Mentor and role model Joey Brown
Shares the secrets of the beauty business
By Jon Fernquest |
This week Bangkok Post columnist Kanokporn Chanasongkhram interviews beauty expert Joey Brown, who shares a life-time of experience in the field of cosmetology.
A former art student and oil painter, Joey Brown started an art gallery with friends after graduating from college. After some real world work experience, she decided the best way to be an artist was to go to beauty school and become a cosmetologist. Gradually, she became a very practical artist whose art had a direct effect on the everyday lives of many people.
After several years of hard work, she rose to the top of her field and now travels around world sharing her art and knowledge teaching seminars. The beauty industry is a huge industry worldwide with a myriad of opportunities for careers and also business startups. Joey Brown is a good role model for young women planning a career in the beauty industry. Here is the article in full:
THIS IS LIFE
Helping hands
Globe-trotting beauty expert Joey Brown practises what she preachesKANOKPORN CHANASONGKRAM
Friday May 23, 2008
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Altogether she has three decades of experience in the beauty industry. But Brown, an amiable character fitting for her role as OPI's trainer and motivator, doesn't view beauty as just a youthful looking face, and asks women, as well as men, not to neglect their hands, which will easily give their age away.
To provide living proof, she sacrificed one hand as a control that consequently succumbed to the ravages of time with noticeable age spots while the skin of her other hand, consistently pampered with a rejuvenating serum, remains light and youthful looking.
With that testimony, the beauty guru believes in anti-ageing products to keep her looking as young for as long as she can.
Did you always want to work in the beauty industry?
I think it was something that I was born with. My mother was very interested in beauty, and I always remember seeing her doing her hair and make-up and putting on lovely perfume since I was young. She would always look her best every day till the day she passed away at the age of 87. My mother was amazing and I'm hoping to be just like her when I'm in my 80s.
So I started playing with make-up and hair from a very early age. When I was a teenager in high school, I thought that this is what I wanted to do eventually. And knowing that I had to work, I might as well do something that I really enjoyed.
What else did you enjoy doing as a kid?
I loved art - it gives you a chance to play around with your artistic ability. I was actually an art student and oil painting has been a part of my life. After finishing college, I opened an art gallery with some friends. Unfortunately, in 1974 with the expensive gas and its shortage, rather like what we're facing today, people were not spending so much on luxury lines.
At that point in time, I sort of changed track and went to beauty school - something that I'd always wanted to do and moreover, I could remain in art. In my opinion, it was a lateral move that still gave me the chance to be artistic, but instead of using a canvas you use somebody's face and head.
What changes in beauty have you seen over the years?
When I started being a hairstylist, women wore big bouffant hair with a lot of hairspray and of course, you can't touch your hair. Women therefore didn't wash their hair and would go to the salon once a week to get their hair done, and they would wrap their hair with toilet paper to protect it before going to bed.
Today, they go to salons for the hairstyling, to buy shampoo, gel and mousse so that they can do their hair at home. Women nowadays want to have hair and nails that match their lifestyles and they prefer something that looks natural.
What's rewarding about being a hairstylist and cosmetologist?
The fact that you can change a person's life - someone comes in and just by a simple act of giving a new hairstyle or a little bit of colour, you can change that person's whole outlook on life. It's a fun profession, about colours and change, and if you don't like it you can change it again.
In the beauty business, colour is extremely important. It can make you calm, happy or excited and if you feel sad a new lip colour or nail lacquer can change your life.
Now there are more women in the workplace than ever before. Sometimes women need to have change. They can't change their family. They can't change their job but they can make other changes in their life. By just going into a salon to get a new hairdo or simply buying a tube of lipstick - it can change the way they feel about themselves.
Women like to go out and buy a nice outfit. Sometimes they follow fashion, sometimes they don't. They just buy because they want to feel good.
It's the same thing with hair and nail care - it's all about making you feel good.
So you believe in beautification as a confidence builder?
Several years ago, there was a study involving women who stayed home for some time raising their children and they were sent out to find a job. Despite having degrees and being qualified, they had forgotten how to take care of themselves and couldn't find a position, basically because of the way they looked.
