Between working full-time, running a freelance makeup business on the side and juggling gaming (which includes regular streaming sessions), it’s safe to say that Ally Pacor leads a busy but fulfilled life. The 26-year-old, who is a Logitech and Blue Microphones ambassador, also won the ‘Clash of the Creator’ competition earlier this year, beating out 330 other entrants.
Alongside the title of prize winner, Pacor took home a $15,000 prize pack as well as the coveted ambassadorship following the ‘Clash of the Creator’, which helps Pacor get one step closer to her goal of becoming a full-time content creator. A huge feat for a part-time gamer!
Despite her diverse interests, Pacor, known as AlwaysAlly in the gaming world, has managed to create a schedule that balances all of her hobbies, with makeup and gaming coming together in one activity. While Pacor streams twice a week on Twitch, one of these streaming sessions involves body painting.
A quick scroll through Pacor’s Instagram feed shows her body painting efforts — all of which are extremely detailed. From goldfish to Princess Anna from Frozen, Pacor’s artistic talents are incredibly impressive.
“I draw inspiration from just everyday things around me,” Pacor told POPSUGAR Australia of her body painting. “It might be a TV show that’s big at the moment or just things like that. I’m mainly looking for inspiration out of things, that’s how I view life.”
Streaming is a huge part of Pacor’s life and the community she has created through gaming is what keeps her going. “I am so grateful every day to have the community that I do. They’re so supportive and they literally just jump on board anything like I can play whatever game and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re here for it.'”
We recently chatted to the Adelaide-based makeup artist and streamer Ally Pacor to chat about all things gaming, including where the love was first sparked, the wonderful highlights she’s experienced through streaming and her advice for those interested in joining the gaming world.
POPSUGAR Australia: Hi Ally! You live a super busy life and have a lot of interests, which includes both makeup and gaming. Can you please tell us a little bit about these?
Ally Pacor: From Monday to Friday, I work full-time at a bank, which is only recent as I previously worked in retail makeup but I just wanted something that was Monday to Friday rather than weekend work because I can only do so much [laughs].
I’ve been working here for about six months now and it’s amazing — the hours are incredible. I finish every day at around 4:15pm and then I can work on doing streaming stuff or makeup stuff at the end of the day.
I currently stream two nights a week so that’s why the bank definitely does work because I can finish at a reasonable time and still have some time for myself. I also have my own freelance makeup business where I do a little bit of freelancing beauty like weddings as well as corporate makeup work for TV ads and government websites or corporate training videos. It’s amazing. I love it so much.
PS: When did you start to develop an interest in gaming and how did that come about?
AP: I’ve gamed my entire life. My dad used to game a lot when we were kids. Every Christmas holidays, he’d buy a new game, and then my brother and I would sit down and watch him play. It was the best, I used to love it. I was too scared to game myself because I thought I wouldn’t be good enough so I’d always make him play. But it was from when I was a kid — I had a Nintendo 64 and then an Xbox and a PlayStation, and then eventually moved on to the PC.
PS: Was there one game that sparked this love as a kid?
AP: I would say in terms of consoles, definitely. Either Diddy Kong Racing on Nintendo 64 or Spyro: A New Beginning on the Xbox. That game was amazing.
PS: What role has gaming played in your life over the last year?
AP: It’s played a big role as when I was working in retail makeup, and we had lockdown last year in Adelaide for about four weeks in April, we were effectively let go from our jobs and so I ended up pretty much streaming full-time. That’s when I got into body painting because I was playing the same game every single day and I loved it, but I needed something to break it up a bit.
It was always something I’d wanted to do but hadn’t really thought much into it or hadn’t had the time to put the effort in and I actually finally did and then it just kicked off and I absolutely love body painting on the stream, it’s so much fun.
PS: We saw a number of your body painting images on Instagram and they are so lovely and detailed. Where do you find inspiration for these paintings?
AP: From everyday things really. When it’s October, I tend to try and do Halloween horror-themed ones and on Christmas, the same sort of thing. I’m an artist — a painter and a drawer — and I draw inspiration from just everyday things around me. It might be a TV show that’s big at the moment or just things like that. I’m mainly looking for inspiration out of things, that’s how I view life.
PS: How long does it take you to complete one of these body painting sessions?
AP: Depending on the amount of detail involved, it can be anywhere from three to six or seven hours. The longest one I’ve done was seven hours but it was a really detailed job and that was for a game that I was currently playing at the time. The developers loved it, they thought it was so cool.
PS: What are some of the highlights you’ve experienced as a result of gaming?
AP: Oh my god, there are so many! My biggest highlight is literally just having the best community around me. I am so grateful every day to have the community that I do. They’re so supportive and they literally just jump on board anything like I can play whatever game they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re here for it.’
There is another thing, which is also one of the biggest highlights of my life. My friend, who’s another streamer from Adelaide, and I did a bunch of charity streams together for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and we actually raised the most amount of money out of everyone that was campaigning, and we got to go on a trip to the top of Queensland in a town called Bowen and do sea turtle research up there.
It was just the most phenomenal time of my life. Unfortunately, back home, my pop was really really unwell and probably not going to make it and it was really big for me because I wasn’t sure whether to go because I obviously didn’t want to be away if he passed and I did end up going and I actually got to name one of the turtles after him.
He passed away the day I got back and it was just really nice to be able to do that for him as well. My entire streaming career led up to that one moment and that was the best moment of my life, it was just awesome.
PS: What advice would you have for girls and women wanting to get involved with gaming?
AP: First of all, don’t put anything off. Just do it if you want to do it. Set yourself up enough that you can stream and have it be decent quality. I started streaming off of a laptop but it was something that I wanted to do and I just made it happen, so if you have the ability to do it, I think just do it.
Find the game that you like playing and the rest will slowly come to you because if you’re having fun then the people in your community and the people in chat and around you are also going to be having fun.
It also helps to find your niche — that’s what I did with body painting. I’ve always been a variety streamer and that’s fine, I could never stick to one game because I love too many but if you can find your niche in the market then I think that’s where a lot of opportunities lie.
That’s why I love doing these chats because I think it’s so important that women are in gaming. I think we bring a lot to the gaming world and I think we bring a lot to streaming as well. It can be hard — I know what it’s like being a girl on Twitch and you’ve got to have a thick skin sometimes —but it’s so worth it.
Find the game that works for you or the thing that you enjoy, whatever that might be — if you want to make music, if you want to do drawing — you’ve got the opportunity there on Twitch. Do what you want to do!
PS: Despite so many women being in gaming, a lot of gaming content is marketed towards men. Have you faced any hurdles as a woman in the gaming world?
AP: I haven’t actually faced many hurdles, I think that’s probably because while I live and breathe gaming, I also have so many other things to focus on as well. I don’t create hurdles for myself like if this is what I want to do, I’m going to do it and I’m not really someone that lets people get in the way of things.
I’ve always had such a positive streaming experience. I’ve always had beautiful people around me and a lot of support from other streamers as well so I’m very lucky that way but I stay in my own lane. I don’t really tend to worry too much about what other people are doing. I support other people but I don’t really insert myself into problems.
