Manny MUA Opens Up About Being the First-Ever Male Maybelline Ambassador

POPSUGAR: What is your favorite thing about being a beauty influencer?

Shayla Mitchell: For me, it's just doing what I love. This definitely wasn't my dream job, ever. But now I'm doing what I love and working with companies like Maybelline and all these companies that I grew up looking at. When I was younger I wanted to be a vet. When I was in college, I was an art major. Then I started working at Sephora and MAC, and I was like, "This is what I want to do." The best part is that now MAC sends me products, and I used to work for them! That's cool. And traveling the world! Bora Bora was dope. There are so many positive things about this job — I could go on and on . . .

Manny Gutierrez: My favorite part is the connections I've made with so many people. Not just brands, but people in general. The friends you make in the beauty industry are amazing. Being an influencer is cool, because you get to be in other people's homes. Someone was watching you, hopefully inspired by you, and you hear so many stories that they've been inspired by because of you.

PS: Can you recall a specific time you were emotionally touched by what a fan said to you?

MG: One time I had a meet and greet with Benefit in San Francisco, and it was a long day. After a two-hour meet and greet, I was so tired. The last person was an 11-year-old boy in full beat, and I was like, "This is crazy! Dying." Not only did I die with that, but his dad was there with him. And his dad was very masculine and manly in a cowboy hat. He said, "Thank you so much for being an inspiration to my son." I was bawling my eyes out, because I have never had that experience. It was really cool getting to see that. Literally the world changing right in front of me.

PS: How old were you when you started wearing makeup?

MG: I was 21 when I started [he is 25 now]. It was more of a newer thing for me. I didn't grow up wearing makeup.

PS: Did you ever think you would have this many fans?

MG: No, honestly, I feel like . . . I'm sure Shayla feels the same. When you start social media, you don't think you're going to grow. You don't think you're going to become someone. You just think, "I'm going to post my content and have fun." Sometimes you just grow, and it's crazy. You never expect it. But it's great when it does.

SM: It's amazing to see the reach we have. We can go to the other side of the world and people will know who we are. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I was a makeup artist at MAC! I was trying to survive. I was just trying to pay the bills.

MG: I was a makeup artist at Sephora and MAC too!

PS: What's the hardest part about being so visible on social media?

MG: I would say for me, having to always be on. It's not a job you can leave. It's 24/7 — 25/8, really. You're always on no matter what. If you're walking around and you don't feel your best, but you're eating somewhere and someone recognizes you, you have to be Manny in that moment [snaps his fingers]. You can't be Manny who feels like crap. You have to be on, because you have to give that experience to someone. That's a rough part. You're always trying to give your best at all times. It's draining and tiring, but you do it because you love it.

SM: For most of us, we're trying to show people how to do makeup and be ourselves. So when people criticize or judge you on that, it can sometimes be the hardest part. I don't have any ill will. People can spin anything you do. They can spin something positive into something negative.

PS: What is your best advice for dealing with internet bullies?

SM: I would say ignore it. I've been bullied before. It's not fun, but you have to give yourself a pep talk: "It's going to be OK, it's going to be OK, it's going to be OK." To a certain extent, you have to ignore it. So that means giving your phone to your friend and ask [him/her] to delete all the comments, or just not being on your phone. You have to be away from it. And give yourself a positive affirmation, like, "It's going to be OK. Keep going, and don't let it slow you down."

MG: I completely agree. That my exact answer. It's important not to feed into it, because that's what they want. They will send you a hate comment, you respond, and they're like, "I'm actually a huge fan, and I just wanted you to respond to me." That has happened to me several times. I am like, "Really dude? Really?" I totally will block them. You can't feed into it, because it's what they want. They want to bring you down. So just continue to be the positive person that you know you are.

SM: You know what else I do, I'll read it. And instead of reading it again, I'll just delete the comment and block them, so I don't think about them. And then if I want to go back and see what they said, I can't.

