I thought you were too light, too easy, too 72 and sunny.
Never trust anything this easy, this comfortable.
Yall are a bunch of maniacs on the 405.
Collage: Ingrid Fowler; Source images: Getty
And I could never understand your obsession with yoga pants, matcha, and cleaning your cars.
Where were your fast talkers, your jaywalkers?
Where was your moxie?
A New Yorker in a square hole.
We respected each other, but over these past sevenJesus, seven?
!years, theres been a distance.
And there was no mistaking it.
In that instant, all ambivalence vanished.
Los Angeles wasnt my adopted home, it wasismy home.
Say cities are like people: they all have their own identity.
It invites you to share a bottle of wine and stay for some pasta.
New York is already annoyed youre not walking faster.
And think of Paris.
But Los Angeles is unmatched.
Think of the dreamy glitz of award season or the beachy hair and surfer cool vibes of Malibu.
The funky weirdos in Venice or the edgy streetwear of Melrose.
Home to the Gold Rush and the Golden Age.
This city is the manifestation of storytelling, of artistry.
Los Angeles sends out beauty the way other places export coffee beans.
They told us what Los Angeles means to them, how its shaped their careers and sparked their creativity.
Maybe the La La Land moniker was never ironic.
Maybe it was a testament to the grace built into the DNA of the city.
That bright, shiny identity born between the mountains and the waters edgeits not weakness.
I’m originally from Israel; my parents sent me here to have a better life.
When I was nine years old, I moved in with my aunt, who lived on Sunset Boulevard.
Los Angeles gives you the freedom to be exactly who you want to be without judgment.
The beauty industry is intertwined with the city.
We are a family.
I have connections with every hair and makeup person here; there is kinship that defies competition.
I know that our industry is resilient.
I hope that we can show the world how strong we are.
Being yourself is seen as cool.
It’s this space where people go to believe in themselves.
LA is one of the only places I’ve ever been where I’ve experienced the celebration of uniqueness.
It’s where people go to believe in themselves.
We need art to add color to our lives.
That’s an energy I want to be surrounded by.
There’s always been some judgment around Los Angeles.
You either get it or you don’t.
It’s either for you or it isn’t, and it’s always been for me.
That is my chosen home.
Still, every day, I am like, “This city is amazing.”
My biggest thing right now is advocating for the disability community.
Disabled people who have been displaced are missing medical equipment, they’re missing mobility aids.
Thats exactly what it is for me.
I grew up in Romaniaunder a communist regime.
In the winter, they used to turn off the electricity at six oclock.
It was so cold; you could feel it in your bones.
We had a VCR and one of the only movies we could get wasBeverly Hills Cop.
And from what I could see in that movie, the weather in California was beautiful.
It was, for me, the American dream.
I came to Los Angeles on July 29, 1989.
I remember getting off the plane and seeing the sunshine and palm trees.
I couldnt speak English.
Within six months, I had celebrity clientsCindy, Naomi, Stephanie, the supermodels.
Today, Im surrounded by the most incredible women.
Clients have become friends.
They want to feel like themselves.
One of my very good friendsand a client for 30 yearsNorah Weinstein co-foundedBaby2Baby.
I went through the1994 earthquake.
All I could take was a bag with my passport and a few pictures.
I got my mom and my daughter, and we got out.
I wanted to go back to Romania because I was so terrified.
But you know what?
We recovered, and we built our life back.
We get together and we support each other.
Its going to take time, but I know well get there.
Donni Davy, makeup artist and founder of Half Magic
I was born and raised in Venice.
I did attempt to leave LA briefly.
I had my soft-top, Barbie-style Jeep and would load it up and go to the beaches out there.
I came back to start my career as a makeup artist for film and TV.
I never thought I’d be a part of the film industry.
Hollywood was always this mystical thing; the vibe was different in Venice.
I was much more of an art school kid, being highly influenced by my family.
My dad is a sculptor.
My mom is super artistic as well.
They were both east coast kids and were the only people in their families to move out west.
They just believed in the dream of Los Angeles and the way of life out here.
It meant they could live their lives completely differently than they had growing up.
Everyone is here to live their dream in one way or another, to become a part of Hollywood.
I was there helping bring that to life through makeup for them.
That’s how I started building my portfolio.
