By Julia Harris, Staff Reporter
In the summer of 2019, thousands of teenagers and young adults crowded into the King of Prussia mall hoping to get a glimpse of the makeup influencer Jeffree Star. One such teenager was Conestoga sophomore Hailey Leon, who has loved makeup since she was eleven years old.
Star was invited to headline the grand opening of the Morphe store, a popular beauty retailer. Leon was excited to share her memory of that day.
“I had full glam makeup on, and he said I love your makeup and smiled,” Leon said of her interaction with Star.
Since he began YouTube ten years ago, Star has accumulated almost 17 million subscribers and millions of views on his videos which focus mainly on makeup reviews and tutorials.
Leon noted that Star is her favorite makeup influencer because, “he’s so open and honest about everything and his (makeup) products are amazing.”
When she did All Star Cheer, Leon’s teammates were great at doing dramatic makeup looks for competitions. Leon would practice doing different makeup tutorials every day so she could improve.
“I play around a lot with bright colors and long lashes and try to make colors that usually wouldn’t go together work together,” Leon said.
It can take Leon up to two hours to perfect the eyes on a complex makeup look. However, a simpler one can take her five to ten minutes.
Attending cosmetology school and making a career out of her passion for makeup is something Leon has thought seriously about pursuing.
“I have a makeup Instagram where I try and post to gain a platform to inspire other people,” Leon said.
It will be exciting to see where Leon’s hard work and dedication to her craft will take her.
Julia Harris can be reached at [email protected]
