Meet Neca Gonzalez | Makeup Artist & Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Neca Gonzalez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Neca, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
People think that being in the beauty industry is all glamour and success, but it’s not. As a lash brand creator and makeup artist, it’s a struggle getting to where you can actually make a living off of being your own boss. The beauty industry is super competitive and it seems like there are a million people who “do what you do.” You end up spending so much money on taking classes, buying/testing products, and boring stuff like licensing and fees, that it may be a while before you actually make a profit. When a makeup artist is charging $150 for a brides makeup, it’s not because they are being greedy and want to charge a “high” price just for fun. They had to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars just to have enough products to be able to do any skin type and color. They have to pay for travel costs and advertising, not to mention the time that’s invested! So much of being a beauty boss is work that you don’t get directly paid for, but still has to be done. We have to network with others in the industry for referrals, sometimes work photo-shoots or events for free in exchange for photos, and don’t get me started on social media! Constantly creating content for blogging on your site or posting tutorials on IG to keep people interested is literally a whole job in itself.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Here’s my big secret, I literally imagine my dream brand that I’d love to shop and work with, and use that image to create my lash collection and makeup artistry business into what they are. Everything that I want from a company, what I wish they did and shared with their audience, is exactly what I try to do for each of my businesses. It’s not as easy as it sounds, so I’m definitely learning as I go. I am willing to take risks and mess up. You have to keep feeding your brain with as much information and mentorship as you can get. In 2020 there are SO many different places to learn from, even free things, so I utilize all of that! I am always on youtube or social media trying to find tips and tricks I can implement into my businesses.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Even though I’m not from Colorado Springs (or Colorado at all) I LOVE it here! My all time favorite place whether it’s summer or winter is Manitou Springs. It’s such a cute town with good vibes, all the shops are local and reasonably priced, plus it’s basically one block to walk and see! The next must see place is the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I even have a pass so I go all the time! You can’t beat the view you get there since the zoo is literally built into a mountain, and who doesn’t want to feed a giraffe or see a wallaby hop right past you. And of course you have to hike through Garden of the Gods, go beer or wine tasting somewhere local, and see The Broadmoor. Living here always makes me feel like I’m already on vacation!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The first book that really inspired me was GIRLBOSS which was written by the creator of NastyGal. It’s not so much a “how to run your business” book, but more like a no frills success story where she drops gems that sparked something in me. From this one book, she literally created a community of “girlbosses” which gave me all the inspo I needed, and from there I was on a nonstop binge of searching for things to keep my mind in this boss babe mentality. While I’m driving I listen to podcasts from people in the beauty industry, on Instagram I’m following other successful people, and I’m always looking for more books that can teach me something I can apply to my life and business.

Website: www.shopvibelashes.com and www.beautyvibess.com
Instagram: @beautyvibessonly and @shopvibelashes
Twitter: @VibeLashes
Facebook: @beautyvibesartistry and @shopvibelashes

Image Credits
Sara Plett Photo, Kaila Mae Co Rylee and Co Jordan Jankun Photography