Working in this industry has given me an opportunity to deeply understand and explore all these different communities.
Altadena, there’s horses there!
In Pasadena, there’s this area called Bungalow Heaven that’s magical.
People in the beauty industry, we have so many products.
I don’t take what I went through to get here lightly.
The city has been good to me.
It inspires me, how my community comes together.
Beauty professionals, we just support each other.
I find that people tend to do that here; they build their village.
It’s great when it’s possible for you to have an effect on your peers.
Your peers can get you your next job.
I’ve been able to support my peers here and vice versa.
We pretty much just pour into each other.
Artists are coming together to do something for people.
We all know that when you look good, it helps you to feel better, despite your situation.
So we hosted something there.
Don’t donate any old clothes.
Give people things thatyouwould want to wear.
I gave away all new things because I like to shop.
I donated to two families.
That boy was so happy, he was just overjoyed.
His mom was so happy.
It made my heart happy.
Its all about prayer and action.
you’ve got the option to pray for us, but hey, action is always great.
Ive never been able to imagine being anywhere else.
LA is so core to who I am, to my artistry and my creativity and my overall aesthetic.
I love the natural ease of hair and I work a lot with floral inspiration.
Growing up, I didnt realize how big LA was.
My world was just Laurel Canyon.
I can have my entire career here.
After high school, I worked at Starbucks and went to beauty school.
I didnt have my drivers license yet so Id take the bus up and down Wilshire Boulevard.
I had to ask my mom to drop me off at her house.
After that, Sarah hired me to do a worldwide tour.
It was only my second time ever leaving the U.S.
I was born and raised in Koreatown.
I did recognize early on that LA is really a mecca for dreamers.
Its a city filled with big dreams but also with a little bit of tragedy.
It’s tough, but it’s also very rewarding.
Los Angeles is a magical place for artists in the beauty industry.
Clearly there’s a big industry for celebrities, film, and television.
Being a creative, it was always my dream to work in that space.
That was my college.
I never went to an actual college.
Its impressive seeing how quickly the beauty community in Los Angeles mobilizes… but it’s not a surprise.
Its impressive seeing how quickly the beauty community in Los Angeles mobilizes.
I have no doubt that Los Angeles is going to be rebuilt because that process has already begun.
The rebuilding is inevitable, and it’s going to be a beautiful thing.
Thats just one person gathering the community to organize something.
She wanted to work as a hairstylist.
She read about this hairstylist who worked in entertainment and she went to work for her in her salon.
When I landed in LA, I just remember seeing palm trees.
I was like, Oh, I really like this aesthetic.
There’s always work here as a hairstylist, as opposed to some other cities.
LA, New York, and now Atlanta are big hubs for entertainment.
But at that time LA was the place to beand it still is.
The beauty community in Los Angeles is big and it’s a great community.
For a hairstylist, you might come here and really develop a great clientele.
While I love Los Angeles for all the work opportunities, I love the healthy lifestyle too.
I feel like it all goes together.
People here want to look good and take care of themselves.
I get motivated seeing a lot of people here eating healthily.
There are a lot of restaurants and accommodations for people who want to eat healthy.
One thing thats been positive to see during the fires is people helping people.
The community of LA helps each other out.
There’s been a lot of people that have shown up for people who are experiencing loss.
I hope to see people here be able to continue to work.
I closed my salon during the pandemic, but plan to open a new salon in March.
We have to figure out how we come back from this.
How do we turn this around and make it positive?
Despite all the devastation, I can’t afford to be afraid because this is my home.
This is where I’m planted and rooted.
I could live in other places, but this is my home.
I don’t want to leave LA and I’m not going to leave LA.
Ava Shamban, MD, dermatologist and founder of Ava MD
I was born in LA.
He ended up coming out here, and starting a small aerospace company.
you might be a movie star.
you could be a politician.
you’ve got the option to farm the land.
you’ve got the option to fish the sea.
you’re free to be a surfer.
you’ve got the option to be an artist.
It is the quintessential American place.
There was never a caste system here in California.
Nobody says, No, you cant do it.
And it’s such a land of extremes, in terms of beauty and what you have available.
you’re free to ski in the morning, and surf in the afternoon.
I love when you’re at the ocean, and you look up and see the mountains.
