Walking in the halls, it’s hard to miss junior Kaitlyn Ralon‘s flawless highlighter and perfect contour. Whether you’re one of her 3,514 Twitter followers, or just a teenage girl looking for a new makeup technique, she is the one to look at for inspiration.
“I’ve always been into art, and this is just a different form of it. Like all art, it takes practice and patience. I’m nowhere near where I’d like to be talent-wise, but I know I’ll be there someday,” Ralon said.
Ralon is already featured on a few PR lists, meaning companies send her products to try, and if she likes them, she can promote them and give a discount code for the product itself. Her PR companies include León cosmetics, Luna Queen Cosmetics, Lunar Skies, and Loe Cal, but despite the long list, she has not reached her goal of Anastasia Beverly Hills.
“I try to post as often as I can, and if a company likes my work, they reach out to me. I’m an affiliate with some companies such as Dodo Lashes and Yoyo Lashes, but it’s nowhere near ABH [Anastasia Beverly Hills]. Once you’re on the their PR list, it’s as if you’ve made it in the industry,” Ralon said.
Though Ralon doesn’t consider herself to have a general “theme,” she recognizes that working with warm/toned colors is her strong suit. While liking to work off of whatever comes fresh to her mind — whether that’s experimenting with glitter tears, or creating a look inspired by the new Childish Gambino album cover, Ralon also seeks out ideas from supportive friends and followers.
“I’m really enjoying doing Valentine’s day looks, just because it works with a lot of warm colors, which is in my comfort zone. I want to work with special effects makeup more, because it’s extremely hard, but it’s amazing,” Ralon said.
Not only does makeup make Ralon stand out from the average teenage girl, but her retro style adds on to her total look. Modeling her fashion after styles from the 70’s to early 2000’s seems to come naturally to her, but she doesn’t feel the need to try to look good for school.
Because Ralon’s first encounter with makeup was only a year ago (and she has only begun to tackle creative looks since July), many find it hard to believe that makeup has been in her life for such a short amount of time. Her level of mastery takes an individual years to acquire — some never even getting to be as good as Ralon is now. Sophomore Samantha Schuy has admired Ralon’s work since she first started experimenting with makeup and its techniques.
“I really admire Kaitlyn’s ability to basically create works of art on her face. I think that what she does is really amazing, and I have so much respect for her, because, at least for me, makeup is so hard to master. Kaitlyn makes it look like a piece of cake,” Schuy said.
Best friend and junior Jimmy Brocar believes that Ralon stands out from the typical crowd-in the best way possible.
“Most girls at West will only wear what fits into the “normal” trend, unlike Kaitlyn, who will wear whatever she wants. She’s very confident and doesn’t care about what other people say about her looks,” Brocar said. “Her clothing style and makeup always stands out, and you just can’t help but notice her.”
Struggling with confidence at first, Ralon has learned how to become more positive about her appearance, as well as realizing that pursuing a passion should not be based off anyone’s judgement.
“Don’t let people tear you down for doing what you do. Everyone starts somewhere, and it just takes practice,” Ralon said. “I’ve learned to stop listening to others’ opinions on what I enjoy. As for confidence, it’s best to stop caring about what others think of you. In the end the only person who’s opinion about you matters is your own.”
