AAt first glance, beauty is a shallow industry, Alley Gage admitted, her reflection in a nearby mirror as she discussed her decade-long career in cosmetics. The truth that she learned about the industry, well, it is a reality that she is not willing to ignore.
“I’ve always loved the concept that a little jar of something, or a tube of lipstick that you swipe, can change how you feel,” Gage said, detailing her own deeply personal experience with beauty.
“It gives you armor… a mask of confidence. You can fake it until you do it with makeup.”
However, faking has another meaning for industry predators – people and companies that want to capitalize on customers with low self-esteem, lack of knowledge, or those chasing the fountain of youth, he added, revealing his mission to unmask them. through entrepreneurship.
“The beauty and cosmetics industry can get really frustrating. You can spend a good amount of money trying to find [products that are] winners and you end up with a lot of half-used stuff, no one likes that,” Gage said, noting that an alarming number of professionals in the beauty industry don’t care to offer advice or guidance to those experiencing cosmetic issues that leave his confidence shaken.
“In the beauty community, sometimes there’s a malicious spirit and intimidation and a little bit of anxiety,” she continued. “People don’t necessarily know what they need or know who to ask. They want help and don’t know who to turn to.”
Earlier this year, Gage used the experience gained working in Los Angeles to return home to Kansas City, where he established a space in Midtown, offering Kansans advice free from judgment and cosmetic deception. He opened Alley Gage Beauty, a work of glamour, glitz and retribution, as a studio space within an existing operation at 3100 Gillham Plaza.
“I want to be everyone’s best beauty friend,” she joked. “I want to help people. I want people to feel great.”
Gage’s goals are accomplished through services that include skin care and facials, make-up artistry, and private lessons in which she advises clients on the do’s and don’ts of skin care and provides personalized makeup and style advice. The business is also one of two beauty places in the Kansas City area that stocks skin care products created by dermatologists by Dr. Dennis Gross, a big win for Gage on the business front, he noted, adding that the New York City-based beauty brand saw great potential in the Kansas City market and what its business could accomplish within it.
Click here for more information about Gage services or here to connect with her on Instagram.
“For me, the adventure of entrepreneurship is figuring out how to leverage the Midwestern person [and understand,] ‘Do you see the value in committing or investing in your own beauty routine or skill set and learning these things that make you feel empowered?’” Gage explained.
“I wanted to go back to my roots and bring that knowledge and perspective to a place that I really love. But the makeup is not as up-to-date here as it is in some of the other major cities,” he joked, noting that he took the time to really understand the needs of the market and figure out the best way to plant his flag in the City of Fountains.
“On the coast, people are really willing to spend some money on a facial or makeup artist. But here it is a little different. I think we’re a little more conservative on that. And so figuring out how to make it marketable and something that people understand and see investing in [takes time].”
By adding an educational focus to her work, Gage believes she can better reach Kansas citizens with her message, and in turn innovate the beauty space as a whole, making it more valuable and removing old stigmas and stereotypes that hold it back. surround.
“When I started my career, I just wanted to be a makeup artist. I never realized that I was good at teaching and training people and imparting knowledge,” she laughed. “I love giving away my wisdom and I have over 10 years of experience doing that for people.”
A key part of doing so, she added, is making sure people know and love your authentic (and beautiful) self.
“It doesn’t have to mean looking like me — I’m glamorous all the time — but then it can look different for everyone,” Gage said, referencing the photos of Dolly Parton hanging in her space and the icon’s approach to fashion. Country music. to beauty and self-love.
“I’ve loved her my whole life because she breaks the mold of being super glamorous and beautiful…but also kind and sweet and generous. She is the ultimate example of loving people,” she said, recalling her own upbringing on the subway and her teenage flair for offbeat beauty choices.
Click here to read more about Gage’s love for Parton and thoughts on her role in reshaping the workplace for women.
“I don’t think people always understood that I had a purple smoky eye when I was in high school,” Gage laughed, noting that other sources of inspiration include artists Trixie Mattel and Kesha, as well as the unconditional acceptance he’s experienced. by the LGBTQIA+ community. .
“I don’t care who you are. I just want you to come here and feel that I am your friend and that I am here to do what is best for you. I’m here to make you feel comfortable and I’m here to send you out into the world feeling like you’re dynamite. … I’m excited to offer that to this area,” she said.
This story is possible thanks to the support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundationa private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and succeed.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Source: www.startlandnews.com