I like the ocean.
I’ve been going in this whole yearcold dipping.
My mother was like, No.
I wanted to be a doctor, too.
Ultimately, I was able to merge the two by doingExtreme Makeover.
Where else in the country could you do that?
That footprint, that reachthats something that I could only do here.
So Arnie Klein was a huge inspiration.
He’s the one who came up with [SkinMedica] TNS serum.
The energy that’s here is very powerful and inspiring.
When you wake up, you’re excited, because people around you are excited about what they do.
The [population of the] Palisades is very creative.
Hopefully we’ll get something that can be a blueprint for other places to create a more livable space.
My parents immigrated from Mexico in the 70s and bought a home four years later.
They still live there.
Los Angeles is my home.
It’s my heart, it’s my soul, it’s my everything.
Ive always known that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms.
The way I got into makeup is something that would only happen in Los Angeles.
While I was getting my degree, I got a part-time job at the MAC counter.
One day, Hailee Steinfeld came in.
Had it not been for that job and for her, who knows where Id be now.
I was fortunate to grow up in a place thats so diverse and welcoming.
Ive always known that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms.
I’ve seen so many people showing up for one another in the beauty community this week.
It takes years and years to build these kitsto find brushes and eye shadows and products you love.
I know so many people that have been donating items to her.
As devastating as it all is, it’s also so beautiful to see everyone come together.
In New York, theres a lot of pride in how hard everything is.
I kind of adopted that attitude automatically without ever having visited.
And then once I came here, it was like thatSex and the Cityepisode set in LA.
You want to hate them, but you also want to be them.
As I started going to Los Angeles more for work, I realized how much it has to offer.
Ive found community here.
Im an immigrantI was born in Irelandand immigrants usually find each other because we have a lot in common.
RuPaul says, Hollywood is an idea.
Its not a real place.
That idea is all wrapped up in this wonderful, weird city.
And I’m proud to be one of the weirdos living in it.
The backbone of California really is the immigrant population, specifically the Latinx community.
There are millions of undocumented people who are frontline workers in the United States.
Theres an organization called the805UndocuFundthat helps provide financial support and resources to undocumented people.
Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world.
It gives us so much joy and wonder and escapism and fantasy.
As RuPaul says, Hollywood is an idea.
Its not a real place.
I really agree with that.
That idea is all wrapped up in this wonderful, weird city.
And I’m proud to be one of the weirdos living in it.
Im forever appreciative of the way our connection of brands immediately stepped up to help.
Its a testament to LAs resilience and the power of connection that defines this city I love so much.
Ivan Pol, facialist and founder of The Beauty Sandwich
I’m from Miami originally.
So I wasn’t born in LA, butThe Beauty Sandwichwas.
My dreams came true in LA.
I remember arriving in the Palisades and thinking, ‘This place isn’t real.’
It felt like one of the last slices of Americana with its picket fences.
I fell in love with this California dream.
I have a space for you.
you might come here tomorrow.
It’s yours.'
That’s the beautiful thing about Los Angeles: We’re a community that really helps one another.
I’m so grateful and thankful to LA, to California, to all the Angelenos.
My message is that we will rebuild stronger.
Ernesto Casillas, makeup artist
I am born and raised in LA.
I had a beautiful childhood.
My family is from a small town in Mexico, and a lot of them have migrated here.
That’s one of the beautiful things about LA; your background doesn’t matter.
I worked as a gardener with my uncle when I was 14.
One of the beautiful things about LA is your background doesn’t matter.
Hollywood was in my backyard, so it always felt like my dreams were within reach.
Thats very much needed right now.
If you’re not able to donate money, volunteering your time is great.
Thirty years ago, celebrities were starting to be put on the covers of magazines, instead of models.
All of a sudden Hollywood became fashionable, instead of glamorous.
It really felt like a golden age, and I never left.
Honestly, Ive never been tempted to leave LA.
I do also spend time in Paris, though.
And I think the LA girl and the Parisian girl are actually very similar in their beauty vibe.
Its not the same aesthetic but its the same vibe at the core.
I just love Los Angeles.
Reporting by Jenny Bailly, Annie Blay, Nicola DallAsen, Sarah Han, Elizabeth Siegel, Dianna Singh.
