Danilo Pepito Jr., Cebuano makeup artist | Photo from Danilo/Facebook
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A dab of foundation and concealer combined with brush strokes. If you’re glammed by this artist, you’ll be ‘Danified.’
Danilo Pepito Jr., who is known to his clients as the artist behind ‘Danified by Danilo Pepito Jr.,’ is a 24-year-old beauty innovator from Liloan, Cebu, who has worked his way to the roster of beauty gurus.
Pepito considers makeup his “therapy.” Whenever he feels uneasy, a single brush stroke takes his worries away, and he feels at ease, he said.
“It is my safe space to express what I feel, to express my creative itch,” Danilo said.
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A bumpy start
Pepito learned about makeup in elementary school. Only in high school, in 10th grade, did he realize he wanted to pursue a career in the makeup industry in 2016.
It was during an event in their school requiring a muse to represent their section. At that moment, their muse needed to wear an eco-friendly gown and someone to glam her up.
Without hesitation, Danilo poured his artistic vision into making a gown out of recyclable materials and dolling up his classmate using his borrowed makeup or beauty tools.
Back then, he did not own a single beauty accessory and only utilized what was available from borrowing.
When his classmates commented that their muse’s final look was exquisitely crafted, he continued doing the craft whenever there were events in their school.
“From that, they made me the makeup artist for our class,” Danilo said.
Danilo and his sister Judith. | Photo from Danilo/Facebook
Determined to take the path he started, Danilo continued to glam up more people by borrowing his sister’s makeup products for free, especially when he was recommended by people to do makeup.
Danilo fondly recalled that in the past, he would use makeup tools without asking permission from his sister, and the latter would get mad over her missing beauty tools.
First client
Danilo shared that he got his first-ever client in 2016, a debutante, and it was the first time he earned money from it. When he posted the finished look on his Facebook, many, including his friends, were surprised that he knew how to do makeup.
Danilo’s first client.
His friends knew him as a choreographer and creative director.
“Back then, they had not seen my makeup artist side until I posted that, and then I received comments saying that I could do makeup. That was the moment I considered starting my journey in the industry,” Danilo said.
Moreover, Danilo believed the support of the people who cheered for him to ‘give it a shot’ allowed him to continue walking the path he started, rooting for him to grow in this career.
It took him three years before he was able to invest in his tools.
“When I started my journey, it was shaky. There was a week when we only had two bookings and less than ten in a month,” he said.
But now, as a professional, Danilo caters to an average of 50 to 80 clients per month. The most clients he had was in May, when he reached 250 since it was graduation season.
Dealing with discrimination
Aside from starting without his beauty equipment, Danilo shared that the challenge he encountered was age discrimination.
He said that around 2016, most of the makeup artists he knew were older than him, and no one was the same age as him.
“Some of them said that I haven’t proven myself yet because I am too young, and I have to look up to them because they’re old and have been in the industry for a long time already,” Danilo said.
Apart from age discrimination, at the same time, Danilo also struggled with people’s discrimination for his sexual orientation, especially when he was still in the closet at that time.
People would often wonder why he was doing makeup when he had a girlfriend, Danilo said.
“Being in the closet, it was hard not to be weakened by those comments. I would be sad and feel down to the point that I thought of not pursuing it anymore,” he said.
“I’m blessed to have a very supportive family who did not pressure me to come out. I had a feeling that they already knew before I came out to them. I have that loving and supporting family who can understand me,” he said.
Danilo’s graduation photo. | Photo from Danilo/Facebook
Danilo is the youngest of three siblings. His two elder siblings already knew. It was after he graduated in June 2023 that he decided to finally come out of the closet and confess to his parents that he was gay.
He said that during his graduation, his boyfriend brought him a bouquet of flowers, and his parents met him. His siblings explained the situation, and eventually, his parents accepted it without any problem.
“When we had a heart-to-heart talk with my parents, they told me, ‘We will support you in every little way,’ I promised them that I’m gonna make them proud and spread my wings more,” Danilo said.
“No one will support you the way your family supports you. Your home will be your greatest support system, and besides your supportive friends, your family’s support will bring you to greater heights,” he added.
After earning a degree in Fine Arts with a major in Advertising, he decided to become a full-time makeup artist.
Establishing ‘Danified’
Three months after earning a degree, Danilo boosted his brand marketing by establishing his ‘Danified’ studio in Brgy. Banilad, where he currently resides.
His studio currently has five assistant makeup artists and more than five hairstylists. He hopes it can expand in the future.
‘Danified,’ the catchy word that became his signature description, was established in 2016.
It is usually the word used to describe a client glammed by Danilo. When Dan did their makeup, they were ‘Danified’; eventually, it became his trademark.
With over 16,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook and having worked with notable local and national personalities, Danilo does not yet consider himself a well-established makeup artist.
Danilo with wedding videographer Jason Magbanua. | Photo from Danilo/Facebook
From finding it tough to buy even a single foundation to investing in 20 to 50 makeup tools, Danilo has surely gone far from where he started. But even with all that, Danilo remains grounded.
He will be marking his ninth year in the industry in February 2025.
But with all his achievements at a young age, Danilo said he is competitive and still striving to improve.
“Together with the huge difference (from how I started) comes a big responsibility that I need to fill in, which is to keep up with the trends and satisfaction of the clients,” Danilo said.
Danilo and his team. | Photo from Danilo/Faceboook
A visionary
Keeping up with the trends is a challenge. But as a natural-born artist, Danilo is always ready to try new things that fit the trend, especially since his clients are children, teenagers, professionals, and elders.
“It’s better to be versatile in our work because the trends depend on the age bracket. To keep up with the trend is to cater to what the clients prefer,” he said.
Danilo is a fan of local, national, and international makeup artists.
To name some, Danilo is a fan of Angelo Eugeno, who is notably known as Jelly Eugenio. Eugenio is a famous makeup artist among Filipino celebrities.
Danilo adores Eugenio’s versatility. “He can do glam, he can do editorials, and Jelly Eugenio is a visionary, and just like me, he is also a drag enthusiast,” he added.
His makeup style
Makeup differs for various reasons, some of which are due to personal preferences, trends, cultural influences, experimental styles, and social norms.
However, there would always be a particular style that would put a trademark on the clients. Danilo, however, lets other people describe his style.
Danilo said people would say that when it is ‘Danified,’ it has a subtle touch in the eyes, intricate eyes, and glowing skin. The client would have a freshly and naturally snatched look.
Danilo also loves to do soft glam, which he considers his ‘eye for beauty.’
“Our goal as a makeup artist is to be able to market our finished looks that even without a caption, the photo itself would speak the brand of the makeup artist. That is what we are trying to achieve. When people look at the style, they can tell it is my signature”
“Our work is a collaborative effort. It works hand in hand,” he said.
The artist in his blood
As a person filled with creativity and fashion, Danilo sees himself pursuing a career in the creative industry, if he did not pursue being a makeup artist.
He said that if he fails in his present career, which he hopes will not happen, he still has somewhere else to go, and that is in line with his degree program.
“I feel like I would be a creative director, an art curator, a graphic artist, or anything in line with Arts,” Danilo said.
