Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Martinez.
Kayla, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey in the beauty industry really started when I was in high school. I graduated class of 2014 Grulla High School, in a small town in the valley right by the border of Mexico. Growing up, I never pictured or even imagined that this was what I would be doing. I was huge into sports and I spend most of my time playing in some sort of league or on a team. Back then, I dreamed of playing collegiate sports or career-wise being something like a coach or a police officer. Gratefully where I was from they offered career and technology programs for free in high school and cosmetology was one of them. I had an opportunity to graduate with my license and start making easy money, so I thought why not do this since I always showed interest in men’s haircuts and braiding hair so I was definitely down. My junior year in high school I was faced with one of the hardest decisions of my life. I had to choose between playing sports or making up my hours for cosmetology. I was torn in two. I worked so hard I was a 3-year Varsity team player plus team captain, and that year we were expected to excel since all the players I grew up with would be on my team now.
In high school, I spent a lot of time knowing myself and discovering God and what my purpose was, and I knew in my spirit this was a test from God, do I trust him in enough to close a door and open a new one? Little did I know that the plans I made from myself didn’t compare to the plans God had for me, I went with my gut and trusted my spirit enough to quit sports and focus on something that was actually going to benefit my future. Shortly after I quit sports my Cosmo Instructor Mrs. Maribel Villarreal had asked me if I could help her out by participating in this competition with Skills USA Esthetics. My initial thought was I had already lost sports what do I really have to lose doing this? Sure enough it was the door God had placed for me to go into. My junior year, I placed 3rd at district but that wasn’t enough to qualify to State. My senior year came around and I was confident I would take Mrs. V to nationals, and guess what? I did! I placed 1st at District and 1st at State and I was the first in my school district to advance to a national level since 1987. Talk about making history. I can only imagine what if I didn’t listen to my gut feeling? What if I didn’t trust God enough. In Kansas City Missouri during National Competition I felt a still small voice say “this is my gift to you, what you do with it is your gift back to me.” In that moment, I knew this is what God had gave to me. I remember thinking yo this is so fun, why wouldn’t I want this? That is how my journey began.
Has it been a smooth road?
Man, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road at all. Going forward, I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy one but I knew the God that created me was going to be there for me no matter what I decided to do. You have absolutely no idea how many times I wanted to give up and throw the towel in. I graduated highschool and started to work for a cosmetics company called M.A.C. I spent three years with that company but just one year into it I decided I was going to move to Orlando Florida with the company. I thought this is it, small town girl packing what I could in my car and moving away from everything I knew and loved all to chase a dream of becoming something greater. Boy did God sit me down with that move, I was humbled in so many ways and I faced with my hardest trials. I worked three jobs just to maintain and soon after being there, I realized this wasn’t where I should’ve came. I learned not all opportunities are as nice as they presented them to be and I had to grow up fast. I know God uses all things for our good, and I was grateful for my time there because I learned so much about God, and my character was shaped and tested on so many levels. Imagine reflecting on your life and the choices you made only to find that what you thought you wanted wasn’t really what you needed. Recently I discovered that somewhere along the way I took what God gave me and made it what I wanted it to be, so I could never be happy or satisfied with my crafts. I realized my passion was dying because I took matters into my own hands and started using this talent as a way to survive.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Goldluxkay story. Tell us more about the business.
As of right now, I am a freelance hair and makeup artist. My brand is literally just me doing what I do best, and the goal is to eventually have my own business. I believe in experience and learning to love the process so it will happen when I am fit for that responsibility. For right now and I am so grateful to do what I do because I have met so many amazing people through this. Not only that, being apart of the best moments of their life and helping them feel like the kings and queens they are is everything to me. What sets me apart from the rest is probably the fact that I am so versatile in my craft. I can go from a simple clean look to a complete transformation from head to toe, with makeup and body painting.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Wow, I have no idea because over the past five years, this industry boomed so much it’s crazy. Trends are always changing as far as makeup looks so it’s going to be pretty interesting to see.
Contact Info:
- Email: goldluxkay@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldluxkay/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldLuxKay/
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