Monaè Everett is a powerhouse stylist and entrepreneur who has been creating game-changing styles for decades. Her resume includes talents like Tia Mowry, Yara Shahidi, and Taraji P. Henson, just to name a few. As a texture expert and artistic director for Blushington, she remains a trusted expert voice and authority in the beauty and style industry. As Monaè has expanded her artistic pursuits to include speaking engagements, consulting, and training upcoming stylists, she continues to advocate for texture education. The Monaè Life Academy gives a variety of options ranging from books, braiding tutorials, and online classes that teach stylists how to work with celebrities and increase their revenue stream.
We sat down to chat with Monaè about her diverse portfolio of work and how tighter textures can embrace trending styles.
You’ve been busy with awards season. What has been your favorite look you have created so far?
Image Source: @monaeartistry
This award season has been full of beautiful looks. I liked the updos I created, but to change things up a bit, I fell in love with the look I created for Hailey Kilgore for her performance at Carnegie Hall.
As a stylist who has worked across print, digital, fashion, and beauty, what industry has been the most challenging for you to work for, and why?
Image Source: @monaeartistry
The most challenging industry to work for has been fashion. You have to mold the looks around what people find conventionally attractive, and for so many years, that left out curly and coily hair looks. Also, there’s always been this lie: you can’t get paid if you work in fashion. So many amazingly talented artists donate their hair and makeup skills to wardrobe artist designers so that they can look great and for major brands to shine.
It’s Women’s History Month; as a history-making stylist and entrepreneur, who are the women who have been influential to you in your career?
Bozoma Saint John and Kendra Bracken-Ferguson are the women most influential in my career. They both come to mind, but there are many more, maybe Jen Akin.
I love Bozpma because she has worked across so many amazing industries. She worked in fashion with Ashley Stewart, worked with Pepsi, and then, you know, she got into music doing like beats. And I love that she doesn’t let anybody keep her in the box. She pivots, knows her worth and value, and finds and creates opportunities.
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson is known as the Warren Buffett of Beauty. She creates opportunities and is always looking to help advance black women. She’s great with partnerships and is one of the few black women who has raised over a billion dollars through a venture capitalist. I love that. She creates new opportunities and new roads in business.
We know Jennifer Hudson from American Idol. She kicked down that door and made America love her. She and Viola Davis are EGOTS, but I love this act of life. Jennifer Hudson has her talk show and interviews people, so she has found a way to integrate her God-given singing talent into something else: interviewing people and creating relationships.
You recently released “Get Out Of Your Way: 25 Insider Tips for Booking Celebrity Clients.” What’s the biggest lesson you learned working with celebrities?
Image Source: @themonaelife
They are your clients. They are not your friends, but they’re people like everyone else. So, as their clients, you have to maintain a certain level of professionalism. You have to know when to add your viewpoint and when not to.
You have to know how to hear what they’re saying to you. Read between the lines and know that they are not professional hair stylists or makeup artists, so they will describe their needs and needs to the best of their ability. And it may use different terminology.
Celebrities are human. They may have good days and bad days. This job is for them, but getting their hair and makeup done for two to four hours may not be what they call fun. You get to see them in their most vulnerable times and places.
Many viral hair trends emerge, from mullet knotless braids to mob wife vibes. How does social media impact the type of styles you create?
Because social media is where so many people go to have their inspiration or inspirations put in front of them, we all know that social media platforms listen while you talk. Because your mic is turned on, they bring in your timeline. Social media has a great influence because this is where most people see things, and social media now defines the new beauty standards.
When we looked at magazines and TV shows, they were all skinny women, mostly skinny women with sleek hair. Now, we get to see so many different forms of beauty, including different hair textures. Social media is ever-changing, so people’s opinions are ever-changing, and many are based on social media.
Recently, we’ve seen the “coquette aesthetic” emerge as a reclamation of soft femininity; what are your favorite hairstyles that emerged with this trend?
So, the coquette aesthetic is a reclamation of soft femininity. My favorite hairstyles that emerge from this trend are: I’m a huge fan of the half-up, half-down with the cute little ribbon. I think it’s really sweet and just very pretty. And, of course, I’m always a fan of the perfect pony like Barbie. I think it’s super cute only because of its placement in a way that lifts the face with ribbons on it.
The coquette aesthetic is often seen on loose textures; what are your recommendations for how type 4 textures can implement this aesthetic into their styling routine?
Image Source: @anna1z
I recommend that Type 4 use stiffer ribbons where the bow is firmer so it stays, and wear the bows closer to the hairline around the air to draw attention to your beautiful face rather than throughout the rest of the hairstyle.
What products or tools can be used to create a coquette-style hairdo?
There are so many different ways to create a coquette-cut hairstyle. You can do twist styles, or you can do braidouts if you want to show off your coils or your curls. Go for a looser tone like large bantu knots and remove those large bantu knots after they try to have big waves, or you can also try something like stretching your hair straight and curling with a wand to have those types of loose waves products that I like to use for type 4 hair.
Accessories are a big part of this look; if people are hesitant to wear bows or ribbons, what would your alternative recommendations be for this trend?
Image Source: @haileyfkligore
An alternative recommendation for this trend would be adding diamonds and pearls to the hair. I’m a huge fan of that. I’ve recently created multiple looks on Haley Kilgore using diamonds throughout the hair.
Also, my client Brittany Howard allowed me to completely makeover her look from short curly hair to a large curly hair vibe with a triangle shape. But we softened it and made it more feminine by implementing diamonds throughout the hair. And she’s wearing this look for her new album, Now What, and her current tour.
Check out Monaè’s Beauty Show Tour, Texture Unleashed: Star Styling Simplified, coming to a city near you!
