January Artist of the Month: Diane

Diane
Makeup Artist
@vanitybellediane

Nickname?
Growing up my family always called me Dandoonay. I honestly have no idea where it came from or what it means! I’ve asked plenty of times but no one has ever given me an answer, so mysterious. Fortunately none of my friends call me this.. They call me D, Di, or my favorite, Princess Di.

Best advice from a client?
It wasn’t exactly advice but a client guided me on how she liked her makeup done. She only wanted to enhance, not change. This is kind of my motto when doing someone’s makeup. I found what work’s best for everyone is enhancing what they already have.

When you aren’t working what are you doing?
I always try and get out of the house to do something (thank goodness for my Prius, I’m always driving!). But I definitely travel a lot. I love planning vacations even if it’s just a one night turn around trip. Growing up my family always took spontaneous trips, plus I have family all over the world so I was always going somewhere. I get antsy if I’m home for too long now! When I am home, I love binge watching shows or movies in my pajamas.

What was the last text you sent to your best friend?
Oh gosh. So my best friend who lives in Mississippi is actually staying with me for ten days right now with her 5 month old son, who is also my godson. Another one of my best friends was asking what we were up to so I told her how I put X Files on and he kept staring at the screen smiling at it! The last text I sent out was (referring to what his mom told me) “Diane, it’s all your fault for putting this on!”

What is your go to style? At work? Going out?
I like to keep my style timeless and clean. At work I always rock a more natural and comfortable look from my makeup to my clothes. When I go out I’ll spice things up by wearing leather or a dress with a bold lip. Oh and definitely fun boots! All the females in my family have a crazy shoe obsession. My boyfriend thinks we’re nuts!

Don’t stress. It’s hilarious because when it comes to something that didn’t go right for me, I immediately stress. Growing up if things weren’t done the way I liked, I stressed. I’ve learned to keep reminding myself everything will be fine and if there’s a problem, there’s a solution. So really there’s no reason to get so worked up over anything! My friend’s have actually referred to me as the human Xanax cause I’m so calm and positive when there’s a high stress situation happening.

Have you ever cut your own hair?
Me trying to cut this mane of hair? Absolutely not! There’s so much of it I wouldn’t know where to start.

What Disney princess are you? Why?
I’d have to say I relate to Jasmine the most. Not at work of course, but around my friends and family I can be on the sassy side. I feel like I’m free spirited, always looking for an adventure! I’ve always been such an independent female, I never accepted any help and learned new things because of my curiosity. Growing up I was even so picky with relationships.. I never gave anyone a chance until I saw a true potential of love. My first relationship is the one I’m currently in, hitting five years in March!

If you were boss for the day what would you do?
If I was boss for the day I’d take my girls for a well deserved night out! 

Why Vanity Belle?
Easy, we’re the best! From our bosses to coworkers, we’ve always been a family. Like family we’re always there for each other if it’s needed. I’ve never felt any judgement, only positive energy. Plus between loving everyone there and loving what I do, I can hardly call it work!

December Artist of the Month: Dannielle

#VanityBelleDannielle
Stylist and SD Boutique Manager

Read her Bio!

Nickname?
Danni, Mom, baby, Bean-elle, depends on the person talking to me.

Your hype song?
OMG!!!! Like every song that comes on is pretty much my JAM! I LOVE music and I LOVE my music loud!!

When you aren’t working what are you doing?
Crafting or making DIY's, going on adventures, taking the scenic route, motorcycle riding, eating fro-yo or CREAM, boxing, researching new ways to use my essential oils. I’m a busy body, so, I am constantly on the go. So, sitting and watching a movie or show will literally make me fall asleep. 

What was the last text you sent to your best friend?
The last one is probably not even note worthy it most likely went something like oh awesome, or on my way or something boring (we talk a lot)…the good kind go something more like “good morning to my favorite hooker” with some kissy faces or something along those lines haha. We get each other because we’re both the red headed step child  (and sister in laws too, I am married to her step brother)

What is your life motto?
Trust God, be brave, push through your fears, and live your greatest potential. Never stop growing and learning are what come to mind when I think about life, about my life.

Are you an innie or an outie?
In-betweenie haha 

Have you ever broken a mirror? How?
Not that I can remember, thankfully! Knock on wood.. Well, actually I broke the handle to my mirror. Does that count?

Have you ever cut your own hair?
Oh yes…many times! The first time I remember doing it I was probably about 10 and didn’t really understand how curly, wet hair works and whacked my bangs real nice and short. I was a little in shock once they dried and thought that’s not what i meant to do.

What Disney princess are you? Why?
I have always felt a strong connection to Cinderella, but honestly I was never a Disney person as a kid. I didn’t really start loving anything cartoon or animated until i was an adult.

