21-year-old Katie Kelly is a retail artist at MAC cosmetics in South East London, we chatted to Katie about her make-up looks and tattoo collection…
I’d say my style was alternative, glam and goth. I have a different style everyday, I like to mix things up. I draw my inspiration for my looks from new products I have, or other cosmetics that I see. I like to use these but in my own way, I change them so they suit my style more. I tend to make them more dramatic and theatrical.
I’ve always loved and had a passion for makeup, and I guess practising a lot of different looks really helps me to progress. I furthered my skills when I went to makeup school in London for two years , I loved it! I’ve also just finished another course doing theatrical, media and SFX makeup. My dream job would be working on film and TV sets doing both beauty and SFX makeup. At the moment I am also working at MAC so I have a bit more extra training from that.
My beauty must have is my Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade! I can’t live without it, I even shaved half my eyebrow off so it makes me look less alien like. My go-to look is winged eyeliner with a dark crease and a light or shimmery lid. I like to change it up everyday but if I had to stick to one it would that.
I got my first tattoo the day after my eighteenth birthday! It’s a skeleton my ribs and it was one of the worse pains I’ve ever felt, but I absolutely love it! I got it because I had a love of forensics and science but went into a more creative career path instead, so I wanted my first tattoo to commemorate that.
I’ve always had an interest in tattoos I think they look so pretty! I adore Kat Von D and just wanted to look like her. I don’t think a tattoo has to have a special meaning, I think if you like a tattoo and you’ve thought hard about it. Just go for it! Some of mine have no meaning and I love them. The ones that do have a story behind them have a special place in your heart and they stand out more than the others.
My second and third tattoos are the ones around my forearms. On the left I have a daisy chain, just because daisies are my favourite flower on the right arm I have the one ring quote from Lord of the Rings in Elvish, as I love the books so much. My fourth was the Pentagram on my shin. This was an impulse tattoo, my friend was getting one and I wanted one too. I first wanted it on my stomach, however the tattoo artist refused as he feared it would stretch when I got pregnant (even though I was only 18 at the time).
My fifth tattoo is also on my forearm. It’s a pin up girls face wearing a Anaheim Ducks hat and scarf. They’re the NHL team I support and wanted to get a tattoo dedicated to them for so long. It was done in California so I also got some California poppies to tie into the flower theme My sixth tattoo is the one on my calf. It’s an original piece by my Californian friend Gus J. It’s a skull with a rose going through it.
