Meet Diamond Rodriguez | Makeup Artist

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

Hi Diamond, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve never been the Monday-Friday, 9-5, mundane routine. I could not thrive in a career where I’d be behind a cubical for the rest of my life talking work place gossip with coworkers. I thrive in an environment that allows me to express myself creatively and share that passion with others. Makeup has allowed me to connect with people beyond a customer service interaction and truly make a difference in their life by evoking confidence! That’s why I choose this career everyday, because I know this career allows me to not only connect with people all around the world, but I get to make people feel good, look good, and (hopefully) become more confident.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was a young parent trying to navigate the rest of my life, knowing my decisions would affect more lives than one, which was the most daunting part of life for so long. I had bad anxiety, I was antisocial, and depressed; I was just completely lost. I turned to makeup initially as a form of creative therapy. Getting to “play” with makeup brought me peace and happiness, and it boosted my confidence! I kept makeup in the background as my hobby, my therapy, my safe space for YEARS (basically my young adult life) while I worked my way through a ton of different occupations. Slowly but surely I got better at my craft and my mind shifted from “wow this is awesome and I feel amazing” to “I need to share this with others!” and that’s what I did! I hopped on every makeup app, starting posting my looks on social media, and have been able to share that passion with hundreds of others and gain recognition by beauty brands in about a year.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had to show my best friend what So-Cal living was all about we would probably spend a majority of that time at the beaches. We’d go toBlacks Beach for some people watching, and then Pacific Beach for some bar hopping and SeaWorld fireworks. We’d have to hit pretty much every taco shop in San Diego, especially Tacos El Gordo on H Street in Chula, and grab some churro ice cream at ¡Salud! in Barrio Logan. Then I’d take them to Balboa park to enjoy the endless sunset views and Old Town for some culture and souvenirs.

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?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have the amount of supportive people around me outweigh the haters, so there are plenty of people that I can contribute a little bit of my success to. But, my kids will remain my biggest STANs and supporters. My oldest daughters challenge my creativity and offer suggestions on how I can up my game, whereas my littles give me patience which is extremely important with any artistic career! I would be no where in life without them because they fuel my fire.

Instagram: @Herba_Mom_Life_