OCTOBER 2017

TIGI CREATES A COLLECTION WHERE WOMEN REIGN SUPREME Ageless Beauty WRITTEN BY Michelle McKelvey PHOTOGRAPHY THE Zoe Christou Welsh HAIR Danielle Keasling CRAFT MAKEUP Jessica Quito ART & COMMERCE WARDROBE Zoe Christou Welsh

DANIELLE KEASLING, MATRIX ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, PERSONIFIES “HEAVEN ON EARTH” USING BOTH DELICATE AND EXTREME STYLING TECHNIQUES.

Immortal Beauty

38 americansalon.com October 2017 ore often than not, epiphanies come M unannounced. Danielle Keasling, (@danielle.keasling) Matrix Artistic Director, was volunteering with the Survivor Glam Squad, a makeover charity for cancer survivors, when the inspiration for her latest collection instantly came to her. After the sudden passing of a young woman, Keasling couldn’t help but reflect on all of the angels in her life. “In my mind, an angel is someone who crossed your path at the right time,” Keasling says. “Someone who brought a ‘gift’ of some sort—be it a lesson or simply a changed perspective.” In her latest collection, Angels Around Us, Keasling draws attention to the overlooked beauty in the world. Each look combines sophistication with delicacy, personifying her opinion of what an angel really is.

Faithful Finger Waves (Opposite page) Finger waves date back to the Jazz Age, becoming popular thanks to silver-screen starlets like Josephine Baker and Bette Davis. Nearly a century later, a more modern take is bringing the style into the limelight again. “I really wanted to work with the model’s natural texture,” Keasling says. “I painted Matrix StyleLink Airy Builder Mousse from her scalp to the bottom of her ear and manipulated the hair into a wave before I let it dry. From there, Matrix StyleLink Rough Me Up gave me the freedom to rework and redefine her texture into minimalist finger waves.”

Divine Dreads A sharp contrast to the typical waves and updos seen on the runways, dreadlocks ofer an unconventional approach to high fashion. Because Keasling shot this collection on her own, she had the freedom and opportunity to do something completely out of the ordinary. “I wanted to try something diferent,” Keasling says. “I saturated the hair with Matrix Heat Bufer and twisted and locked the hair into place with a flat iron.” THECRAFT

Bounteous Braids Even though this braided pompadour gives of serious Game of Thrones vibes, Keasling didn’t intend to mimic the show’s warrior-chic style. The look celebrates strong, powerful women by contrasting mega texture with sleek braids. “We started of micro-crimping the base of the hair using Matrix StyleLink Heat Bufer. By micro- crimping, you not only achieve extra density for the braid work to show, you create grip that makes it much easier to work with for beginner braiders,” says Keasling. Pious Ponytails There’s something innocent about a ponytail, but the minute you add volume and texture, it instantly becomes bold and powerful. To create a delicate balance between the two, Keasling crafted an airy yet dramatic hairstyle. “My goal for this collection was to create textures that remained beautiful,” Keasling says. “I created this texture using Matrix StyleLink Texture Builder and a two-prong iron, while using donuts to support the shape.”

October 2017 americansalon.com 41 THECRAFT

Untainted Updo Sometimes an atypical approach ofers the best results. In this case, it involved using a plastic knitting needle and a looping foundation to create a voluminous hairstyle. The result: A fashion-forward updo that her model loved. “I think when you do something beautiful, but something they would never recreate on a daily basis, it gives the models an opportunity to play out a character,” Keasling says. “They really have to buy into what your idea is, as they are the ones telling the story.”

42 americansalon.com October 2017