Today we’d like to introduce you to Dillon Del Toro.
Dillon, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Wow, I could sit here and tell you so much about what has happened in a relatively short amount of time but I will try to be quick. I’ve worked in luxury goods for about ten years. I am from Houston and I did some small-time modeling gigs here and there. I had a horrible experience with my first ever makeup application by an artist for a show which leads me to want to learn how to apply my own for shows and shoots.
2012 I moved to Dallas and continued working as a luxury fashion stylist. My new group of friends in Dallas worked in cosmetics and I saw how much fun and how close-knit they were. I was looking for a career shift and decided to leave my job in 2014. Having no cosmetic experience, no brand would take me on. I wanted to start at the top and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I kept calling a brand executive that I interviewed with at Neiman Marcus Northpark. Either she got annoyed with me or she saw my persistence she gave me a few test shifts, I wasn’t allowed to do makeup. I was that perfume guy handing out cards in the cosmetics bay. I saw this as a foot in the door and started watching all the artists around me until I thought I could maybe fake an application. I started selling and applying makeup and started making clients and a good repertoire. I was given a set of 35 hours a week to be in store.
Everything exploded from there on out. I rubbed elbows, networked and learned from everyone around me. About eight months later, I was picked up by a prestigious line to represent and ended up doing my first traveling gigs with teaching masterclasses, doing VIP events and training other artists. I quickly worked for multiple luxury brands (YSL, Armani, Tom Ford, Dior, Chanel… just to name a few) 2016 came around I picked up an eight-month contract with a brand to fill in as one of their National Makeup artists was on an extended leave. From there, I was on a plane every Tuesday and Saturday. This set the stage for my next move. When that contract expired, I had an opportunity to join that team as a full-time National Makeup Artist and relocate to Chicago.
I also had another opportunity with a brand new up and coming brand. I interviewed with both and ended up going with the new up and coming brand, Charlotte Tilbury beauty. This position was very different in it was a National Artistry roll but also I was responsible for the business, staffing, training, events, etc. I had to wear every hat in the book. This job was extremely demanding but very rewarding. To this day in the retail world, it is probably the most valuable thing on my resume, it gave me no choice but to grow and put my big boy pants on.
After about two years, I left the brand to start a new journey. After working with brands with set guidelines on how you do makeup, I didn’t have my own aesthetic, only what I was told looks good and what was acceptable. I left the retail world, where I had a name for myself a great salary and security to be a freelance artist to figure out who I was as an artist. The year is 2018 and I’m learning so much about what it takes to be a freelance artist. How hard and unpredictable business can be. 2018 Instagram was very hot and if you didn’t have a lot of work on there and followers, you weren’t getting booked. Luckily I had great clients from the stores that followed me wherever I went.
I ended up meeting a woman that was launching an on-demand hair and makeup app and needed someone to help with staffing and leading the company on the artistry end. We both launched the brand too much success. This worked well for me because I was doing a lot of makeup the way I would do it and I quickly gained my own aesthetic and was known for it. After the brand had its footing, I had some other amazing opportunities. I worked on several celebrities, photoshoots and network productions.
Jump to current times. I have never been so content and confident in my work. I picked up a camera about four months ago and started doing my own beauty photoshoots. I’m having such a good time learning and playing with this new venture. The way I feel about it is just like how I felt about makeup when I first started. It is a hobby now but I defiantly see it turning into a parallel business to my makeup career. Who knows maybe it will eclipse and pass up my makeup business and I’ll do another career shift. Only time will tell, until then I’m going to enjoy the ride.
At this moment, I have a great steady freelance business but I also still have great relationships with all of my luxury brands and every so often will get on a plane for them to help them where ever they need. So there is a start to where I am now. How much things have changed in five years of starting my makeup artistry career. A lot of growth happened in a very very fast amount of time and who knows where I will be in five years from now.
Has it been a smooth road?
In general, I think my road has been pretty smooth. The biggest challenge was always being able to rise to the occasion in the beginning of my career, even tho I had little to no experience in the very fast trajectory I was on. I had to exude confidence and knowledge even if that wasn’t the case. I love the quote “never let them see you sweat”.
Without obstacles or challenges, you are not forced to change or grow, and that goes for anything in life. So in that, I always welcome a challenge.
Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
I specialize in beauty, red carpet glamour and now dipping in the editorial world. I do a lot of 1v1 classes. Coming from being a trainer, it feels natural to help ladies go through their makeup and step up their own makeup game whether it be day to day or special occasion.
I will have a lot of wedding inquires but I do cherry-pick them. I actually really like to do weddings if me and the bride really hit it off. I love to be apart of a memory that they will have for the rest of their lives. As much as I love to make my ladies beautiful, I love to make feel beautiful or give them the tools to succeed.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Dallas so much. So much glamour, so much class. Dallas for my industry, is one of the biggest cities in the country. Outside of work, Dallas is gorgeous, amazing food and progressive. I’ve really found home here and even if my life takes me elsewhere in the future I know, I would be happy and would probably find my way back.
I don’t have many dislikes about Dallas, I do wish there were more editorial and production opportunities here. Over the last couple of years, I have seen a lot more come in, excited to see where that goes as Dallas continues to grow as a cosmopolitan and fashion hub.
Contact Info:
- Email: dillon.deltoro@gmail.com
- Instagram: @dillondeltoro
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