Student Profile | Valerie Christofel – Beauty Industry Essentials

Who: Valerie Christofel

What Course: Beauty Industry Essentials

How did you find us: I’d been working in the beauty industry for about 27 years and I took some time off to take care of my family. I found Beauty Industry Essentials while scrolling through Facebook. I came across a YB x F.I.T. ad and I was like OMG this looks very interesting to me! It’s very inspiring and it just keeps me going! 

Why: I wanted to get back into the Beauty Game. I wanted to see what was out there. This course is a great way to jump back in. So much has changed over the past 5-10 years. The terminology has changed, everything has changed and taking this course is a great way to relearn everything. I am  excited to learn from Bobbi Brown (course contributor). I am really inspired right now and I can’t wait to complete the program and get my certificate. 

Experience: Hair and makeup artist for films, TV shows, runway and printwork. 

Course Thoughts: 

For more information on how you can apply for the Beauty Industry Essentials program, visit yellowbrick.co/beauty.

Student Profile | Ronnie Parris – Beauty Industry Essentials

Who: Ronnie Parris

What Course: Beauty Industry Essentials

How did you find us: I’d been working in retail for about 6 years and I wanted to get into the makeup industry. I needed some kind of knowledge about the industry. 

Why: I wanted to get into makeup because being darker, it’s kind of difficult for me to find a lot of shades. Makeup to me is not just about how I express myself. And that’s my career! Thanks to Beauty Industry Essentials thanks to F.I.T., Allure and Yellowbrick. 

Experience: Retail 

Course Thoughts: 

For more information on how you can apply for the Beauty Industry Essentials program, visit yellowbrick.co/beauty.

Yellowbrick Highlights Student Entrepreneurs for Black Business Month

Whether it’s designers or entrepreneurs, the Yellowbrick student community is a great place to find budding talent. A lot of our students are already in the game but are taking our courses to level up their skill. They are looking to learn from the teachers and experts featured in Yellowbrick programs to elevate their existing brands and sharpen their skillset. Since August is Black Business Month, we created a place to highlight some of the black-owned businesses that were founded by students in our courses. 

The landing page for these brands can be found here and when you click on the select squares, you can visit the pages and shop. These businesses offer everything from t-shirts to hoodies to coffee to skin care products. This landing page was created  to amplify these black-owned businesses and services to our Yellowbrick community. Please take the time to visit the page and take a look at what some of these brands have to offer. We will be adding to this list as the year progresses so be sure to check back in from time to time. 

Yellowbrick Highlights Student Entrepreneurs for Hispanic Heritage Month

The Yellowbrick student community is a great place to find budding talent. Our diverse community is a solid blend of students looking to find their place in a career that they love and others who are looking to grow their skillset. Yellowbrick programs are designed to give students the foundation they need to start building towards a career they are passionate about.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting the websites and businesses of our Latinx student community. We’ve created a space to highlight some of the businesses that were founded by students in our courses. The landing page for these brands can be found here and when you click on the select squares, you can visit the pages and engage in their services. These businesses offer everything from t-shirts to hoodies to recording studios to makeup. This landing page was created to amplify the Hispanic/Lainx businesses and services in our Yellowbrick community.
Please take the time to visit the page and take a look at what some of these brands have to offer. There is also a main student businesses page and we will be adding to that list as the year progresses. Be sure to check back in from time to time.

Yellowbrick Highlights Student Entrepreneurs for National LGBT Month

The Yellowbrick student community is a great place to find budding talent. Our diverse community is a solid blend of students looking to find their place in a career that they love and others who are looking to grow their skillset. Yellowbrick programs are designed to give students the foundation they need to start building towards a career they are passionate about.

In honor of LGBT History Month, we are highlighting the websites and businesses of our LGBTQ student community. We’ve created a space to highlight some of the businesses that were founded by students in our courses. The landing page for these brands can be found here and when you click on the select squares, you can visit the pages and engage in their services. These businesses offer everything from t-shirts to hoodies to recording studios to makeup. This landing page was created to amplify the businesses and services in our Yellowbrick community.

