A Quick Thank You

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A Look at Paris Fashion Week from Vogue

Make sure to watch the video in HD and fullscreen as loud as possible!

I am adding Paris Fashion Week to the top of my 5 year travel goals.

Travel, fashion, hair, beauty and art as work and life? YES!

I hope enjoyed the video as much as I did. Please share your favorites in the comments section.

How to Survive Beauty School – Passion and Inspiration

“Come on baby, light my fire…” – Jim Morrison, The Doors

The world of cosmetology and beauty offers you many diverse avenues to pursue. Every day is the opportunity work as an artist  - Cutting, Color, Makeup, Fashion, Print, Theater and more.

When preparing for school you must identify what excites you, what stirs your passion. What is it that keeps your fire burning inside? Who has the skills that you want to acquire? Who is working where you want to work, doing what you want to do, with the people you want to work with?

Here is my list to inspire you.

Hair Cutting

Architecture. Sculpture. Design. The masters of hair cutting - Vidal SassoonTim Hartley and Stacy Broughton. Look to the work of those who have laid the foundation, perfected the basics and then destroyed the boundaries of what was possible.

Hair Dressing

Session Work. Classic Design. Retro. A “Lost” Art. The Art of Dressing Hair - Patrick CameronCallam Warrington and Roy Hayward. These artists have worked on the largest stages in the world, perfecting their craft and educating stylists globally.

Hair Color

Painting. Evolving. Organic Canvas. Dynamic. Lupe VossTracey Hayes and John Simpson continue to push the world of hair coloring into the future while passing along the foundational techniques of our past. Start building your look-books now with pictures of hair color trends, techniques and palates.

Fashion

Color, Pattern, Texture, Movement. What is the status of the scene in your area? How about your State, Region, Country or Globally? Are you willing to settle for whatever finds its way to you (nothing will)? Or are you willing to create the scene that you desire?

Find the names of local artists and contact them. Ask if they need any volunteer assistance for shoots or shows. Reach out to the local art schools and community colleges that have fashion design programs. Littering the road to N.Y., L.A., London, Paris and Milan are those who thought success was fast and easy.

No one is going to hand you anything, you must become undeniably good at you craft. The world will not easily ignore you!

Film, Stage and Music

If Film is your goal, start the search close to home. Look for Film Programs at Local Community Colleges, Colleges and Universities. Is there a local DIY film scene in your area? Are films and TV being produced locally?  I have lived in Dallas and Albuquerque, both have active film and T.V. production scenes.

Theater and Opera provide many opportunities to work, both paid and unpaid, building your portfolio and expanding your network. - Professional. Amateur. Community College. High School. Junior High. Children’s Theater. Community Center. Church. The Rock Opera you always wanted to produce.

Local Celebrations are another source of makeup work.  - Mardi Gras. Parades. New Year’s Eve and Halloween.

Weddings are a goldmine of potential work. Find the Photographers, Event Planners and  Hair Stylists who are already doing weddings and contact them.

 

Entrepreneurship

Booth Rental, Salon Owner/Co-ownership, Freelance. Owning a space by yourself, for yourself. Creating a place for artists to work. Developing talented, young hairdressers, helping to launch their careers. Being completely free, your tools and suitcase ready to go at a moments notice, free-lance.

My inspiration is not limited to the five senses. Building a business, an income and a legacy fuel me daily. I want success to share with my family, I want to help nurture new hairdressers, cutters and colorists – get them ready to build their dreams.

Makeup

The original body art. Rudy Miles | James Ryder | Maria Alejandra Barrios | Bobbi Brown | Reggie WellsLaura Mercier | Stan Winston

Everything listed above can be applied to your makeup career. Also consider contacting cheerleading, dance and gymnastics teams – private, for profit and school based teams all compete and need makeup.

I know there are hundreds more fantastic artists doing makeup, my education and experience keep me from listing more names. Please leave me suggestions in the comments below of the names of your favorite make-up artists.

* Thank you to Jenniffer Montoya, one of my educators at The Aveda Institute Dallas, for helping me with names to add to the list.

Building a Plan

I want you to take this information, discard the uninteresting bits and form a plan. Contact someone this week though email or social media. Write your first draft of a salon business plan. Visit an Opera House, Theater and Studio. Reach out to an artist you admire and connect with them through Twitter, Facebook or Hairbrained. Today. Take an action today. You don’t need to do everything all at once. Start with what interests you and take one step each day. One foot after the other, progress is what matters.

I believe in you.

“You gotta be HUNGRY!” – Les Brown, Author and Motivational Speaker

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