It is rare to come across the kinds of people in life who have the ability to make another person feel like they are something; feel like they can make something of themselves. However, sometimes you meet someone who does have that ability; someone who genuinely wants to help others feel their best. Wardrobe Stylist and Image Consultant Kylie Mascara is one of those people.
We recently got the opportunity to sit down with Kylie and talk; and talk we did. What was only supposed to be an hour meeting turned into an almost three hour discussion. We chatted about Kylie’s journey, her professional business, and bridal style.
In her own words, Kylie summarizes a little bit about her background and what inspired her to be the leader of her own successful empire today. “I grew up witnessing beautiful transformations. I would watch as women walked into my Mother’s salon and spa, and walked out looking and feeling better about themselves. Inspired and desperately wanting to attend beauty school at the age of 18, my parents insisted that college and grad school be my next steps. I have always been fascinated by fashion and what that means to us as individuals. Modeling with Docherty Agency after college and working on sets of photo shoots really brought everything to the surface for me. After years of working in the corporate world, I began working for Anthropologie in 2012. I started my own personal styling business that same year. Today, I am transforming closets and wardrobes, guiding my clients to local boutiques, and clothing them in confidence. I encourage every one of my clients to look and feel their very best and see their true potential and self-worth – all without spending a fortune.”
Talking with Kylie you can immediately tell how passionate she is about what she does. Yes, because of her fascination in fashion but more so because of the results; empowering others to realize their worth. She believes there is nothing more fulfilling than building yourself by building others. We could not agree more with her. Even though our businesses are different, they are also very similar - we are both motivated by encouraging others to find happiness.
Kylie was a wealth of information during our meeting, the amount of insight and advice she had for two young, female entrepreneurs was unbelievable (we told her multiple times that she needs to write a book, yeah she is just that dang awesome). She explained that energy is the best thing you have, your energy determines every aspect of your life. Kylie went on to tell us that as an entrepreneur, especially as a young woman, the worst set back you can create for yourself is seeking affirmation where you will not get it. Toni and I will never forget that piece of advice. As Kylie put it, if you are hungry for something you will not stop until you are full, therefore the criticism and negative opinions are irrelevant. Basically, she is the ultimate #ladyboss.
Over the course of her lady boss reign, she has taken on a handful of brides-to-be seeking professional styling assistance. Kylie has an eye for body frame and what would be the most flattering style for her bride. However, bridal styling does not just include the actual wedding day, it extends beyond that. Her services have been used for rehearsal dinner wardrobes to honeymoon wardrobes - she does it all. The most important part of bridal styling, and styling in general, according to Kylie, is asking the client "how do you feel?". She will ask this while dress shopping with a bridal client and if they say they "like" the dress, it is back on the hanger before they can say "I do". Kylie wants her brides to feel fireworks. There is no time for so-so feelings when it comes to your wedding dress.
Kylie, Toni and I went on to talk about the current bridal trends of today. Kylie mentioned how she has noticed a shift in the bridal industry, a whole new level of romanticism is evolving; she calls it refreshing. We discussed how our generation is bringing it to the surface, there seems to be a yearn to recreate the classic and timeless elements from weddings in the past. Much inspiration has been drawn from those classic weddings that our grandparents grew up witnessing. Kylie expressed how this form of elegance, grace and poise is coming back with a vengeance and our generation is hungry for it.
We can not express how happy we were to meet Kylie and have the chance to hear all the intriguing information she had to offer - not only in terms of bridal style but also in terms of entreprenuership and self-motivation. Stay tuned to see the even bigger things to come from this driven, passionate and BOLD beauty. She is showing Pittsburgh one person at a time what it means to be beautiful from the inside-out.
To connect with Kylie, you can visit her website www.kyliemascara.com and learn more about her confidence-making services.
A special thank you to Kylie for participating in this blog!
xx,
L
Photography provided by Elizabeth Craig
Make-up provided by Hannah Conard Beauty