possible. I find that most people think that this is a setting spray to apply after makeup application, but in my opinion it doesn't have that ability. (If you're looking for an actual setting spray, try Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix or Ben Nye Final Seal for extra oily or sweaty skin)
Glitter - My favorite!!! I have so many glitters but my most used ones are from Medusa's Makeup because there are MULTI-COLOR GLITTERS!!! Medusa's Makeup has unique colors like magenta + royal blue (Rapture), different shades of pink + gold + green (Material Girl). Another brand I love is Lit Cosmetics which specializes ONLY in glitter! In addition to making tons of colors and bases/ adhesives, their glitters come in different size cuts so you can choose how reflective the glitter looks. I've only purchased glitter from them through makeup shows but they are sold online at Beautylish.com.
OCC Lip Tars - These come in almost every color imaginable and if it doesn’t exist, you can mix it yourself! I’ve been “collecting” (more of an obsession, let’s be real) these since 2010 and they are an essential in my makeup kit. The newer metallic and shimmer shades are gorgeous as a liquid highlight on very moisturized, dewy skin (Zhora is my favorite to use for this!)
4. Which looks are your favorite to do, both on yourself and on others?
I like to do all kinds of looks, I don’t think I can choose a favorite! I don’t have a daily makeup routine so that gives me a lot of freedom to do whatever I feel like depending on my mood, especially because I keep my eyebrows shaved off. When I go out I do tend to do more elaborate and extreme looks in terms of wearability for the average person - basically the more glitter, rhinestones, and lashes, the better!! I occasionally like to throw on a brown or blonde wig and make myself up to look “normal”, which is basically deconstructing my natural self and how I usually look.
For clients, I like to do looks that make them feel and look their best. Some clients just want to enhance their natural beauty, while others want that glamorous celebrity look, plus I have my drag clients as well. Since I love transformations I do like to see an extreme change with the makeup application but I don’t push my clients into trying something extremely different from what they originally asked for. Whatever makes my client feel their best is what makes me feel like I did my job correctly.
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5. What made you want to transition into drag makeup, and what do you love about it?
In Kevyn Aucoin’s Making Faces book, there are two drag transformations on the same man. These were the first drag images that I was able to study up close without interruption (compared to seeing drag queens in movies and television where they were always in motion) and it always amazed me. How can the structure of a manly man’s face be broken down to be made up into a beautiful (sometimes undetectable) woman? Like I’ve already mentioned, transformation is what I really love about makeup and I feel that drag transformations are as extreme as you can get.
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A lot of people are shocked to learn that I’ve been doing drag makeup on men for only about a year. I believe that having a really strong foundation in beauty makeup and knowing the structure of the face has contributed greatly in my drag makeup application. Not to toot my own horn, but I can lay those thick eyebrows DOWN and turn a bitch OUT! If it weren’t for my lovely male friends that let me practice on them from the very beginning, I wouldn’t have drag queen clientele today. Even my supportive boyfriend was my model for a drag transformation workshop held by Make Up For Ever taught by Lijha Stewart! I’m so thankful for all of the men in my life that let me paint them.

6. Do you feel like you’ve faced any hurdles being a WOC in the beauty industry?
I have found that some WOC don’t trust other WOC, unfortunately. Sometimes my clients will ask me if I have their shade of foundation or if I’ve ever done makeup on someone of their ethnicity. I feel like models are the ones who take the biggest hit for being WOC in the beauty and fashion industry. So many big name makeup artists are white women who are working on campaigns for fashion houses that are run by white people that even when working on a model who is a WOC, there is a high chance that there will be erasure of her ethnicity and heritage. Her features may be sculpted to look more white, her skin may be lightened during the photo editing process, etc. or white models will be used to be made up into black face or yellow face instead of just using a Black model or an Asian model. I believe it’s important for me as a WOC to work with other POC in this industry because the people at the top are against us. My closest friends are POC in the fashion and beauty industry and it makes me happy to know that we can all work together to create some beautiful work while sticking together in this cutthroat, white dominated industry.
7. I know you also do hair, is there one or the other that you love more? Can you explain why?
I’m self taught in makeup but went to school for my cosmetology license. Contrary to popular belief, cosmetology school does not teach much about makeup at all! Cosmetology is the study of skin, hair and nails and hair becomes the main focus; most of my classmates were better at makeup application than the instructors. I love both hair and makeup but I feel that I can be more creative with makeup. Hair will bend to your will only to an extent and a lot of that depends on the condition of the client’s hair, which you may not have any control over. Hairstyles that require large amounts of backcombing or unnatural colors (which almost always requires the hair to be pre-lightened and then re-colored) can damage the hair if not cared for afterwards. I feel that the face is more “workable” in a sense; you can do a lot more on a face and body with makeup without compromising the condition or health of the skin as long as it is removed and cared for properly.
8. What's the number one advice you would give to someone who's still learning to apply makeup?
Practice, practice, practice! Whether you’re trying to become a makeup artist or you’re just applying makeup on yourself, practice is so important. Practicing on yourself and on others will improve your skill tremendously! There are some people who are more artistically inclined and I think that skill translates into makeup application because it is literally drawing, painting, and blending on the skin, but I still stand by the fact that practice is the most important. No amount of natural talent can make up for a lack of practice. Being self-taught and learning everything on my own made me want to become that person that I didn’t have in my life - a mentor, someone who could offer advice and solutions to questions, someone who could teach me hands-on experience. (Feel free to e-mail me about anything and everything! If I don’t have an answer, I’ll find out an answer!)
I also recommend checking out books - aside from the aforementioned Kevyn Aucoin books, I recommend The Beauty of Color by Iman, Asian Faces by Taylor Chang-Babaian, and books by Rae Morris for more editorial looks. If you’re looking for more extreme looks, my favorite will always be Getting Into Face - 52 Mondays featuring JoJo Baby and Sal-E by Bernard Colbert. These are all great resources to study and practice with, even if you’re just studying the structure of the face and seeing which shapes are the most flattering for the features of the face before getting into application and trying things out.
I feel like some people are intimidated by makeup and I always want to break down that wall - makeup is nothing to be scared of. Makeup is one of the most temporary things you can do to naturally or dramatically improve or transform your face - it all comes off with a baby wipe!
Visit and check out her updates at Christina Roberson and her social media: Facebook / Instagram !