Please take the time to visit the page and take a look at what some of these brands have to offer. There is also a main student businesses page and we will be adding to that list as the year progresses. Be sure to check back in from time to time.

Kenecia Lashae Discusses Why She Chose Beauty Industry Essentials | #SoICould

(press play above to hear Kenecia’s course testimonial)

Name: Kenecia Lashae Course: Beauty Industry Essentials

Instagram: @passport2pretty

I enrolled in Beauty Industry Essentials so I could…

I enrolled in this program so I could gain a better understanding of the fashion industry and the day-to-day process of getting an idea turned into a product.

Where are you working now?
I am working on creating a conscious body care line.

Has your experience in Beauty Industry Essentials impacted your career at all yet, and if so, how?
Beauty Industry Essentials has not yet affected my career but I’m sure in time it will have a positive effect.

Why did you think the course was right for you when you enrolled?
I thought the course was right for me because I took two years off from the industry and wanted to polish up with the course.

How did the course prepare you for working in the beauty industry?
The course was a refresher for me in many ways. I think it will show potential clients my dedication to continued education.

How did the partnership with Allure for Beauty Industry Essentials affect your choice to take the program?
The partnership with Allure was a major appeal to me because they are a staple in all things beauty.

What assignment, course, and/or instructor sticks out in your mind or taught you something valuable?
The course that stuck out to me the most was beauty writing is hard, because it is. I like the instructors’ analogy of writing 500 words on mascara versus a crisis overseas.

What is your biggest takeaway from this program?
That I was actually very interested in the branding side of the course and could see myself exploring an additional service.

What would you say to a friend about Beauty Industry Essentials?
I would tell a friend that Beauty Industry Essentials is a great refresher course that can help you explore different avenues of the beauty industry.

Take a Look Inside New York City’s Makeup Museum | VIDEO

Play Video

The Makeup industry has been around for quite some time. From the early days of makeup campaigns to the trends that have come and gone, there have been a lot of styles, looks, and products that have made the industry what it is today. Red Lips, smoky eyes, and smooth skin have always been beauty basic. The styles and concepts behind makeup have evolved over the years to make the industry what it is today. The Makeup Museum in New York City was created to allow visitors to immerse themselves in a historical beauty experience. It was designed as an immersive experience but had to pause and reset due to the ordered Covid restrictions that hit New York City last year.

The Makeup Museum was set to open with interactive exhibits that focused on touch and creating products. The pandemic changed all that. In May 2020 it still opened with its premiere exhibit, “Pink Jungle: 1950s Makeup in America”. The exhibit showcased a variety of historical makeup items that belonged to icons like Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo. Beauty Industry Essentials graduate Kenecia Lashae was tapped to help curate the museum, with a focus on the Black Beauty wall. The Black Beauty Wall highlighted some of the makeup products, successes, and challenges that African American women faced during these times.

We paid a visit to the Makeup Museum recently and caught up with Kenecia. She was able to take us through the museum on a guided tour and show us what they had to offer on a visit. The video serves as an inside look at the “Pink Jungle” exhibit with helpful commentary from Kenecia. The makeup museum is temporarily closed due to Covid restrictions. For more information on the next Makeup Museum exhibit, please visit www.makeupmuseum.com and sign up for the newsletter and exxhibit alerts. 

Yellowbrick Highlights Student Entrepreneurs for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Month

The Yellowbrick student community is a great place to find new entrepreneurs and budding talent. Our diverse community is a solid blend of students looking to find their place in a career that they love and others who are looking to grow their skillset. Yellowbrick programs are designed to give students the foundation they need to start building towards a career or business opportunity they are passionate about.

