Meet Lila Childs
Lila Childs, is an 18 year old, beyond talented and driven makeup artist, photographer, chef and creative. As a freshman at University of Santa Clara in sunny California, Lila has established a large following on social media, developed connections with companies across the country and a brand which has inspired young teenagers to use their platforms to showcase their creativity and passions.
I sat down to talk to Lila about her start into makeup, her growth and the challenges she has faced being a young adult navigating the makeup and fashion world on social media. Lila expressed her long-term goals for the future and how she wants to change her platform from makeup to lifestyle. Our conversation is a great introduction to Lila and how she has grown to get where she is today.
Our Era: How did you get into makeup?
Childs: When I was 11 years old, The Hunger Games came out; I was kind-of a nerd and I was really obsessed with the books and the movies and the part that stuck with me the most was the makeup. I thought it was really interesting how depending on the context, or setting, the makeup sort of changed for Katniss. Obviously as an 11 year old I couldn’t read into the deeper meaning of it, but I think there was something about the way they used it [makeup] to kind of manipulate her personality and the context of the story. The makeup had nothing to do with the vanity but made it about who she was. I thought it was super interesting and I went home and tried to copy the looks from the movies and never really stopped. My after school sport was sitting in my room for hours on end just practicing different makeup looks on myself. After about four years of doing it, I decided to stop doing the makeup on myself and decided to do makeup on my friends and take pictures of them and it sort of began to pick up speed.
Our Era: What’s the best part about makeup?
Childs: I think the best part about what makeup has become for me is meeting the people I interact and connect with. All the young girls that have modeled for me have become some of my super close friends which was super rewarding. What makes it so special for me is that I don’t think about anything else
Our Era: Where do you find your models?
Childs: I never seek out people who are assigned to agencies, I think it takes away from what I’ve created in my brand. Using real people makes my content more interesting and relatable.
Our Era: Has makeup taught you things regarding a more business approach?
Childs: Oh definitely; it brought me a better confidence that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Reaching out to people who might shut me down and thinking who cares, took me a while to get used to. I learned to think that the worst they can say is no, so why not try. Getting a camera thrown into your face can be really overwhelming for the girls, so being really personable and making them feel comfortable is my top priority.
Our Era: How did your platform shift to not only makeup but photography as well?
Childs: Once I launched my website, I was a lot more conscious of the art direction. During the past two years, and especially this summer, I’ve sort of shifted my focus kind of away of it being all about makeup and it being a bit more well-rounded brand and more of an art.
Our Era: Who do you get inspiration from?
Childs: Lots of new and indie photographers. The OG makeup artists like Pat Mcgrath and Violette. Basically anyone with longevity and originality.
Our Era: Describe makeup in three words.
Childs: Challenging, humbling, addicting
Our Era: Describe yourself in three words.
Childs: Intro-extroverted, driven, caring
Our Era: How do you balance everything?
Childs: It has to do with how I direct my attention. When I first went to boarding school, I learned that I couldn’t do both at the same time and wasn’t going to compromise the quality of my work, just to get content out. When I was home, even if it was just for a weekend, I would do at least one or two shoots a day and just be very diligent with getting work done
Our Era: What’s your overall goal with MakeupByLila?
Childs: As of right now, I’ve been working on developing my other interests in cooking, fitness, and overall lifestyle so I would love to make it into a lifestyle brand and company that focused on uniting together young women who have a passion for creativity and taking care of themselves
Our Era: What do you dislike most about starting and creating your own business?
Childs: I think it's just hard knowing that the entire outcome is on you. The reaction (or lack of reaction) you get from your work is basically dependent on the effort that you’ve put into that content, so it's really easy to never be satisfied or happy with your work. At the end of the day you just have to be willing to put in the work, knowing that you won’t really get any help from anyone else except for yourself.
Our Era: Where do you see MakeupByLila in 5 years?
Childs: In five years, I’ll be one year out of college, so my sort of five year plan is that throughout the summers between each year of college, I will be devoting all my time to makeup. I think next summer, I will begin to seek out companies that I have connections with. Then during my junior and senior year of college, I’m going to seek out talent agencies and try to get represented by an agent so by the time I graduate college, I would have an agent and start to get bookings and start to be working as a professional makeup artist. I want to make MakeupByLila a lifestyle brand; so young girls can hear from someone who is in college and who is providing advice; whether that be in the form of a blog, or a youtube channel.
Our Era: If you could change one thing about the makeup and fashion industry, what would it be?
Childs: Ageism! It’s really frustrating that someone gets deemed unqualified for being a certain age, especially in the talent sector of the industry. I think people should be viewed on an equal playing field; sometimes younger people can have a more fresh insight.
Our Era: What’s your motto?
Childs: “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you”
Lila has spent the past seven years, devoting her time to what she loves to do; create and inspire. And she has done just that; inspiring young teens to step out of their comfort zone to tell your story and share your passion. You can follow Lila at @makeupbylila_ & @make_andbake. As well as looking at her website and portfolio at www.makeupbylila.com