Why Vanity Belle?
I love my bosses and how personable and open they are…even when i TRIED (key word…tried) to quit once I had told them everything that had been going on in my personal life and feeling i couldn’t quite find balance and trying to find it i tried quitting Vanity Belle. Obviously, I didn’t quit, Victoria wouldn’t let me haha (Thankfully! I LOVE YOU Victoria!!!) but she was there for me fighting for me, that says so much, to me. The value you feel as an employee, the worth and gratitude that you feel, you cant get at any ol place. I love the girls I work with and how inspiring and talented they are, I love hair, I love weddings, the whole atmosphere…so it all just makes sense. I have been with the company since the beginning of the San Diego location. And when I say beginning, I mean before the the cutest little boutique that we call home was found, I would have to drive to OC, that kind of beginning haha. I was originally hired just for the wedding aspect which was a dream come true but thought how awesome it would be in the future if I could eventually be the one that they wanted for cuts and colors as well…because then it would be the ultimate dream. RIGHT? Right!  All of my passions rolled into one place, because, you see I had been splitting my time between two different salons. I still had that other need of mine, that passion, which was to be doing cuts and colors. That perfect opportunity at just the right time finally presented itself and I am now working the one job fulfilling my love of weddings and my love for cuts and colors. So, I think I would say Why not Vanity Belle!?!? Would you say no to your dream job?

Vanity Belle OC Turns Two!

PARTY PARTY PARTY

 WOW! What an exciting celebration we had last month ringing in two years at our Orange County location. Let me tell you one thing, we know how to throw a party! The blue doors flung open and 6 pm and we celebrated till the DJ begged to go home!!

To transform the salon into a party space, we invited other local companies to partake in the celebration. We love supporting other local and small businesses. Let me give you a glimpse of what we had going on.

A party isn’t a party unless there is good food and free flowing drinks. Cadre Coffee supplied us with the caffeine to get our blood pumping to the beats. Their unique coffee bar is a great new idea to have at any event. Susie Cakes brought the sweets. Their mini cupcakes and cookies had all the guest with a sweet tooth busy. They left without a single left over. For the 21 and over crowd, Bottles and Blooms killed it with their champagne bar. Their festive holiday add ins to our favorite bubbly drink was a grand slam. Not to mention the flower arrangements they supplied brought our salon alive. We give a big round of applause to these three vendors.

Vanity Belle is all about unveiling our beauty. To bring the fashionista out of everyone, we invited Love and Whiskey to create a mini pop up to offer the top styles in fashion. It took all I had to not buy everything she brought. As the guest strolled outback, they were stepping into a full on pamper patio.  Rox Spa Newport Beach were offering free hand pumpkin peels. Feeling my hands after, I wanted to get it done to my whole body. While the guests were waiting in line for the peels, Massage Experts were relieving all the tension they had been carrying from the week with free back massages. There is something about a massage that takes you out of reality for a second and you walk away feeling free. Pearlesque Box was also hanging out on the patio with their boxes on display. They are the perfect people to connect with if you are wanting to try new organic beauty products. With their subscription you can get a box sent to your house each month with fun new products to try.

The party wouldn’t be complete without bumping jams! Visions entertainment had the tunes going till he couldn’t spin any longer. He actually had good music too!! It was not the music you hear when you go to an awkward retirement party, we were all getting down! A must given shout out to Jim Kennedy Photography for snapping awesome head shots of the guest in front of our famous paper flower wall. He knows what he is doing when he is behind the camera. David Parks was also behind a camera at the party. He was documenting the event play by play. We are so stoked to share the video he has put together. Keep an eye open for that in the future.

We would like to give a thanks to all the vendors above along with Alex & Ani – Charity by Design for the amazing donations for the raffle and swag bags. I am just saying you all missed out on some stellar swag. Free cupcake coupons, $50 spa gift cards, one of a kind Vanity Belle bags, and much more. It was a big step up from the Chinese finger war toy and cheap candy you used to get when you left a party when you were just a kiddo.

Overall turning two was a BLAST!! We hope to catch you all next year when we celebrate three years of UnVeiling your Beauty in Orange County!

pop-up-shop by LOVE & WHISKEY
organic skincare by PEARLESQUE BOX
pumpkin peels by ROX SPA NEWPORT BEACH
jewelry by ALEX & ANI

sweets by SUSIE CAKES
espresso cart by CARDE COFFEE
bubbly bar & florals by BOTTLES & BLOOMS

photos by JIM KENNEDY
music by VISIONS ENTERTAINMENT
videography by DAVID PARKS

Vanity Belle Summer Beach Camp

Beach, Bottles, Beauty and Babes

When you work a job that has its main days as the weekends, it’s nice to have a weekend to get away to the beach and relax. Owners ( Jonathan and Victoria Nino) treated the Belles to a weekend in a beach house that over looked the beautiful pacific ocean.

