Meet Danielle Blaquera | Owner & Lead Artist of Pure Essence Beauty Collective

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

Hi Danielle, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have been in the beauty industry for about 12 years now – working red carpet, weddings and special events, I went on tour with a band for a year as their personal glam artist, I’ve worked on film and photography sets and in the salon.

However, earlier this year, I learned that roughly 2.5 million Weddings are projected to take place in 2022 – that’s the most weddings since 1984! Most of these are rescheduled events from the 2 years prior. As you can imagine, the demand for the Bridal hair and makeup industry is booming and as a result of the backed up events I found myself sometimes unable to accommodate the new Wedding Date for my Brides because someone else had already secured it. As if planning such an important event isn’t already stressful enough, imagine having to start all over again and find all new vendors! So instead of turning them away I built a team of strong Artists to step in if I personally wasn’t able to and thats how Pure Essence Beauty Collective was born! We offer Luxury on-location beauty services for local and destination Weddings and Special Events.

I quickly learned that the Artists on my team were wanting to have a better work/life balance, they were wanting to be able to focus on the artistry and not the Admin/backend work so they asked me manage all of their bookings for them and not just Weddings and Special Events that I assign them to – And so, Pure Essence Beauty Collective now fulfills a need from both ends (for both the customer and the artist) and most recently launched our Artist Management segment!

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.
It started when I made the decision to drop all my college courses in my first semester and enrolled myself into Beauty School – I really needed to prove myself to my parents with this move!

Shortly after I became licensed I left beautiful Southern California and moved to Nashville, TN. I didn’t have a job or a living space lined up – I made it by for a few months before my funds got really slim. I had only enough to pay for next months rent or to go home. I decided to stay, that same month I landed a gig going on tour with a band doing hair and makeup. Living on a tour bus wasn’t very glamorous but I got to travel and meet so many people – It was a very unique experience!

I’ve been back in SoCal for 6 years now and although the journey hasn’t always been easy, it feels very natural overall. I’ve gotten a lot of ‘no’s’ and failed many times but they key is not to get hung up on it. I know that what’s meant for me will always find me as long I look for opportunity instead of focusing on obstacles.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The Spectrum would be an easy one! It’s walking distance from where I live in Irvine and there are tons of restaurants, shopping and activities to choose from! I’m also not too far from Laguna Beach, there are lots of beautiful hiking trails and amazing restaurants – you can’t go wrong with those beach views!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I like to keep myself surrounded by people who will be a positive influence in my life so I truly feel like I get a lot of support from each area of my life.

My family has always been my biggest cheerleaders in all that I do. My mom keeps me grounded – she is the gentle voice of reason. She can be a little critical at times but I feel that’s her way of helping me see things realistically. She always shows up!

My Significant Other also plays a big part in everything. He’s a forward thinker, which is one of the many reasons I am so captivated by him, I draw a lot of inspiration from the way that he views things with a growth mindset and how he manages his own business. He always encourages me to challenge and push myself beyond my comfort zone.

And of course, my friends. I’m so lucky to have so many people that just want to see me win.

Website: www.PureEssenceBeautyCollective.com

Instagram: @PureEssenceBeautyCollective

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PureEssenceBeautyCollective

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pure-essence-beauty-collective-aliso-viejo

Image Credits
@VictoriaGoldPhotography