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are highlighting and amplifying the websites and businesses of our AAPI student community. We’ve created a space to highlight some of the businesses that were founded by all of the students in our courses. These businesses offer everything from t-shirts to hoodies to recording studios to travel planning services. 

Please take the time to visit the page and take a look at what some of these brands have to offer. Click here ——> main student businesses to check out some of the brands. We will be adding to the page as the year progresses. Be sure to check back in from time to time.

7 Fluid Beauty Brands That Don’t Care About Gender

There was a time when beauty only existed as a space for those identified as cis, white, and female. As gen zers step into areas that older generations have occupied for too long, the beauty industry is finally beginning to look like its consumers. Here are our favorite inclusive and fluid beauty brands.

Alder New York

Alder, Beauty Brands
Alder New York Exfoliating Mud Face Mask Trio

Nina Zilka and David Krause founded Alder New York in 2016. Alder is a ​​queer and woman-owned independent skincare brand offering a full range of vegan products. The line covers every step of your skincare routine, regardless of gender or any other label. “Inclusivity is inherent to how David and I think about design. We are always trying to create the best possible, most effective product. That has nothing to do with someone’s gender identity, race, age, etcetera,” Zilka said in an interview last year. “So when we create a product, we’re focused on the effects of the product and how it will make someone feel.”

Shop: https://aldernewyork.com/

IG: @alder_new_york

Dragun Beauty

Dragan, Beauty Brands
Dragun Beauty DragunEgg TRANSformation Kit

When YouTube star Nikita Dragun set out to create her own fluid beauty brand, she understood the unique power makeup could have on someone’s life and confidence. In a sit down with Them, she discussed the importance of launching one of the first trans-owned beauty brands. “It was more of a transformation thing. I was using makeup to feminize my features and alter my face to present myself in the way I wanted. It wasn’t about, ‘Oh, I need to eyeshadow here and eyeshadow there.’ It was survival.” Dragun’s initial 2019 launch featured two products — the Dragun Fire Skin-Perfecting Potion and the TRANSformation Powder — and sold out in a day. Since then, the brand has expanded to over 20 products that are all certified vegan and gluten-free.

Shop: https://dragunbeauty.com/

IG: @dragunbeauty

Non Gender Specific

NGS, Beauty Brands
Non Gender Specific Everything Cream

Called “the beauty brand for all humans,” Non Gender Specific’s sole intent is to live up to its motto. “After nearly a decade in beauty, I couldn’t understand how a progressive industry that relies so heavily on innovation could be so backwards in who the products were being marketed to,” founder Andrew Glass explained in an interview. Glass launched by Non Gender Specific in 2018. The vegan and cruelty-free fluid beauty brand offers a wide range of skincare products designed for multifunctional use. Its most popular product, Everything Serum, addresses all types of skin concerns, from wrinkles to hyperpigmentation.

Shop: https://www.nongenderspecific.com/

IG: @nongenderspecificofficial

NOTO Botanics

Noto, Beauty Brands
Noto Agender Oil Anywhere Hair + Body

Gloria Noto’s mission in starting NOTO Botanics wasn’t just to create a skincare brand that reflected her approach to self-care but to offer more visibility to the underrepresented. NOTO’s website boasts the founder’s intent clearly, “launching NOTO quite literally in my kitchen, I became excited to use all of the skills I learned over the years to create a line that celebrated the identities I felt I wasn’t seeing in the clean beauty industry.” These values are essential to the brand’s aesthetic and marketing. In addition, their Agender Oil is the brand’s giveback product, benefiting charities like Planned Parenthood, LGBT Youth Center, and The Okra Project.

Shop: https://notobotanics.com/

IG: @noto_botanics

Trixie Cosmetics

Blush Palette
Summer of Love Blush Palette by Trixie Cosmetics

Trixie Cosmetics was founded by RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars winner Trixie Mattel. The line is the culmination of her experience as a drag superstar and her time working behind the scenes as a makeup artist. Trixie Cosmetics may feature bright, nostalgic packaging that mirrors the fun-loving personality of the brand’s namesake, but Mattel’s purpose is simple in its inclusivity: “drag queens and people, they want the same thing: we all want products that work well, that are priced well and are fun to apply.” 

