We’ve heard it before: Social media has the power to change lives. Sara Echeagaray, a 21-year-old from McAllen, Texas, is living out that reality. Just a few hundred shy of hitting eight million followers on TikTok, the first-gen content creator is proving she’s more than an influencer; she’s a dynamic force of versatility. From posting trending content and skits to sharing captivating “get ready with me” videos and makeup DIY, Echeagary’s content defies categorization.
What sets her apart is not just her considerable following but her refusal to be confined to a single niche. It’s what led her to catch the attention of not only Disney casting directors but also beauty brands like Too Faced Cosmetics, to which she was recently named their inaugural Creative Director in Residence.
Under her new title, Remezcla sat down with the Mexican-American creator to discuss her exciting role with the popular makeup brand.
“It’s so surreal. I get to be the first-ever Creative Director in Residence and be a representation for my community,” she said. “I’ve always looked up to this brand because it’s always just been such a big part of my life. It was the first makeup product that I had ever reached for, so to have it [become] a full circle. It was just so crazy.”
Her journey to landing opportunities like this all began with theater. Echeagary, who grew up in Texas before moving to Las Vegas with her family, shares that she is a theater kid at heart. Her background in theater not only shaped her artistic identity but also played a pivotal role in amassing a large following on TikTok during the pandemic.
“I was so heavy with theater growing up, and I was always very hands-on and involved in school, and so when I moved to Vegas, [it was] my senior year of high school, and it was a huge adjustment for me. I made the decision that I didn’t want to do public school; it was more of ‘I only have one more year left. Why don’t I just do homeschool?’ And then the pandemic also started, so everyone else was schooling at home with me.”
She explains that the theater kid in her needed a creative outlet during the lockdown, so she began uploading skits to TikTok, which saw exponential growth by the millions in 2020. In the sea of dancing videos, Echeagary was bringing a different take to the platform. “I got a lot of positive feedback [from the skits] because people were posting dancing videos, and I was like, ‘I’m not coordinated enough for that.’ So, I posted something different.”
While acting and comedy are core to Echeagary’s content, she also dabbles in some beauty material. However, she says she’s no pro, so when Too Faced contacted her for the opportunity, she was taken aback.
“It’s so surreal because I’m not “a MUA” as one would say. I was more so posting things I wanted to post and relatable, funny content. Just entertainment value things. I would post makeup stuff here and there, but it wasn’t so prevalent in my content,” she shared.
As the Creative Director in Residence, she leads social initiatives, hosts intimate, community-building events with the brand, and injects her Gen-Z voice into the brand. She also curated a bundle of her favorite Too Faced products, including the Lip Injection Maximum Plump, Cloud Crush Blush in shade Candy Clouds, and the Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara.
Given her awareness of the brand from an early age, Echeagary sees this partnership as a natural progression. “I’ve felt that the brand was always embedded in my community because it was my first foundation, my first-ever mascara, my first-ever everything, and so it felt so authentic to me.”
The young star shares the disbelief often accompanying opportunities like these, especially for a first-generation creator. Reflecting on the moment she informed her parents, she admits, “Honestly, being able to tell my parents this huge brand wants to work with me, it just felt like ‘Why?’ Of course, they are very supportive, but everything to them is just so surreal. The fact that I have a content creation platform, and it’s basically my job, and I am not a doctor or a nurse. It was always a hard pill for them to swallow. They are so supportive now. Too Faced has been such a pillar in life for them to be like, ‘Yeah, she did that.’”
That’s not all her parents have had the chance to see; they witnessed her realizing her acting dreams, capturing the attention of Disney executives, and securing her first major acting opportunity. In 2022, Echeagary landed the role of Ava on Disney+’s “Big Shot” – a dream come true for her as she grew up admiring Selena Gomez, a fellow Latina and first-gen Mexican American who played Alex on Wizards of Waverly Place.
“Growing up, my representation on Disney was Selena Gomez. She was the one that I would look up to because she was the only Latina that I saw on screen. I remember ever since I saw her, I was like, ‘I can do that. I would love to do Disney,’” she recalls. “So, when I had the opportunity brought to me, and when I auditioned and it was this whole process, it was so surreal that I just kept being called back.”
And while she’s seeing so many doors open now, she hopes never to forget where she and her family began — and the boundless possibilities that lie ahead.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself that I came from honestly nothing. It was no money, no connections, lower-middle class,” Echeagary shares. “To see how far I’ve come is so emotional. I’ve had many dreams and aspirations, and I’ve honestly done almost everything I’ve wanted to do. I have so many more dreams as this Sara, but this was all I ever wanted back then. I am so grateful I kept going and didn’t give up.”
