Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Paiva.
Colleen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
At 14 years old, I started my journey to a career that I couldn’t possibly be more passionate about. I went to Minuteman High School, which is a trade school and studied Cosmetology. I worked as a salon assistant while in high school and quickly earned the nickname: “bulldozer” because of how quickly, I could sweep through the salon, making sure everything was perfect for the stylists and clients. Junior and Senior year, my friends had me style their hair and makeup for dances and prom, I also started doing girls’ birthday parties – painting nails, braiding hair, etc.
From this, my love of special events styling was born! As soon as I graduated from Minuteman, I got my Cosmetology license and started working on the salon floor, building my clientele in a local salon. 16 years later, from Lexington to Arlington, the South End, Newbury Street, Southie and now Dorchester. I’ve taken every styling and makeup artistry class I could get to and learned from every stylist I have worked with. I’ve traveled all over New England, to style hair and airbrush makeup for bridal parties. I started my bridal hair and makeup company, Boston Ever After. In 2016, with a team of my most trusted stylist and makeup artist friends. We’ve all been working weddings together for years and Boston Ever After has allowed us to grow even bigger each year. When I’m not on site at a wedding, you can find me at Lola Beauty Boutique, styling my salon clients.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
If there’s no struggle, there’s no growth. From the very start of my cosmetology education, I had to ignore comments like “you’ll go nowhere as a hair dresser”. I was placed on the salon floor way before I was ready and had to take on challenges and figure things out along the way, and sometimes, things didn’t go as planned. Every day was a learning experience. At that time, the only resource was the big outdated product manual in the salon or the 1-800 hair hotline; there was no Facebook forum or Instagram tutorial. Google Ads and wedding vendor websites also weren’t very common yet, so building a wedding business sometimes seemed impossible, except for by referral from a past client. I’ve worked for some salon owners who said and did very degrading things to their staff and I’ve worked with stylists who stirred up drama and unhealthy competition. I’ve lost track of how many times I felt burnt out in the early years, but somewhere along my journey, I finally realized no one was going to look out for me, but me! I’m the only one who can control how successful I become, how much my business and clientele grow, how much education I have access to. Not every salon was a good fit for me and not every stylist or makeup artist is a good fit for my team, my work life is 100% drama free and I embrace community over competition.
For young stylists and makeup artists, early in their career, my advice to you is to never stop learning and to network everywhere. Find a mentor who is a positive role model, who will help you learn just as much about personal growth and they will about hair and makeup. Work-Life-Balance is key. Especially as a mother of very young children, this has been my biggest struggle. You have to make time to continue learning, whether its a webinar after the kids go to bed, or traveling to a show in NYC. I’ve gained clients and industry connections just from chatting in line at the local coffee shop. This may sound simple, but take advantage of free advertising, like having a hair/makeup only instagram account and using specific hashtags for clients to find you. Stay relevant. And take care of your relationships, whether it’s your first or fiftieth time working with someone.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Boston Ever After story. Tell us more about the business.
In the salon, I love coloring hair, but I’m most known for natural looks. Blonde babylights that look as perfectly blended as a child’s hair. Natural redheads that need a little boost and color transformations that still look natural and suitable for the client’s skin tones and eye colors.
In the Bridal world, I am most known for my long-wear natural glam airbrush makeup artistry and soft, romantic, textured hair styling. The best compliment is a family member of the bride telling me “she still looks like my little girl,” because I want my clients to feel and look like a glammed up version of themselves on their wedding day. Despite my recommendation of removing makeup before bed, my favorite email that I keep hearing from bridal parties is: “I wore my hair and makeup to brunch the next morning – it was flawless even after sleeping on it!” I love getting late night wedding reception snapchats from clients with their hair and makeup still perfectly in tact.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I don’t think there are many gender-based challenges in this industry, at least here in Boston. I’ve never lost out on something just because I am a woman. 99% of my network and clientele are women and many are business owners, too, which makes it easy to relate and build relationships with my clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.colleenpaiva.com
- Email: colleenpaiva@gmail.com
- Instagram: @cpbostonhair
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BostonEverAfter
Image Credit:
Rebecca Knowlton Photography, Harris Company Photography, Kristen Phelps Photography
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