The study then sent them to salons for a makeover and these women again went out into the job-seeking world and were successful. Hence it's more about having confidence rather than qualifications. I'm in charge of OPI training all over the world and in our seminars we do the same thing: teach people to have pride and confidence in themselves and their profession.
How good are Thai nail technicians?
To be a successful nail technician, you have to have devotion and it takes practice. Besides training on skin, hands and feet, you will learn a whole realm of systems like acrylics, gels and wraps. And nail enhancement demands a lot of artistic skills. As Thailand is developing this particular part of the industry, your nail technicians have significantly elevated to a higher level since the first time I came here.
What I love about women in Asia, especially Thailand, is that you're not afraid to wear fun colours on nails. You're not so daring with hair but I see artistic quality in nails. It's perhaps because of your particular culture and Thais are very artistic people. Just like the colours and designs in your silk tapestry, I find the same thing in your nail art whereas in other countries, women are not exposed to so much colour.
What would you say to people who see no need for a manicure?
People may think it's frivolous and not necessary. We feel that it's extremely necessary because it's important for women and men to be well groomed, and hands and feet are a part of the total look.
First impressions count and we are attracted to what we see. When you meet someone, it's first about the outside and with a nice smile and seemingly well groomed, you would have a different feeling about a person. When you get to talk to someone then you will find out a bit more of the inside, which is of course more important.
While women say they can do their own nails at home, the busy lifestyle means they probably won't have the time to do it. But when you have your nails done at a salon, you spend a relaxing hour that will take you away from your busy life and you walk out with nails that look like a million dollars. Moreover, you need not do anything for two to three weeks. It simplifies your life.
As a cosmetologist, what's your anti-ageing approach?
It's extremely important to look as young for as long as you can, and the best way is to take good care of yourself. Taking a shower and shampooing is not good enough. If your skin is very dry it will make you look much older, it needs to be moisturised and nourished like giving the body a drink of water.
In my job, people will be looking at me and wondering whether I'm walking the walk. So I make sure that I practise what I preach by using good products for my hair and skin and before I go to bed, I moisturise my hands just as I do with my face.
Our hands show our true age. You can conceal the face but the hands, you really can't. These days, we can go to see a dermatologist and do a lot of things to our faces but unfortunately, there's not much out there when it comes to the hands. So keep your hands as young for as long as you can by moisturising them constantly.
Do you still enjoy all the travelling?
Seventeen years ago, OPI sent me to Australia for a two week seminar, which was my first work-related trip. I got wind beneath my sails and felt that it was so much fun and it has gotten into my blood. The more travelling, the more I enjoy it.
As a woman travelling alone, you encounter interesting situations along the way. When I get home, I feel I'm the luckiest person in the world to be doing what I do and meeting fantastic people in the industry.
