20 QUESTIONS: MARIO FRANCIS

1. What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

“Which people? I honestly think that I live my life like an open book, especially on social media. What you see is what you get. However, if there is one and only one thing I think people might not know it’s that I collect cookbooks and recipes.”

2. What is your greatest indulgence?

“Hmm. Is this a trick question? I’ll go with black coffee.”

3. Go-to song and movie?

“My go-to song at the moment, Swalla from Jason Derulo ft Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign. In terms of my go-to movie, I’m still very fond of The Devil Wears Prada.”

4. What do you do with your spare time?

“I tend to have a lot of spare time as a freelancer, and it is often spent catching up on sleep, networking and planning new marketing material in order to gain access to more clientele.”

5. What brings you the greatest satisfaction?

“I’d have to say the final product of each client’s make-up or the end result of a photoshoot. Seeing the energy put in and the transformation when everything is said and done brings me the greatest joy without fail.”

6. What is one thing everyone should try at least once in their life?

“Marijuana, in any form.”

7. What is one thing you would change about the world if you could?

“The socialization of systematic racism.”

8. Who is your biggest hero?

“Myself. I’ve coached myself through a lot of tough times and difficult moments. Some of these moments didn’t make sense to me at the time but by paying attention to what I want and need out of life I’ve often managed to save myself from a lot of frustration.”

9. What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

“That would have to be that nothing is wrong with focusing on yourself and putting yourself first.”

10. What mantra/quote do you try to live by?

“Energy is real, tune in and vibrate as high as you can, if the people around you disrupt those vibrations, find new energy.”

11. What inspires you/your craft?

“Honestly, I started make-up as an outlet to deal with depression and anxiety, often times it was only to keep myself sane. However, through social media forms like Instagram I keep finding new forms of inspiration and motivation and the drive I get from trying to keep up with these new trends and fresh make-up discoveries always entices me to keep on pursuing this craft.”

12. What is the best experience you’ve had in the industry or while pursuing your craft thus far?

“Connecting with international talent who have all had nothing but kind words and words of wisdom and encouragement. There are a lot of very talented people out there rooting for me and that’s really awesome to know. A kind word and continuous support from people I admire always makes doing make-up artistry worth the while.”

13. What would be one thing you’d hope to gain from the continuation of your craft?

“Respect.”

14. What are the top three things on your perennial to-do list?

“One of them was actually to get this done haha, so I’d say mission accomplished. But seriously, I’d like to blog/vlog about all aspects of what I do and how I do it, secondly, I’d like to learn how do to hair professionally and thirdly cook/buy a big hearty meal.”

15. What is the best gift you’ve ever received?

“A second chance at life many years ago.”

16. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

“In five years I would hope to be comfortable, just honestly and truly comfortable. Career wish however, I would hope to be agency represented as a talent and I would hope to have my work featured on at least 1 magazine cover in the US or Europe.”

17. What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

“Haha, that’ll have to be that bullies never prosper...would have saved me a lot of fist fights.”

18. What would you say to your past self if you had the chance?

“Who you are now is not who you will be forever, be patient, breathe and be careful.”

19. How was your TVISUAL experience?

“Always a pleasure working with this team. Y’all always keep me guessing.”

20. Who should we highlight next?

“Adrian Foster, an already Visionary Fashion Designer taking over the region and a make-up artist named Jalessa Jaikaran. She’s been putting in the work!”

click below for Mario's instagram

 Let's collaborate! Let us know that you are interested by emailing us at info.tvisual@gmail.com

TVISUAL instagram handles

 

MARIO FRANCIS : BEAUTY CREATIVE

Mario Francis, born and raised in Trinidad, has definitely made a name for himself.  Honing his infamous crafty use of and influential presence on social media, has made him one of the regions’ most recognized make-up artists. With a portfolio that credits some of the Caribbean’s most notable faces, photographers, videographers, personalities and brands; Mario is no stranger to hard work and elbow grease.

Many are familiar with his instant rise to local success, in 2013 the Express Woman's Magazine took note of his evolving brand, and since then he became a valuable contributor to the Sunday digest with his captivating makeup looks featured in the Trinidad Express Woman Newspaper. It’s for certain that he’s demonstrated consistency in his craft and with a greatly appreciated quality which has added great dimension to our local beauty industry, with his significant attention and application to details. Confidence, reliability and great professionalism eventually lead to him becoming  the youngest Beauty Ambassador for Black Opal Trinidad and Tobago along with his partnership with Kamco Ltd, shortly after bringing even more attention to the already household name.

