At only 21, Vic Brocca is doing it all — between running a successful professional makeup artistry business; being a beauty vlogger on Youtube; being featured on the Kylie Cosmetics instagram page; and splitting her time between King City, Vaughan and Toronto, she’s an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with. (Psst! She’s also a Ryerson alumna with a B.A. in Fashion Communications!) After watching just one of her videos, it’s easy to see why her subscribers love her and why clients want to work with her – her down-to-earth infectious personality shines bright.
She sat down with us to answer some questions we’ve been dying to get her take on.
YouTube and blogging are all about creating engaging content to keep people interested. So, how do you manage finding inspiration to keep your audience engaged?
The great thing about being a makeup artist is that I get to create and develop new ideas on my own, with no guidelines or rules and restrictions. Being a naturally self-taught artist, a lot of my inspiration comes from a compilation of looks that I taught myself growing up, and adding new colors and techniques to make it more modern. For example, a smoky eye doesn’t have to be black all the time. I tend to stray away from the expected colors that we tend to gravitate toward when we hear a certain style of makeup. I love to create colorful smoky eyes, using warm browns, nudes, and sometimes even pops of color like blue and green. It adds a very edgy, editorial vibe to the makeup and I think my audience loves that about my work. They don’t get “the norm” with me and that inspires them to try new things too!
How does it feel to know that you reach so many young women who can relate to you?
It feels amazing! I used to be the girl on the other side of the screen who would look up to these bigger Youtubers and bloggers and their advice meant so much to me and helped me a lot when I was growing up. To know that I’m doing that exact same thing for thousands of women (and men) makes me feel very blessed. If I can help just one person, I feel like I’m doing my job correctly.
What is the hardest thing about working in the fashion industry?
The hardest thing in my opinion would be the negativity and the competition. If everyone would be respectful of each other and supportive, I think the fashion industry would be much easier industry to work in!
What lessons have you learned since starting the Vic Brocca brand?
I’ve learned to always stay true to myself no matter what opportunity is given to me. I was raised in a very humble environment and I would never change that! I also learned that patience is everything. I let my brand grow organically and there were times I tried to force it to expand and it’s just not beneficial.
What are some beauty products you cannot live without?
Ahhhh — this is a hard one. I’ll give you top 3 beauty products I can’t live without. Anastasia Brow Wiz Pencil, concealer and mascara. Those are the basic products to a gorgeous face.
What is your number one beauty tip?
My number one beauty tip would be to take care of your skin! I always exfoliate my skin at least twice a week, sometimes more if I feel that I need it. You have one skin for your whole life, it’s so important to take care of it. You’ll thank me in 30 years from now, haha!
You can find her on Instagram @vicbroccabeauty and on Youtube @VicBrocca.
*Photos courtesy of Vic Brocca’s Instagram. Feature graphic created by Naomi Brearley.