While it seems very glamorous to be travelling around the world, my lifestyle is all stress and I don't have much time for my family because I'm on the road three weeks a month. But it's a very fulfilling job as after a seminar I have people coming up to me saying how I gave them some great ideas, how they learned so much: then you know that you've done your job well.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Real-time section, 23-05-08, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
beauty - provides an experience of pleasure to look at, depends on culture and historical trends, women like Cleopatra VII, Helen of Troy and Marilyn Monroe all defined beauty in their time (See Wikipedia)
cosmetology - the study and application of beauty treatment, branches include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, and electrology (See Wikipedia)
a cosmetologist - a person who practices the profession of cosmetologist
a beauty school - a school that teaches cosmetology
a mentor - an epxerienced person who helps someone less experienced in their job
a role model - someone considered to be a good example to copy and imitate
an oil painter - an artist who paints pictures using oil paints (See Wikipedia on oil painting)
an art gallery - a place that displays and sells artwork
real world work experience - holding a full-time job, and dealing with all the little problems, responsibilities, and ups and downs (not just school, theory, or ideas)
a field - a type of work done, or subject studied
seminars - a small meeting where people discuss a subject and learn
myriad - an extremely large number of things
on-the-road - traveling for your work
expertise - special skills or knowledge from experience or study
a manicure - the filing, polishing, and painting of fingernails, and the special care of hands by soaking or applying lotion, also may include the application of artificial nail tips, acrylics or artificial nail gels, and the painting of pictures or designs on the nails or applying small decals or imitation jewels, sanitation is important so that infection is not spread between clients (See Wikipedia)
nail enhancements - improvements to fingernails
a nail technician, a manicurist - a skilled person who gives manicures
a pedicure - a service that improves the appearance of the feet and toenails, similar to a manicure (See Wikipedia)
raise their standards - doing a better and higher quality job in your work
a spokesperson - a person who officially represents an organisation
a flair for Y - have the natural ability to do Y well
an artistic flair - have natural ability as an artist
amiable - friendly
character - a person's good and bad qualities
an amiable character - a friendly person
a trainer - a teacher who teaches how to do a job or activity
a motivator - a person whose job is to get people motivated, energetic, and excited about doing some activity
living proof - she herself is an example (of what she is talking about)
succumbed to the ravages of time - age, slowly become worn and old over time
age spots, liver spots, sun spots - brownish spots on skin exposed to the sun frequently such as the hands, face, shoulders, arms, and forehead, and the head if bald (See Wikipedia)
pampered - looked after very well and made to feel very comfortable
rejuvenating - to make someone look and feel younger with more energy
a serum - a liquid medicine
pampered with a rejuvenating serum - looked after very well with a treatment that made you feel younger
perfume - to give the human body, objects, living spaces, and pets a pleasant smell, a mixture of fragrant essential oils and other chemicals (See Wikipedia)
make-up - things such as lipstick, eye shadow, and powder that some people put on their face to make them look more beautiful, cosmetics (See Wikipedia on cosmetics)
play around with - experiment, try different things to see which works
luxury lines - luxury goods, expensive high quality things that people buy (for example, a Prada or Gucchi handbag)
changed track - start moving in a different direction (here she changed her "career track" from budding art gallery owner to beauty specialist)
lateral - on the side
a lateral move - moving sideways
lateral thinking - using your imagination to solve a problem in a different unusual way
a hairstylist, a hairdresser - a skilled person who cuts or styles hair in order to change or maintain a person's image (See Wikipedia)
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big bouffant hair - (See Wikipedia on Bouffant and Beehive hairstyles)
a lifestyle - the everyday living conditions, habits, and activities of a person
a busy lifestyle - a person who has a lot of things to do and very little time to do it (for example, a mother who also has a demanding job)
outlook on life - opinion and philosophy about life and how it should be lived
change the way they feel about themselves -
an outfit - a set of clothes that you wear together
beautification - making someone (or yourself) more beautiful
salons, beauty salons - places where women go to get their hair styled and receive other beauty treatments (See Wikipedia)
a makeover - changing your personal appearance usually through cosmetics, makeovers can range from something as simple as a new haircut to the extreme of cosmetic surgery, the meaning has been extended to remodeling rooms, lifestyle changes, and company reorganisations also (See glossary and Wikipedia)
pride - a feeling of satisfaction after doing something well (note: excessive pride is often condemned, See Wikipedia)
frivolous - lacking purpose and importance, silly
well groomed - tidy and clean in appearance
the total look - the overall impression or feeling that someone gets when they look at you
first impressions - the feeling that someone gets when they meet you for the first time
first impressions count - first impressions are important
look like a million dollars - be very beautiful
an anti-ageing approach - (See anti-ageing and Marios Kyriazis)
moisturise - make your skin less dry
nourish - to give the care and food necessary for healthy growth
practise what I preach - I say that other people should do it, so I do it myself
dermatologist - a skin doctor (See Wikipedia)
got wind beneath my sails - get energy and motivation to do her work
gotten into my blood - become a permanent part of me, and who I am
stress - being worried and nervous about something
a fulfilling job - a job that makes you happy and satisfied because you are using your abilities
