We were lucky to catch up with Crystel Franco-Cortez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Crystel, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My work ethic comes from creating something with my hands.
When I 8 years old I would draw croquis. Women wearing outfits and I felt that I had a deadline to complete them. I pretended it was a career.
I was kind of obsessed with it. I was a little perfectionists. I’d dressed my barbies up with their cloths pretending I created their clothing. I didn’t know how to sew, but I did wanted to design and I wanted everything to be perfect.
I got older and of coarse I stopped playing with barbies and I stopped using my imagination to create with my hands as I reached my preteen years.
I wanted things my parents couldn’t afford. At that time they were already separated. I wanted material things like makeup and cloths and my bother in law helped get me a job at 15 at Walgreens in the cosmetic department.
I took cosmetology in high school junior and senior year in fall 1998-2001, walking out on the stage with my diploma plus a cosmo license through the state of Texas at 17.
Right after walking the stage I quit Walgreens and ended up working at a chain salon down the street doing primarily men’s clipper cuts. I took the bus from my sisters house to work.
I saved my money to buy my first car. So I set up a budget and I worked longer hours than my usual part time to picked up shifts.
I ended up working in a cutting edge salon for women and mens cuts were I developed the skill to style hair for the daily lifestyle and for photoshoots.
At the age of 25 I was given a proposal to go in a partnership in owning a vintage boutique. One of my clients introduced me to his girlfriend at the time who owned a store in Monterrey Mexico and decided to open one in San Antonio Texas.
I was ecstatic. My adrenaline was going. I totally visioned so many creative and fun opportunities like wardrobe styling and us taking part in photoshoots. My new business partner had the same drive and vision as I did.
This is where I gained majority of my work ethic from. We had store hours but also would work after hours working on marketing and steaming cloths, buy our inventory and worked on merchandising the set up for the store.
We loved collaborating with other creatives in SA, photographers, makeup artists and we provided wardrobe and I styled hair for models. It was amazing to create with a team of people.
My business partner and I both wanted to attend fashion design school so we did. We had the store tasks plus our homework.
I become very accustom to this habit of always dedicating majority of my time to working.
I personally ended up in a position where I needed more of a balance life. Prior to “self care” being a recognizable term back in the day. Self care was something we both needed.
During my late 30’s I dabbled into other industries like life insurance and housing foreclosure research. Which was not what I was passionate about.
I ended up going full time into hair behind the chair for about 2 years after covid and then I found my ultimate passion for bridal hair and makeup.
I realized after all these years, styling hair was my skill that brought me joy for myself and others feeling beautiful.
To this day. I remind myself and my husband reminds me to schedule things accordingly adding self care into my calendar.
My work ethic developed at an early age. As I’m older I love a strong work ethic however self care is super important to incorporate.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am in the bridal beauty industry as a bridal hair and makeup artist. It brings joy to my heart when I’m able to provide a service, styling someone’s hair and applying their makeup for a wedding or an important event.
I love a transformation. I love seeing clients’ reaction at the end of their service. We need to feel good about ourselves.
Having our hair and makeup done, can impact our self esteem as well as have an impact on our social interactions with others.
I’m focused on business as well my brand’s aesthetic. My signature style is romantic effortless for hair and for makeup soft glam is my specialty.
The beginning of 2024 has been going really well.
One of the people I work with is Laura Gorman, with Love Lipstick and Lashes, we are collaborating with a wedding venue, The Hidden Gem of Gruene for a bridal runway show in their 2nd annual showcase coming up this Sunday February 18th,
We are so excited and thrilled to be part of this event along with a couple of our favorite wedding gown boutiques I do the dress I do in San Antonio and Celebrations Bridal and Prom in New Braunfels.
Education is another collaboration that will be focusing on for helping aspiring bridal hair and makeup artists as well as seasoned artists.
Their is always room for growth. We ourselves will attend and enroll in webinars and classes whether in person or virtual.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
3 skills that were most impactful in my journey.
Goal setting
Have a clear picture of what will bring me joy and purpose and working backwards from the goal.
Communicator Active listener
In the bridal industry listening to what brides want. Being open to criticism and being able to make adjustments according to what a bride desires for her style and makeup.
Marketing
In my opinion I don’t need to have millions of platforms. I prefer to focus on one and give it my 110 percent.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The number one obstacle I’m currently facing is imposter syndrome. I’ll tend to have the thought that I’m not good enough or I haven’t done anything spectacular as a bridal hair and makeup artist.
One way that helps overcome this is celebrate my wins. View them as facts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.crysteldoeshair.com
- Instagram: crysteldoeshair
Image Credits
Odd Brew Photography
