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| Lisa L. Brooks |
When a celebrity walks down the red carpet, you expect her to drop names—Fred Leighton, Valentino, Chanel—but when was the last time you heard a celeb give a shout-out to her hair and makeup team? Stylist Lisa Brooks, known in the beauty industry simply as “Lisa B.,” is looking to change all of that with her stylist-centric ideology. “My goal is to bring hairstylists to the forefront,” says Brooks. “Hairstylists are responsible for the total look. Without the proper hair and makeup, the girl won’t ‘make’ the dress—or anything else.”
Brooks’ new website, WearingLisaB.com, forms an online headquarters for the stylist sensation and covers Brooks’ philosophy on stylist branding. Brooks’ epigrams underscore
the importance of classic, well-kept style: “Your beauty should be timeless,” “Think of your hair and makeup as ‘quality pieces,’” and “One wouldn’t wash cashmere in Tide” (i.e., clients need professional products to maintain a fabulous cut and color). She also doles out advice in her online
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| Lisa B. aims to turn stylists into haute coiffure brand names. |
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| Who is this model wearing? Lisa B., of course! |
newsletters, such as this mantra for owners: “Remember the 4 Rs—recruit, relate, retain, reward.”
You’d think that Brooks would take a breather after cutting her teeth in nearly every sector of the industry. (Through more than 20 years of experience, she has been a salon owner, a stylist, and a platform, runway and editorial artist.) But rather than settling down, she has offered educational seminars and hands-on training sessions, and recently created Fashionista, a company that manages a team of artists who work for editorial and runway events. All this, and Brooks continues to work behind the chair. Her work has led her hands to the heads of some big names’ manes—think Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell and Renée Zellweger—and her styles have appeared in national magazines, including Jane and TV Guide.
In addition, Brooks plans to launch yet another online publication that includes her client-building strategies, and she’ll unveil an online store on the WearingLisaB. website. (To find out more about Brooks’ many endeavors, check out her other websites:
LisaBNews.com, LisaBOnline.com and
AFashionistaEvent.com.)
Meanwhile, this ambitious stylist looks forward to the day when celebrity hairstylists receive accolades like those already
showered on clothing, shoe and jewelry
designers—and, thanks in part to the branding of Lisa B., that day may be fast approaching. “As Laurie Schecter once said, ‘Shoes are the exclamation point at the end of
the fashion statement,’” she says. “That
being said, wouldn’t hair be the beginning?”.
— Tracy Morin
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