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

Hi Gabriela, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I pursued my career in the beauty industry because I love to be free, express my creative side through make up, hair and all things beauty. To me there are no limits when it comes to being an artistic creative. I love to be able to have the freedom of doing something different every day, whether that is running my business at my salon “Heavens Beauty Lounge” , being on set or getting a bride ready for her special day.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’ve been in the beauty industry for 20 years, I started as a cosmetologist working in different salons from Beverly Hills all the way to the valley. I was always very intrigued in the beauty field, there was just so much joy I experienced from helping women get their confidence with a little bit of make up and hair. I looked up to a lot of the salon owners that I worked for, wishing one day I would be able to do the same. I was very blessed to be able to also get into the entertainment industry doing make up very early on in my career, that opened a lot of doors for me working with different celebrities, music artist and models. My work has been seen in numerous music videos, magazines, campaigns, billboards, TV shows and even films. After many years of being in the industry, I became a mother nine years ago. That changed a lot of things for me. I wanted to be able to spend time with my daughter and not travel so much.
Now is the time to finally open up my own salon, like I had always dreamed of. It was very hard, halfway into it I thought what am I doing? Will this ever be successful? I decided to go full force with faith and no fear. I then created a space to give an opportunity to other creatives to practice their crafts. Heavens Beauty Lounge was created, I wanted to stand out and give the every day girl the celebrity treatment as I had been blessed to work with so many celebrities. Even through this pandemic we have been able to keep our doors open, there has definitely been a lot of hard times but we have rises above them all.

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?
A fun week in Los Angeles would consist going for a nice hike at Runyon canyon, then grabbing breakfast/brunch at Sloan’s Valley Village while sipping on yummy mimosas. Visiting Hollywood to walk and see the stars (walk of fame) grab dinner at catch LA.
Take a nice drive down to Santa Barbara and enjoy some fun wine tasting.
We would definitely have to hit Santa Monica & Venice beach.

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?
My daddy, he was my number one supporter. He was the one who pushed me and gave me that encouragement to never give up. Along with Jesus, who has given me the spirit of love, power & a sound mind with no fear!

Website: Muagaby.com

Instagram: @Muagaby

Image Credits
Shannon Laurine (photo in black & white print dress)

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.