Born in New York but a proud Dominican, Hector Espinal is an explosion of vibrancy and passion. He’s Rihanna’s make-up artist as well as, of course, one of the Fenty Beauty creative minds. He strongly believes in the power of make-up, which can make women feel able to conquer the world, and he’s proudly part of the Fenty Beauty revolution that made every woman, no matter the skin colour, able to use make-up as their strongest weapon. Do you want to know him better? Read our interview!
TBS: How did you start being passionate about makeup? What relevance would you give to makeup when it deals with self-confidence?
HECTOR ESPINAL: I started my passion with make-up back in 2009, I started at Sephora and I didn’t know a lot about make-up but I felt the impact that it caused on women. That’s where I started being passionate about it because I understood how it makes women look sexier and self-confident no matter which size or culture or skin colour and that’s something beautiful
TBS: You’re a proud Dominican and native New Yorker, does this fusion influenced your makeup style?
HECTOR ESPINAL: I’m very proud of being part Dominican part New Yorker! Dominicans women are very strong just like the Italians, they take care of the house but they’re always beautiful; they’re sexy, they wear lipstick every day. That’s what my makeup is about: making women feel sexy. On the other hand, the New York woman is free, there you can do whatever whenever you want and that’s also what you can do with make-up. Make-up is about having fun, feeling free to have a wing liner or doing your lips with no rules about what to do or not. I focused all my make-up style on that: sexy with no rules.
TBS: What or who are your main sources of inspiration (except Rihanna of course!)?
HECTOR ESPINAL: My inspirations actually are my mum and my grandma. My grandma is 80 and she won’t ever leave her house without foundation, eyeliner and…a lipstick! She always wears a hot red or hot pink lipstick. Then, my mum, she’s my universe and she wears make-up every day, twice a day. She’s such a beautiful, strong, independent woman, she’s been a mother and a father, and she still looks fabulous! (I’ll show you a picture!)
TBS: You started being a Sephora PRO, how did you end up with Fenty and where do you see yourself in the future? Are you planning to launch your own brand?
HECTOR ESPINAL: Many people ask me where do I see myself in the future, but I think right now I’m very happy where I am, being part of such a movement like Fenty Beauty where we have shaken up the whole business you know, and we’re still growing so I’m ok like this. In the future, I don’t know about make-up but I think I’ll do something else like a coffee table book or fragrances that I love…mmh I don’t know but right now I’m very happy.