Vincent Oquendo’s New Series Is A Glam Road Trip With A-List Guests

When Vincent Oquendo took stock of his favorite YouTube series, he noticed a glaring gap in the market. The celebrity makeup artist — who counts A-listers like Nicole Richie, Jenna Ortega, and Ariana Debose as regular clients — was a big fan of shows like Hot Ones and Chicken Shop Date, but realized there wasn’t something similar in the beauty world. So he created one. Like the aforementioned series, Backseat Beauties catches celebs and other influential figures off-guard for an impromptu lesson in makeup with a side of something deeper — and his conversations with a lineup of guests like Richie, Misty Copeland, and Soo Joo Park, and more cover topics that range from diversity and inclusion to beauty inspiration.

Launched on Tuesday, April 21, Oquendo’s brand new YouTube series quite literally puts its guests in the backseat of a car, a tactic the makeup artist said was inspired by a few factors. First of all, his clients are often on-the-go and in need of tips to get them from his chair to the red carpet (or some other important event) without a single smudge or a lash out of place. Secondly, he knew the car could be a safe place to get real — mistakes and all. “When I think about where I feel the most at peace and vulnerable, the first place is with a client [in my chair], and the second is in the car,” he tells TZR. “It creates a sacred space.”

On these 20 to 30 minute kooky, intimate mini road trips, Oquendo brings along a custom cosmetics bag for his guest and two go-to questions to get the convo going. “Everybody gets asked the same first two questions: What do you want to learn today? And then, who is your beauty icon and why?” he says. “Everybody has a very different answer.” The MUA’s goal is to show a different, more relatable side to his inspiring guests — the side he gets to see with them in his chair — and as viewers will see throughout the season, he most certainly achieved it. For example, Oquendo tells TZR that Copeland shares how dancing for Prince inspired her to be more free in her style, and Park discusses being Karl Lagerfeld’s muse. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

With such an impressive lineup for the series’ first season, what’s next? According to Oquendo, the sky’s the limit. “The whole idea behind the show is people who inspire me, so some names are more star-studded than others,” he says. “I really want people who are creating the trends, moving the needle in terms of fashion and culture.” Until then, be sure to tune into Backseat Beauties for frank discussions about the many ways to embrace and express beauty — plus a mini masterclass in makeup, obviously.