It's been a minute, loves! Sorry I haven't shared a post in a while, but I have been busy learning, growing, traveling and working to become the best stylist I can be for you!
The last month has been filled with so much love, inspiration and growth...I almost don't know where to begin telling you about it! So, I'll just break it down by event.
In February I had the opportunity to attend my first L'ANZA B.I.G Event in New Orleans. This is L'ANZA's annual hair show and education event, and I have to say, out of all of the hair shows I've attended this one was by far the BEST.
The 3 day event started off with the phenomenal hair show, The B.I.G Night. L'ANZA is always striving to help others BELIEVE in themselves, to INSPIRE others and to help others GROW, and this show was a beautiful artistic display of all those missions with an emphasis on UNITY. It was thought-provoking, innovative, inspiring and MOVING. I left the show feeling BLESSED to be a part of this tribe and full of inspiration and creativity.
The following day was filled with Look + Learn presentations from some of the most influential artists in the industry. We were taught everything from new coloring techniques & formulas, practical styling tips & tricks to cutting techniques. Now, this may seem pretty standard for a hair show, right? Well, let me tell you...these artists not only shared their knowledge but completely embodied L'ANZA's B.I.G mission. They were uplifting, relatable, supportive & inspiring on top of being incredibly talented. A lot of times in this industry artists who have made it to that level have an aura of being "better" than the every day stylist. That vibe was NEVER ONCE felt during this entire event. Quite the opposite actually, they were all approachable and wanted nothing more than to help each and every one of us grow and be the best versions of ourselves. A common theme of all of the presentations was becoming comfortable and confident behind the chair and making sure that ANYONE who sits in your chair feels welcome. On top of that, everyone I met at this event wanted nothing more than to build each other up, connect and be able to grow together. It was an AWESOME experience.
The final day consisted of hands-on learning. I attended the Longitude and Latitude class with the incredible Matt Swinney, Michael Dahl and Mark Dolan. This class was very intimate and each of us was able to get individual attention from these educators as we learned 3 practical hair cuts that consisted of the basic technique's needed to create any hair cut/style/shape we are asked for behind the chair. I took away so much knowledge from that class that has definitely impacted the quality of my cuts behind the chair.
I'm already excited to attend again next year!
Late last night, I returned home from the L'ANZA Get Connected Casting which was held in Denver. I am still feeling the high from all of the education, love and support I received at this training/interview to become a L'ANZA Healing Artist (educator). Myself and 5 others were carefully chosen out of many applicants throughout the country...I am still wrapping my head around the fact that I was even invited to be there...to begin the journey of becoming an educator with L'ANZA. This process began with us submitting a very in depth application and examples of our work, from there we had an interview to evaluate if our personality and goals were in line with L'ANZA's mission and to test our skills. From those interviews we were invited to the Get Connected Casting. This 2 day training was INTENSE. We not only dove into the ENTIRE L'ANZA Healing Hair Care line of products but were also challenged to learn to facilitate a class and get up in front of our peers and teach. I'm not going to lie, I was NERVOUS. Public speaking has never been a strong suit of mine, but I am very passionate about being able to help other stylists increase their confidence behind the chair...and to do that I had to face my fears! I'm so glad I did, because as I reflect on my experience I feel so blessed to have had the chance to connect with so many other incredible souls...who truly just want to lift others and our industry up. It was so liberating to face those fears and prove to myself that I CAN DO WHATEVER I SET MY MIND TO! In about 2 weeks, I should hear from the L'ANZA Education Team to see if I will be invited to come back for the next stage of this journey to become a L'ANZA HEALING ARTIST. Wish me luck loves!
Both of these events really focused around L'ANZA's LIVE B.I.G mission, and what's really cool about their mission is that it doesn't have to mean the same thing to everyone. Everyone is at a different stage on their journey, so BELIEVE, INSPIRE, GROW can mean so many different things to the people in our tribe. Here's what it means to me:
MY LIVE B.I.G MISSION:
BELIEVE: I strive daily to help others (my clients, other stylist, random people I have the opportunity to talk to) BELIEVE in themselves and increase their confidence in themselves. We all have so many special gifts that this world needs to see and sometimes all it takes is someone believing in you for you to let those gifts SHINE.
INSPIRE: In this life, I want to INSIRE others to LIVE their best life, whatever that looks like to them. On top of that I will constantly be looking for INSPIRATION and allowing myself to soak in that INSPIRATION from anywhere I can find it.
GROW: I believe that we should never stop growing. We should never stop learning. We should never stop striving to be better than we were yesterday. We have the power to not only elevate ourselves and our expectations of ourselves, but to elevate the industry and the world through our own personal growth and by helping inspire others to grow as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post, loves! I so appreciate you and I will never stop LIVING B.I.G so that I can be my best for you.