Becoming a major presence among press and the brand association community proved to not be enough for the beauty expert, he went on to make his own mark in the regional carnival arenas as one of the major go-to artists for that statement ‘beat’ to pair with carnival trotters costumes. Creating impactful looks and designs that proved to be undeniable by the major public, Mario became a great demand for the regional festival.  Such a demand that clients were required to book their spots an entire year in advance.

 

Men within our beauty industry have proven to be a growing norm internationally. Locally it’s far rarer, amongst the few working make-up artists, Mario remains a standout creative. Under his belt he has partnered with global brands such as Miss Universe, World, Earth, International Trinidad and Tobago, American Brand Front Line Faces, musical entertainers such as Destra, Nadia Batson, Shazelle, Shurwayne Winchester to name a few. 

He’s known amongst his peers to be a hardworking and persevering creative, humble and goal oriented.  Keeping a tunnel vision on his objectives, one of his long term goals is to have an established international makeup academy in London, Amsterdam, Los Angles and NYC where he can share his passion and hopefully inspire other artists.

click below for Mario's instagram

 Let's collaborate! Let us know that you are interested by emailing us at info.tvisual@gmail.com

TVISUAL instagram handles

 

20 QUESTIONS: RICHARD NOEL 

Richard Noel & Muse Danielle Nelson Photographed by Terrance for April TVISUAL Feature, Make-up by Lynda De La Mothe, Styling by Kambe Lovelace, Assistance by Kerby Young

1. What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

“One thing people would be surprised to know about me is that I was an athlete all my life. In both primary and secondary school I was captain at Hampton Athletics Club and ranked as one of the top four athletes by the National Association of Athletics Administration. I think a lot of people see me and they don’t see an athlete but I was, pretty much for all of the early years of my life.”

2. What is your greatest indulgence?

“That would have to be curry. I think curry is life! I can eat curry all day, every day, all week, and forever! So definitely curry is at the top of my list. I love cheesecake as well. For my birthday all I want is cheesecake. So curry is at the top of my list and cheesecake is a close second.” 

3. Go-to song and movie?

“I don’t have a go-to song and/or movie because I listen to a lot of genres of music. However, if I had to choose I definitely have go-to artists and they will have to be Rihanna or Sia because I just love their music. So those two are who I tend to gravitate to in my quiet time. In terms of movies...I can watch anything basically but I can watch The Devil Wears Prada probably one hundred times and never get bored of it. So yeah, I wouldn’t say that I have a go-to because I can listen and watch anything really...but I’d say those that I highlighted are some honourable mentions.”

4. What do you do with your spare time?

“Spare time? I don’t have such words in my vocabulary. I would consider spare time, me not doing what I actually have to do. So spare time for me is procrastination. There is always something that I have to do but if I don’t choose to do it that’s what I create as my spare time. So when that happens all I try to do is sleep because I’m basically on the go all the time.”

5. What brings you the greatest satisfaction?

“I think the grace of God and his mercies are definitely my greatest satisfaction. Without him and the things that he has done for me I wouldn’t be where I am today and I wouldn’t have life in general. So the mercy of God is satisfaction by itself. It is the most important thing to me.”

6. What is one thing everyone should try at least once in their life?

“Hmm, that’s a tough one. I mean...I think we should try to do new things every day, so I don’t really have a specific thing. Although, what I can say is that we should do the one thing that scares us the most. So any adventure that you want to undertake but you’re uncertain as to if you should do it or you’re afraid of doing it I think that is the one thing that you should absolutely attempt. But overall, just enjoy life and try new things everyday...yeah that’s basically it.”

7. What is one thing you would change about the world if you could?

“That would one hundred percent have to be for us to love one another more, I think the world right now is just full of hate and a lot of people don’t love and appreciate life itself. So I think if I had the chance to show people or get them to love one another and live together as one, that’ll be something I’d love to do. We need more love in the world because people are out here hating each other and that’s wrong, we need to unite and be there for each other.”

8. Who is your biggest hero?

“That would have to be my mother. I think she is a pure indication of what a hero is; someone who would give their all for another person, someone who would sacrifice anything for someone they love, someone who would face obstacles and come out standing strong. I think that is a true representation of a hero. Giving one’s self without looking for anything in return and that would most definitely be my mom. She is my hero.”

