Meet Grace Cottell | Hairstylist & Makeup Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Grace Cottell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grace, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always really admired the idea of being my own boss in pretty much every aspect of my life. I’ve always known I wanted to work doing something in the beauty industry. My 1st job out of high school I worked security for music venues and by my 2nd job I was already in a salon. The fact that I get to work for myself, while also being creative & making people feel beautiful is the best part of being a hair/makeup artist!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think the most exciting thing about working as a hairstylist/makeup artist is that It doesn’t ever feel like it’s a job. I get to make people feel good and look good while doing something I love simultaneously which I think is the best thing ever. My journey to get to the point I am at now was definitely the most challenging part. I went through almost an entire extra year of cosmetology school, got my supplies stolen (twice), failed my state board test a few times, all while being homeless. I think the one thing that kept me from straying the path was that I knew I didn’t want anything else as my career and it kept me super determined. It almost felt like everything that could’ve gone wrong at that time was going wrong, so a big lesson I learned was to just never throw in the towel and give up. It’s always worth it to push through.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Basically anywhere in the Claremont Village, Downtown La Verne also has lots of cool little bars and restaurants. I am definitely more of a homebody when it comes to stuff like that but there are a few spots for food I would recommend: Oni Sushi – Claremont, CA. My favorite sushi spot.
Cafe X2O – Claremont, CA. Mediterranean food.
Spooners – La Verne, CA. Korean food.
Crème – Claremont, CA. French style bakery

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have a very long list of people I’d like to thank for helping me get to where I’m at in my career but to sum it up, my family and friends have always been my biggest group of supporters when it comes to anything I set my mind to. I also always like to make sure I show extra love to my good friend/fellow hairstylist Izabell Barreras (@princessscissorhands on Instagram.) She was actually the one to help me get my feet in the water when I got out of cosmetology school, and find the salon I work at to this day. Through that Ive been blessed to meet and work alongside so many talented people in the past 5 years.

Instagram: @gracecottell

Image Credits
@_leialoha on Instagram