Written by: Samantha Wright

To many, creative outlets can come in a variety of forms. Whether it be art, makeup, or fashion,

all of these things can help expressive creations. Through apps like Youtube and Tiktok, several

people have utilized these platforms to express their love for makeup or fashion, and have had

the ability to make a living profit from it. Beauty itself is one of the leading industries that has

decided to embrace influencer marketing. However, for many, utilizing these platforms just help

them express themselves in a fun and creative way.

For Ross Retail Club’s very own, Lena Bartolotti, makeup has been a passion of hers ever since

she could remember. Through her personal tiktok @lenabartolotti as well as her instagram

account, @makeupbyleans, she has highlighted and captured some of her favorite going out

looks in order to inspire and entertain several students like her, who share an interest in makeup

and content creation.

Samantha: When did you start finding an interest in makeup?

Lena: I think I loved everything about beauty starting when I was a toddler. I was the little girl

who would run around in my moms heels doing cartwheels in the house. Whenever we would go

out to dinner, I always loved looking at my moms collection of eyeshadows and lip glosses in her

black case as I sat atop the sink in the bathroom. She had this purple shade that I vividly

remember always wanting to try on. When she would get ready, I would play with her brushes

and eventually just started to follow her lead. I put her blush on my cheeks and the purple

shadow on my eyelids. I didn’t even know if it looked good but I just loved the idea of playing

with all the colors and “getting ready.”

Samantha: When did you begin to actually take your makeup skills as a serious hobby

compared to a laid back pastime?

Lena: When I got older, my older sister, Grace, was always big into watching YouTube and

makeup videos, especially in the Bethany Mota era. I always wanted to keep up with her and so

when Grace started attempting to copy makeup YouTube videos, I tried too. However, I built my

skills semi naturally. I always thought it was more fun to create my own looks then follow

someone else’s and that is when I started to play with eyeshadows and sparkly colors. My

education consisted of being told to put lighter colors on the inner corner of your eyes and then

darker on the outside. Then the rest was history. I started buying palettes from each color of the

rainbow and would sit and try them out. By high school I had a pretty solid foundation and felt

confident enough to do a full face of makeup, contour included.

Samantha: Did you always intend for your passion to lead into an interest in content

creation? Or did it just come naturally for you?

Lena: Then, the tik Tok era started. I felt it was a really cool way to create my looks to music

and show the progression of a makeup look within a minute. It was such a cool way to share my

creativity. I did not start Tik Tok hoping it would make me famous, and I still haven’t gotten

there, but I liked the aspect of doing before and after and showing how makeup can provide so

many unique looks. My favorite looks usually show up when there is a themed party I'm going

to. Valentine's day or Saint Patty’s forces me to tap into my creative side and use pinks or greens

that I wouldn’t usually use if I was just going to class or out to dinner. But, I find that I am most

creative when it comes to my eyeshadows and different winged eyeliner looks. I can try different

shadows. I find that my eyes are the true canvas and the rest of my face is just where I enhance

my natural features.

Amidst her talent, like all of us, Lena is just an average college student. Finding passion in

something that you love can make all the difference. Allowing yourself to take time to sit down

and do things that you enjoy can bring calmness and enjoyment to your life. Although several of

us often find ourselves going crazy with school and exams, finding happiness within the little

things in life is what can help keep us all afloat. And as for makeup skills go, I personally can

say that although I may not be the best at creating bold looks, my go to products already help me

enhance what was once a simple look. Find yourself scrolling through your for you page once in

a while and you might just see what Lena is up to!