9.  What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

“I think that would be to never give up. Life throws so many obstacles at you and I often like to say, ‘Giving up is never an option.’ So no matter how hard it gets or how difficult it seems, as long as you never give up you can definitely achieve what you set out to do.”

Richard Noel & Muse Danielle Nelson Photographed by Terrance for April TVISUAL Feature, Make-up by Lynda De La Mothe, Styling by Kambe Lovelace, Assistance by Kerby Young

10. What mantra/quote do you try to live by?

“One of the quotes I live by is to put God first and then everything after. I believe that if you put God in the forefront of everything that you do then you will be able to achieve all the goals that you set forth for yourself. I believe that you can’t do anything without God, which is why I put him first and I often find that everything falls into place.”

11. What inspires you/your craft?

“Nature and that fun Caribbean luxe vibe. I was born and raised in Valencia, I spent most of my life in Valencia, my dad is from Tobago and my mom is from Blanchisseuse and I think that all of those backgrounds merged together to create my personality. I mean, I just love nature and that “walking in the wind” feel, that free spirit lifestyle. I think that is my inspiration towards my craft and the things that I create definitely has to represent that more relax and mellow feeling towards yourself and life and my clothing is a representation of that.”

12. What is the best experience you’ve had in the industry or while pursuing your craft thus far?

“I can’t pick one single experience because all my experiences led me to where I am today. Therefore, I don’t think that one experience out-weighs any of the others. Although I must say that I have enjoyed every moment of the journey and I’m still enjoying it as time goes by.”

13. What would be one thing you’d hope to gain from the continuation of your craft?

“One thing I want to gain is to continue becoming a better version of myself. There are a lot of things I want to accomplish and with that, I want to continue growing and becoming better at what I do. I want my brand to become a household name through-out the region and hopefully one day internationally. So yeah, there are a lot of things I want accomplish as my brand and I continue growing.”

14. What are the top three things on your perennial to-do list?

“To travel the world. I want to experience cultures and see fashion of other perspectives. Another would be to have my own studio/boutique. I want the Richard Noel brand to become a household name as I mentioned before. Lastly, probably to do something adventurous...maybe go on a cruise and just live and enjoy life while having fun.”

15. What is the best gift you’ve ever received?

“Best gift I’ve ever received...hmm. I can’t name one thing specifically, that’ll get me in trouble haha. I tend to appreciate anything that someone has given me so I wouldn’t pinpoint one gift above another. So, to stay out of trouble and to be politically correct I’ll just say that I appreciate being given any gift, no matter how small or how big. I think that being given a gift shows that someone cares for you, so to me there isn’t one gift that should mean more than another.”

16. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

“In 5 years I see myself successfully owning my Richard Noel boutique. I see myself becoming one of the go-to designers in the local, regional and even international fashion industry. Also, I want to be at a better place in life, doing what I love to do.”

 17. What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

“That would have to be that everything would be ok. At some point in time you often worry about what is going to happen and try to make things perfect, but if I had known that everything was going to be ok and I had just lived life, I believe doing that would have made things easier.”

18. What would you say to your past self if you had the chance?

“I would tell younger Richard that you’re gonna make it. Life is going to be tough and things are going to be pretty hard but at the end of the day you will accomplish everything that you set out to do.”

19. How was your TVISUAL experience?

“It has been pretty awesome. These are some of the coolest people I have met in quite some time. They have been pretty down-to-earth and they make you feel as if you’re home and a part of the team. They’re kinda like the cool kids that you just wanna be a part of...so yeah...that’s the most amazing thing about the whole experience. Its similar to joining a cool gang haha.”

20. Who should we highlight next?

“I have two recommendations, you all should check out Arlana Roberts, owner of RastaChiq Creationz. She is really talented and has an amazing future ahead of her. Also, Allan Jackman of Allan Jackman Events, who is a young and gifted events decorator and has a lot to offer.”

Richard Noel & Muse Danielle Nelson Photographed by Terrance for April TVISUAL Feature, Make-up by Lynda De La Mothe, Styling by Kambe Lovelace, Assistance by Kerby Young

click below for Richard's instagram

 Let's collaborate! Let us know that you are interested by emailing us at info.tvisual@gmail.com

TVISUAL instagram handles