This is a weekly series where we feature our incredibly talented Adolescent members and their work! Sign up here to join the Adolescent Membership and be part of the @ family!

Hi, Adolescent fam! Our Member Crush of the week is Marisol S.—a 16-year-old makeup artist, content creator, graphic designer, and video editor based in California/Mexico. For her feature, we talked to her about living at the border, how quarantine has changed her style, and why she *loves* being an Adolescent Member.

Adolescent Content: Tell us a little bit about yourself! Where are you from? How old are you? How are you spending your time these days?

Marisol S.: Hi! I’m Marisol, and I’m from Mexicali, Baja California. I’ll be turning 17 this December. These days, I haven't been doing much! I spend almost all of my day on Zoom, either for school, meetings with the online zine I'm part of, or talking to friends.

Adolescent: How has 2020 changed your work and style?

Marisol: I like to think that 2020 hasn’t had a big impact on me, but you can definitely see there’s a difference between my latest posts and my posts from 2019. Quarantine has given me more free time, and I’ve been able to dedicate more of my attention to editing and creating new ideas that are a little bit out of my comfort zone.

Adolescent: Can you tell me about your creative process?

Marisol: I honestly don’t know how to describe it! I usually sit down and start doing my makeup on a whim, but sometimes I'll take inspiration from other makeup artists I follow or ask my friends to send me a random thing I could use for inspiration. That being said, I have a different process for creating videos—most of the time I’ll be listening to a song and at the same time I’m creating a mini music video in my head.

Adolescent: How does being in California affect your work?

Marisol: Living in a border city, I’m always hearing about events happening in both the USA and Mexico, which affects me as a person, therefore influencing my work a bit. I always try to spread awareness and help causes I believe in, but I refrain from creating makeup looks or anything that would take away from the causes’ meanings. Instead I try to spread awareness by actually talking about the issue, usually on TikTok, and educating my friends and family. 

Adolescent: What’s it been like being an Adolescent Member?

Marisol: Being an Adolescent Member is probably the best thing that has happened to me. Ever since I was little I’ve loved video editing and doing my makeup, and now that I’ve been lucky enough to grow a sizable platform, I’m able to get paid for doing what I love to do. Also, I’ve met incredible people through Adolescent, and even joined an online zine (Quaranteens Mag, Issue 01 out now!). In summary, I have opportunities I never thought I would be able to have.