MG: Another great thing, too, is typing out your response and deleting it. It's like when you're really upset and you write a letter. And you're getting all of your frustration out, but you never send it. It's the same thing with comments. Someone can say something so mean to me, and I can write something so witty back but never send it. Just be careful with it. Don't click "send"!

PS: How do you think the influencer landscape has evolved since Michelle Phan came onto the scene about three or four years ago?

SM: Before it was strictly makeup tutorials and that's it, but now people want to see you. They want to see what you do every day, they want to see your personality, they want to see your dog. It's not even about how well you do makeup, it's your personality.

MG: I agree. I also think that a big part of it was that as makeup artists, we were setting trends. A lot of times media started the trends and you just had to roll with the punches. That's changed because of being on social media so much and that being such a big part of people's lives, now it's not at the makeup artists' digression, it's at the influencers' or the companies' to say, "This is the trend." People follow it so much quicker because they see it and have a rapport with someone. They have this connection.

PS: What's your advice for anyone who hopes to become a beauty influencer and grow their Instagram following?

SM: Be consistent. That's the one thing I try and tell people. You have to be consistent. So that means posting every day, posting three times a day. When I first started Instagram, I would post like four times a day and that helps you grow. So you just have to be consistent and never give up. If you love makeup, you have to keep going. I always tell people, "Keep going." Because you're going to get to a point where you're going to feel discouraged and like no one is looking at your pictures, but you just keep going and work through that.

PS: How many times a day do you post now?

SM: [Laughs] Like once. If I have really dope pictures, I'll do more. Three would be normal. But every once in a while I'll take a day or two off. Like today I'm only posting once. It's already posted!

MG: I always tell people just to start. That's the hardest part for most people. A lot of the time they're like, "Oh my god, I really want to do it." I ask, "Oh my god, what have you done?" And they're like "Nothing. I just really want to." And I'm like, "Well, you have to plunge in and actually try." A lot of people think that's going to be handed to them — here's this, and here's the algorithm to becoming popular online. But there isn't one. You have to get down and dirty and start it. My advice to people is to buy a camera and try it.

PS: To grow your following, did you try using a lot of hashtags or consistent filters?

SM: Hashtags, yeah.

MG: That's really important, especially when you're trying to get brands. That's how I got noticed. I was hashtagging and tagging brands in a lot of my photos, because I was using their products. And they would repost me. And then I would start to grow from that because people would see it and be like, "Oh, I like this makeup."

SM: It's crazy because sometimes I'll see someone tag me in something, and I'll think, "Why didn't you write a description of the products you used underneath?" List the products. If not, how else would the company repost you? It's the simple things. Tagging the company, putting in the caption, hashtagging, and photo tagging.

MG: I always say too, put your best foot forward when it comes to work ethic. Really try. Put your heart and soul into content. Don't post something you wouldn't be proud of or you wouldn't want a brand to repost.

PS: What makes a great photo in terms of lighting, filters, etc?

SM: Lighting and angles. I don't even think the filter is as important.

MG: It's not.

SM: It's great to switch up the look of your pictures with a filter, but you have to have good lighting. Anytime I take a good picture, I'm facing the light. That's what people need to do. I tell people it shouldn't be behind you, it should be in front of you.

MG: Agreed.

PS: Can you walk us through how you take a selfie?

MG: [Takes out cell phone.] Let me pull it up so I can see what I'm doing.

SM: You have to figure out what your angle is. Every time you take pictures, you just have to figure it out. I take pictures and think, "Oh that doesn't look like me." I take another picture and think, "Oh, this is good, this is my side." See how my phone is straight? I always tilt it down a little bit. So I am facing the light, and I always tilt it slightly down [holds camera phone in front at eye level with the top pointing toward her at a slight angle].

MG: My good side is my left.

PS: Now, how do you make your highlighter pop in photos?

MG: As long as you're in the light, the light will hit it. You have to hit that angle [turning your face to the side], and know that if you're doing a straight-on shot, your highlight is not going to be seen. You have to tilt your face and hit that high point, and boom!

