We all could’ve used some Rosie Kalina during that awkward teen phase when makeup is first discovered.
“I used to do all of my friends’ eyeliner in class because people just came to me, they knew I really knew how to do eyeliner,” the makeup artist laughed.
After developing an interest in makeup (and actually being good at it) from a young age, Rosie managed to turn her passion into a full-time gig.
Rosie was recently discovered during Dell’s XPS Open Studio campaign, where talented folks across Australia and New Zealand were asked to lend their creative eye to a wide variety of projects, all with the common theme of self-expression.
“Beauty art is more than skin deep,” Rosie explains. “The brief that we were given was to create three beauty statement looks…that reflect our identities and cultures through self-expression.”
Working alongside drag performer and makeup artist Timothy Jackson, as well as freelance makeup artist Ebony Livingstone, the three Indigenous beauty art gurus were invited to create a look that reflects their identity and culture.
“Self-expression really is everything to me, I think it’s really important to be able to express identity and culture,” Rosie says. “Being Aboriginal, those are really big parts of my identity. I’ve felt like in the past, I’ve needed to justify myself….so, by using makeup as a tool for self-expression, it’s empowered me a lot.”
Rosie, Timothy and Ebony worked with one another to create their own unique beauty statements, all of which incorporated their pride for the Aboriginal flag in their own unique way (the big reveal of each can be found at the end of the vid).
“I’m doing something I’ve never done before, and I’m incorporating the Aboriginal flag colours, reflecting my love of nature and Country. Being connected with it wherever I go,” Rosie says.
“I’m an Aboriginal woman but not everybody can see that just looking at me, so by using flag colours in my makeup, I’m able to express my pride, visually.”
To see what the Dell XPS Open Studio has in store, keep checking here.
