Instagram account: @iamleah
Home base: Huntington Beach, CA
Makeup artistry experience: 15+ years. When Leah started, it wasn't as easy to get discovered, and she frequently found herself working for free to get her name out there. But that grind paid off: she's worked behind the scenes of Tom Ford campaigns and Beyoncé music videos and even assisted her "life-long makeup hero," Francesca Tolot.
Artistry skill she's known for: Both Leah and Kat agree that her most impressive talent is that of perfecting her clients' skin. "Having had freckles all my life, no one better understands how challenging [achieving a] flawless complexion can be!" Leah quipped.
Favorite Kat Von D Beauty product: The Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette ($48). Leah said that she'll never travel without one: "I have one in my kit, one in my personal makeup bag, and one in my glovebox, because you never know!"
Her source of inspiration: "Music has always been my biggest inspiration," she shared. As a longtime fan of post-punk bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, she's admired their strong forms of self-expression. "That freedom was a huge inspiration for me to get into makeup and still is."
Why she was selected for the Kat Von D Beauty Artistry Collective: "Kat has known me long enough to know that makeup isn’t just a job for me — it’s my life," said Leah. (She is a friend of Kat's and the only artist the makeup mogul knew personally before starting the Collective.)
"I got my hands dirty and worked my ass off for this," Leah added. "Having been chosen to be a part of the Collective makes me so glad I never gave up on my dreams, and I hope that inspires others to do the same."