PS: Speaking of highlighter, how do you layer yours to get it to beam so bright?

SM: Powder to powder. I use a pressed highlighter with a fan brush, and I'll go over it with a loose highlighter. I always double it.

MG: Or you can use a cream powder. Either way, it depends on what you want and the texture of your skin. For drier skin, you might want to use more creams.

SM: There are never too many steps. You can even put on three [layers]. Sometimes I'll put it on, and it needs to be more poppin'. So I'll put a little more on, and I'll be like, "OK, do I want to blind people?"

PS: Where do you place highlighter on the cheek to get it just right?

MG: It's the outer corner of your eye . . .

SM: . . . Once it comes down, there is a bit of a bump, and it starts the line down.

PS: Since you're shooting a mascara commercial today, can you walk us through your mascara application process?

SM: This is my first time in years wearing mascara without false lashes.

MG: Agreed.

SM: I can't even believe it. I usually start at the base of the lash line, and I like to wiggle it. Almost in a "Z," all the way up to the tip of the lash. I'll use the tip, and I'll stroke it up and down. [Both laugh.]

MG: Seriously. I will curl the tips of my lashes first, then curl the base. That's what I learned today.

SM: There is a big celebrity makeup artist, Erin Parsons. She is amazing. She told me to add a layer of mascara, wait for it to dry, curl, and then add another layer.

PS: How many layers do you typically put on when you're doing your own mascara?

SM: I'll put it on for three or four minutes' worth [laughs]. Yeah, I'll take a little break, a little lunch break.

MG: Today we did a nice little five minute-er.

PS: How many strokes per minute?

SM: Oh, umm, I do a fast swivel stroke.

PS: What qualities do you look for in a mascara wand and formula to be able to do this?

SM: I don't like it to be too runny or watery. I like it to be creamy. I don't like the bristles on the brush to be too long. My lashes are short — kind of thick — but shorter. I like a brush that will get in between my lashes.

MG: The Colossal Big Shot Mascara is completely amazing. It's so good. It gets at the base of your lashes, and the bristles aren't too fanned out. We both talked about how we don't have the longest lashes, so we want a mascara that is thicker that won't fall down on us as much. Thicker mascara tends to be heavier on my lashes, so they fall more.

PS: What was it like shooting a campaign today? How is it different than shooting your own tutorial?

SM: Oh my god, there's a production. How many people are up there? Like 50? When I'm home, I turn on the camera and go. Here, it's like strategically placed, and it's perfection.

MG: It's cool. It's a big honor, and I'm so happy to be here with Maybelline. I never thought a brand like Maybelline . . . especially years ago when I wanted to work as a guy in makeup . . . It's a big deal to me.

PS: What do you think the biggest beauty trends will be in 2017?

MG: I think glossy lips are coming back. It was all about matte for so long, but now it's coming back. People are getting into gloss again . . . a very shiny gloss.

SM: It's all about lips. I get more engagement when I do something about lips. Green lip, blue lip, all those colorful lips. It's not odd to see anymore.

MG: People are really enjoying color; 2017 is going to be a big color year. Glitter is going to be big in 2017. People are doing glitter lips and on their lids. Glitter is more normalized. It's not like, "Oh my god you're wearing glitter, where are you going?"

PS: Do you feel like this is the year when boys take beauty?

MG: We're trying. I've been trying for the past few years. I'm trying to get to that point. I'm trying to get ahead.

SM: 2017 will be the year when people aren't going to give "that look" a weird look. It's starting to become more acceptable. He can walk anywhere, and people won't be like, "Oh my god."

MG: Even now I still do. All the time. I'll walk out here and people will give a quick glance. It's one of those double takes. "Is he wearing makeup?" Hopefully in the next couple years, it will be much more acceptable and normal — especially with brands like Maybelline wanting to normalize it. Yes, we are using a boy in this campaign; and yes, this is completely normal. That is the fight that it's been since the beginning. Making it a normal thing, not something crazy. My form of expression is just fun.