L.A. Berlyn
is a nice guy with a nice upbringing, who was raised in a very small town in
Virginia. He credits his home town, where dancing wasn’t allowed, as the reason
he turned to the creative side of things. “All we had to do on a Friday night was
to either hang out in the Wal-Mart parking lot or look at ratty taxidermy at
the natural history museum. I had to do something else,” he says. L.A.
received his BA in Fashion Marketing and Design from Montserrat College of Art
and Design, in Beverly Massachusetts. Shortly after, he left for New York to be
the next Michael Alig, minus the sordid drugs and murder. That plan didn’t last
very long and he found himself bouncing around from California, Florida, and
back to his home state before settling in North Carolina.
Working in
what he calls, “the business of pretty,” he has covered almost all of the
bases. He has been a visual merchandiser for several top design companies; a
personal stylist, dressing the Charlotte area’s glitterati; and in 2009 had
several successful jewelry designs for, Bad Girl Pearls, which were sold in
high-end boutiques. In 2011, he
launched, Milo, a small trunk show of his one-of-a-kind and reworked vintage
wear for men.
L.A. started
doing makeup in high school, after spending too much time watching his mother
in the studio. “I was fascinated by the transformations that I saw people go
through before they got in front of my mother’s camera,” he says, “twenty
minutes went by and these Plain Jane girls turned into Vogue models.” His work,
in the beginning, was very tame and verging on Glamour Shot territory. His
style later evolved into a more artistic approach after devouring everything he
could about Kevyn Aucoin. His new inspiration led him to incorporate anything
his mind could think of. Everything from Dali references, to, the ultimate
glamorous puss, Barbie went into his creations.
His appetite
for special effects makeup was wetted when a friend, who was working on a low
budget horror spoof, Texas Chainsaw
Mascara, asked if he could come up with some designs for zombie drag
queens. “It was the most absurd idea I had ever heard of, so I ate it up. I had
no idea what I was doing, but I figured it out eventually.” He has continued to produce effects ranging
from the simple to horrific for clients ranging from photographers to haunted
attractions. “I even do it to myself out of boredom. My main goal is to make my
roommate vomit one day. When that happens, I know I can move on to Hollywood,”
he says. He shares his work and tutorials on his youtube channel, Imaginary
Makeup.
L.A. has
always kept a journal for as long as he can remember. He was influenced by Anaïs Nin’s journals and how they were written. He has since gone
on to create the popular blog, The Handsome Savage, as well as freelance
writing for several Charlotte publications, concentrating on the Night life in
the area with his trademark wit and observational style.
He has
always believed that books are better than gold in the bank. “You can learn so
much from a book. It’s a shame not everyone picks them up anymore. Most of my
inspirations from something I’ve seen in a book.” So it is no surprise that on
his list of most current ventures, he lists working on a book. “It’s so
cliché,” says, “everyone is writing a book, but it’s something I’ve always
wanted to do.” This motto of doing things that interests him has been the
driving force for his work in the beauty and fashion industry as well as his
other projects. Outside of the book, he is currently working on another trunk show
of reworked vintage clothing, a gallery collaboration of his makeup designs,
and is working towards another degree, this time in Interior design. He
continues to document his life, his projects, and the mad mind he has on his
website.
Originally
written for Underground Magazine, by
Jonathon Cliner.