The festivities started Friday night with pizza, drinks and an “oh so naughty” game of That’s What She Said. ( If you are looking for a card game that will having everyone in tears of laughter, try That’s What She Said. It will not disappoint! ) Crashing late that night, it was a slow and mellow morning on Saturday. WHAT!! A SATURDAY SPENT ON THE BEACH AND NOT GLAMMING BRIDES?!?  Perfect timing for tattoo cover up specialist Joseph McDonough from Artistic Endeavors to educate the Belles on how to do a invisible tattoo cover up. What amazing tips we took away from that class. If you have a tattoo that needs to be hidden for a special event, we are your girls! After the class and lunch, it was time to relax. The rest of the day was spent lounging on the soft white sand soaking the golden Southern California sun.

Checked bronzed off the list, then next step was beauty. After watching a breathe taking sunset of the coastline, it was time to get dolled up for a night on the town. Newport Beach,CA Balboa Peninsula is the happening place to be. With bars all centrally located along the harbor and beach, the Belles were ready to take over. We lit up every place we walked into. Everyone wanted to join our tribe just by looking at how much fun we were having. Let’s just say The Belles are always the life of the party!

You can’t finish off  a weekend without brunch! Sunday morning kept rolling from Saturday night. Hitting up a great waterfront restaurant we sipped our favorite drink (champagne) and chowed down on the classic SoCal breakfast burrito. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous weekend together.

We may not always get the pleasure of working side by side with each other everyday, but when we can all come together we are unstoppable. Shout out to the amazing two who created this tribe. We LOVE You Victoria and Jonathan!  It was exactly what we needed and JUST PLAIN FUN!

The Heart and Soul That Opened the Blue Doors

Like all passions in life, Vanity Belle was first born out of love.

It was my wedding day in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico after four years of courtship, I was finally marrying the love of my life – my wonderful husband Jonathan (AKA "Boss Bae").

There were so many details in planning our wedding – early on, we knew we wanted to create an eloquent event that reflected our own style and commitment to each other. We had so many different vendors to decide on, and met so many amazing and talented folks along the way, but when it came time to finding a makeup and hair team for my bridal party entourage (me, 7 bridesmaids and my mom) I had the hardest time finding someone who not only could I connect with, but who could also accommodate all of us.

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but rapport and relationship are very important to me. A woman’s wedding day is a beautiful experience and naturally I was selective about the people I wanted to hire to share this intimate experience with. After all, we’d be spending the entire day together!

Eventually…I decided to just do it myself. Sure it was a bit chaotic, and people thought I was crazy, but this experience made me realize how there was a real need for this type of thing, a beauty team that specializes in artistry with an extra special human touch. When I told my husband Jonathan about my idea for creating a business around this theory he responded with unconditional support and encouragement, that still remains today. He believed in my vision of creating an experience built on comfort while delivering an exceptional level of service. Boy was I excited!

And Vanity Belle was born…

We have been blessed to see our business grow extremely fast (thank you Yelp and Wedding Wire!) and we now have an awesome team of artists with their own unique talents and strengths. My husband Jonathan is still a big part of making the business thrive, he is the man behind the magic and handles all of the business management, client relations and operational duties. Trust me, clients love him, he’s the sweetest! We now have TWO adorable and intimate boutiques! Costa Mesa has salon services, a blow dry bar and makeup bar, a brow bar, a cozy lash extension bed and even a private bridal suite. Our La Jolla boutique is a bit smaller, but still provides all the same services. It’s located in the heart of La Jolla right across from the water!

We have also been on a mission to be a sustainable business and be able to keep our earth beautiful. We recycle the majority of the salon products we use – foils, color tubes, plastics, papers and chemicals to divert them out of our landfills and water systems. Even the hair we sweep from the floor is re-purposed! We were the first salon in California to join this movement, and we are very proud of that. 

Give us a call, tell us about your wedding, special event, or if you are just looking for a new look, and let us evaluate your individual needs and how to best achieve your desired look, whether it’s clean and natural or exotic and dramatic. We will make sure you are paired with right artist/stylist.

Why should you hire Vanity Belle? Simply put, we set an extremely high standard so our clients never have to worry about quality. We are very selective about the artists/stylist we work with – we look for the rare individual who possesses both artistic talent and understands the culture we are trying to create at Vanity Belle. Our team is dedicated to the belief that hair and makeup is a transformative art form and that authenticity is the ultimate expression of beauty. We also believe that raw talent is just one half of the equation and all of our artists go out of their way to make our clients feel comfortable, relaxed and beautiful.

Vanity Belle is my family’s passion, born of unconditional love and grown over time through nurturing and a closely held commitment to our core values. We are dedicated artists and unconditional supporters throughout your special day. We ALWAYS strive to deliver the best. Trust me – you absolutely deserve it.

So, how can we help you? Let us know! If it is your wedding, a girls night out, or just because you deserve it, we can accommodate you in our boutique or we can bring the magic to you!

Yours Truly,
Victoria Nino – Founder, AKA "Boss Belle"