Before
Armee Jacob is living proof that even women in the beauty industry are guilty of letting their attention to beauty details fall by the wayside. A 28-year-old makeup artist in the Los Angeles area, she’s a mother of six-year-old twins who’s so pressed for time, she doesn’t even own a blow dryer. “I work constantly,” Jacob relates with a slightly sad smile, “and never take care of myself because I’m so busy taking care of other people.” She explains that since she’s always so on the go, she hasn’t cut or colored her waist-length hair in a year and, she adds sheepishly, “As you can see, I need a lot of work.”
We brought Jacob to the überchic TONI&GUY Hairdressing Academy in Santa Monica, California, for some much-needed TLC from the expert hands of director Haley Malouf, colorist Cinde Jeheber and makeup artist Lauren Fernald. Although Jacob was down for anything, she likes to wear her hair both straight and curly, so the TONI&GUY team members had quite the task ahead of them. “We wanted to create a dramatically different ’do for Armee,” Malouf relates, “but we strove to make sure that her new style was wearable, and one that she could easily translate into many different looks.” After lopping off six-plus inches, Malouf created a multilayered cut that, “really flows, allowing Armee some length while still creating a dramatic transformation!”
After
To complement the versatile style, Jeheber applied various mahogany tones coupled with copper auburn layers, placing the colors diagonally rather than straight in order to create several unique shades that lay on top of each other. And although the color will shine through when Jacob lets her hair dry naturally, “all of these different colors really work to showcase her curls!” enthuses Jeheber.
Last, but certainly not least: makeup. “Even though I’m a makeup artist, I was excited to have Lauren change up my normal routine and to get different ideas from her,” says Jacob. After testing various shades of foundation on her hand (and at last finding the perfect match), Fernald set to work on Jacob’s eyes, then cheeks. “Armee typically wears highly reflective shadows, so I painted her lids with matte tones,” informs Fernald. “And I used bronzer to accentuate her cheekbones without using blush—it produces a very natural look on Armee.”
So what was Jacob’s favorite part about her beauty transformation? “I liked picking up tips from other beauty professionals—but even more that,” beams Jacob with the widest grin we’ve ever seen, “I loved being treated to the entire pampering experience and not spending time behind the chair for once!”
