Meet Taylor Gulizio | Artistrybytay

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

Hi Taylor, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk taking is really scary. It can lead to failure, but it can also lead to great success! When I decided not to become a cop and changed direction into doing makeup on social media it was terrifying because I know that having a “real job” has stability. When you choose to take a risk and follow your dreams there’s a chance that you may fail, but you will never know the success you could have had if you don’t take that leap and try it out. I don’t know how successful I will be in the future, but I know now that taking the risk is worth it to find out what amazing things I can do and have already done. In the short amount of time that I have been doing this I have gained a following, inspired people, entertained people, made myself and my family proud and have felt extremely fulfilled with what I do. If I hadn’t taken that risk and kept a “real job”, I don’t think I would ever have been this happy. Of course there are some days I have my doubts about my choice, but when I feel that way, I think about the list of important people who took a risk and failed, tried again and finally made it: The greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, was cut from his high school team. Walt Disney was fired from his job at a newspaper early in his career–they said he lacked imagination.
Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school three times.
John Grisham’s first book, “A Time to Kill”, was rejected twenty-eight times.
Albert Einstein had the label “mentally slow” put on his permanent school record.
Henry Ford’s first two automobile companies failed.
Oprah Winfrey was fired from an early job as a television news anchor.
Jerry Seinfeld was booed off stage in his first stand-up comedy appearance.
Sir James Dyson suffered through 5,126 failed prototypes before he landed on the first working Dyson vacuum.
Elvis Presley was fired from the Grand Ole Opry and was told to go back to truck driving.
Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC fame was rejected over 1000 times before finding a franchise partner.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I had always been a creative person but in 2020 I discovered that I wasn’t half bad at doing makeup and my sister suggested I start posting my makeup looks on TikTok. It was so intimidating to put myself out there on social media because I had been bullied throughout all of school for my red hair, being heavy set, having freckles, braces, and never following the trends. Unfortunately I had developed some serious self hatred and body dysmorphia in response to that trauma. Some of those same bullies, even though we have been out of high school for 8 years now, made fun of my makeup at first. It didn’t end up discouraging me because once I started seeing other people like my content and start to follow me, I started to realize that all of the things these bullies made fun of me for were in fact my best attributes. The things I was bullied for ended up being my best attributes, loved finally by me and everyone in my comments. Social media has truly allowed me to be authentically and unapollagetically me. It has also showed me that bullies see the light inside of you and they try everything in their power to dim it. This road has not been easy. I have my good days and then some bad ones too, but I have my support system and my followers who are always cheering me on. One day I will make my dreams a reality. I’m doing it not just in spite of the bullies telling me I can’t, but because I know I can. I want to express to the world through my social media that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to, to do what you love regardless of the risks you have to take and don’t ever listen to the bullies. Currently, I am super excited about my latest project, Makeup for the States. I’m creating a look for each State based on research and suggestions from my followers. On each posted video they comment their state and tell me something interesting about it and I do some research about what makes that state special so I can come up with a theme/colors for the look. It has been so much fun and everyone seems to be truly enjoying the series. I have just finished the 21st look in the series so I still have quite a few looks to go!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We are surrounded by beautiful parks, farms, nature and the ocean but you also have malls, movie theaters, bars, clubs, etc. You get the best of both worlds. We have all 4 seasons here so you get to see all of the individual natural beauty of each season. If you’re a foodie, its a perfect place because you can get any type of cuisine you want in minutes. The food here is also phenomenal, one of the best states to eat at in the US. I would definitely bring anyone who were to visit to the Shore in the summer, there are so many restaurants with good food, cocktails and beautiful views with great night life. In the winter there are some awesome slopes to sled at in all of the local parks and of course you can go ice skating. In the spring there are awesome festivals, fairs and if you’re interested in flea markets there’s plenty. In the fall I would take them to all of the pumpkin patches, cider tastings, apple picking, and all of the spooky walk throughs.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to thank my parents for all of their support through out this journey I’m currently on. I was so scared to quit my job and focus on content creation, but I wanted to put my heart and soul into it. My parents are there to support me in every way and I could have never taken this step without them. They are financially supporting me and one day I hope to be able to give them the world in return. On top of financially, whenever I’m doubting myself and my choices, my parents are right there cheering me on. They are constantly reminding me of the progress that I have made and all the things I’ve already accomplished. I could not have asked for a better support system, I’m so grateful for my parents.

Website: https://linkpop.com/artistrybytay

Instagram: artistrybytay

Youtube: artistrybytay

Other: TikTok – Artistrybytayy

Image Credits
Taylor Gulizio (Artistrybytay)