Victoria Clay

We chat to uber talented make-up artist, model and print designer Victoria Clay about all things beauty and career advice! We’re just obsessssed with her!

MUA, Model, print designer! You’ve done it all! Can you tell us how you got to the point in your career now?

I held on to things that I love which for me are mainly my creative outlets, and I worked really hard at being bad at them until I became really good at them! Even if it’s drawing, makeup or modelling, I love that feeling of being totally in the zone – it brings me so much joy! If you can find something in life that you love like that, try to work really hard at it until it becomes a career.

What has been one of your best career highlights so far?

I was so lucky to be able to travel in 2020 before the pandemic. I visited Japan where I collaborated with an artist collective called BnA Hotel in which part of the profit from every stay, goes to the artist who designed the room. The collaboration was based around creating content, highlighting the rooms and the different artists involved.

What has been your biggest challenge in your career so far?

One of the biggest challenges for me was during last year, and stepping away from the busy events, bright lights and the generally back-to-back schedule it was a hectic lifestyle that I was living and now instead I’ve just learned to be still. I was able to turn inward and use that to fire up even more creativity.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t be discouraged or give in to self-doubt, instead, always give a hundred percent of yourself to every opportunity that comes your way!

"The multi-purpose aspect of the Dr.Lipp products for me is so enticing and exciting - I need that one thing in my handbag that can do everything."

What is an average day like for you?

At the moment I’m working from home and I’m not an early riser but I do like to earn my day, so upon waking after coffee and breakfast I throw myself into whatever creative project it is that I’m tackling at that time and work for a few hours on that before combining my lunch with a yoga stretch and a set time for firing off emails. Then I’m right back into creating, I always have to set an allotted time for emails or I find myself staring at them and I lose hours just looking at a screen.

What do you do in your down time? 

In my down time recently, I’ve been researching my next hair colour (which I can never decide) and also creating a pinterest board for my home. It’s my first joint apartment with my boyfriend so we’ve really been enjoying the space and the interior decorating aspect. On my day off you can always find me video gaming too!

Which beauty products can you not live without?

I’m a girl who loves her fancy nails and lashes but what I really can’t live without is the classic Dr Lipp original nipple balm, it’s my go-to for all purpose skincare especially during winter when my skin becomes so dry, Dr.Lipp is the real hero! I’ve also recently fallen in love with CBD calm balm, I love that it’s fragrance-free unlike other CBD products that I’ve tried!

Can you tell us your best beauty tips?

Good sleep, lots of water and a vitamin c skin serum underneath your moisturiser at night.

What is next for you professionally and personally?

Professionally I would really love to work with other creatives more, although it’s fun doing everything from home at the moment I really miss that team atmosphere and bouncing ideas around. I’d also love to put more of my art out into the world. And personally I’m looking into purchasing my first house, which I would love to fill with adopted cats!

Do you feel strongly about knowing what ingredients are in your beauty products?

It’s important to know what we’re placing on our skin and the origin of our products, the more awareness we have the more that brands will re-focus and align to create cruelty-free, organic products. Also, for myself I have to be careful having sensitive skin as the harsh chemicals or fragrances wreak havoc.

If you could encourage others to make one lifestyle change today, what would it be?

I would love it if the world could become vegetarian, I’ve been one for almost ten years and never looked back. But I understand that is a major life change so a smaller one would be to only use products that contain 100% natural ingredients.