Shop: https://www.trixiecosmetics.com/

IG: @trixiecosmetics

Volition Beauty 

Volition Moisturizer
Yaupon Tea Glow-Awakening Moisturizer by Volition

Brandy Hoffman and Patricia Santos founded Volition in 2016. The queer-owned beauty brand has a unique approach to community engagement. Together they launched Volition by combining the concept of crowdsourcing and the power of social media. Consumers submit their ideas for beauty products through the brand’s website. Then, followers vote on which products they’d like to see developed and released. Finally, the winning products go on sale to shoppers. The immersive process is an indication of how Hoffman wants Volition to serve people on a broader scale, “we believe at our core that the only way to be an inclusive beauty brand is to start with their ideas and share in that. Our community, their needs, and their creativity are what drive our product development and ensures that an array of voices are represented.”

Shop: https://volitionbeauty.com/

IG: @volitionbeauty

We Are Fluide

We Are Fluide Lip Gloss
Universal Gloss Quad by We Are Fluide

We Are Fluide is a Brooklyn-based, queer-owned beauty brand offering a full lineup of gender-neutral products from lip gloss to nail polish. Fluide’s core tenant is to provide a fun and safe space for anyone wanting to explore. The brand’s commitment to inclusivity is evident throughout its marketing and its racially and ethnically diverse staff. As co-founder Laura Kraber put it, the mission of Fluide is “to create a beautiful and intimate online universe where everyone is comfortable being themselves—to evolve the mainstream conception of ‘beauty’ while creating a space for people to express themselves authentically.”

Shop: https://www.fluide.us/

IG: @fluidebeauty

If you want to explore the beauty industry and learn how to build your inclusive brand, check out Yellowbrick’s Ultimate Beauty Career Guide.

Your Ultimate Career Guide Into The Beauty Industry

Beauty is one of the most consistent industries in revenue and expansion. The market has shown a unique ability to rebound in periods of global economic crises, even expanding to new categories including oral and body care, genderless cosmetics, and wellness. During the Covid19 pandemic, it was one of few markets to experience substantial growth in value. Revenue increased by $28 billion between 2020 and 2021. The beauty industry employs over 670,000 people in the U.S., and the job market is projected to grow 19% by 2030. What are those jobs and how do you get started in the industry?

To help you determine and achieve your beauty career goals, we have created this comprehensive guide. Yellowbrick’s Ultimate Beauty Career Guide is your source to discover jobs and learn entry points into the beauty industry. In this guide, you can begin to explore the beauty jobs that drive the beauty market, then search for your perfect beauty career by area of interest, skills, companies, or industry experts. 

Beauty Career Guide

Learn about your skills and interests, and articulate them confidently to identify career options within the beauty industry that you might pursue. Then, implement a successful strategy to attain your desired career outcomes.

In this guide you’ll find the following information:

  • Overview of the beauty industry
  • Future of the beauty market
  • Beauty Career Library
  • Career Planning Strategy to get into the beauty industry

You’ll also find simple exercises that help you:

  • Form a career planning strategy to get into the beauty industry
  • Find your passion in beauty and identify an area of interest to pursue
  • Learn the beauty industry through top brands and its key players
  • Identify your skills and match them to a beauty area of interest

Download this guide to start planning your beauty industry career. Whether you’re a novice, a student, or a professional, you can further your professional path by downloading this guide that will help you begin understanding the beauty opportunities available, as well as the skills and qualifications you need to succeed. Be sure to also check out our Beauty Business Essentials Course for even more training and qualifications. Our course offers expert insights, practical training, and real-world experience to help you take your beauty career to the next level.