Makeup is more than skin deep
In the early ‘90s, Laguna Beach resident Delphine Berryhill worked in department stores, powdering customers’ faces, dabbing rouge on their cheeks and lining their lips.
But the makeup artist felt continually frustrated in her attempts to fulfill clients’ needs.
A couple dozen years ago, the concept of a customer scheduling a makeup application appointment at the beauty counter was a foreign one indeed. And many of her co-workers minding a retail line were sales associates whose goal was to push products.
“The focus was on sales, not on artistry,” Berryhill said.
Unimpressed and distressed by the state of the cosmetics industry, Berryhill longed to start a company that would improve the department store makeup model by making service a top priority.
The idea had nagged at her for years, but she knew that developing a cosmetics line was a huge undertaking. That common problem she witnessed at work would be solved by someone in time, she thought.
“I waited for it to be done but it never happened,” Berryhill said. “Now I have the time and resources to do something I’m passionate about and something I believe in.”
Berryhill says her experience wielding blush brushes and mascara wands has given her a unique perspective on what types of products work as well as what was missing from the market. And she will be pouring that knowledge into her new beauty bar,
Butterfli Me Makeup Studio, which is opening May 21 in Inrvine’s Jamboree Promenade.
The concept will be a professional and affordable studio that will feature trained makeup artists at nine stations, creating or recreating a client’s favorite look. Butterfli Me also will offer makeup lessons, group parties, lash and brow services and men’s grooming.
Once a customer walks into the shop, she will sit at a communal table before an iPad and shuffle through 24 customized looks inspired by international cities.
A selection of graduated levels of makeup intensity will be offered, from Capri, a soft hue of rose enveloping the eye for a subtle and neutral look, to Buenos Aires, a combination of browns creating a dramatic eye-popping look. A $40 full look will feature a full application of the look selected, including concealer, foundation, powder, eye shadow, eyeliner, brow color, mascara, blush, lip pencil, lipstick and lip gloss.
Each design will be created with the hypo-allergenic line Delphine Cosmetics, a collection that took Berryhill nine months to develop. Products ranging from brow pencils and foundation to lipstick and eye shadow will be sold in the shop.
Berryhill’s sister, Dusty Starks, will serve as Butterfli Me’s director of beauty. Starks, a makeup artist who has enhanced a number of Hollywood faces including those of Seal, Rihanna and Jason Derulo, will introduce “Dusty,” an allergy-free brush line with synthetic bristles.
“There’s no requirement to buy anything,” said Berryhill, who mentioned that clients may bring in their own products to have them professionally applied. “But if they want to buy our products, we will start them out with a few items.”
Video tutorials spotlighting a number of lessons from how to apply faux lashes to contouring and applying foundation will be available on the studio’s website so clients can practice at home.
And if a client can’t make it to the studio? Butterfli Me plans to offer mobile services. It’s an option, Berryhill said, that is perfect for a wedding, prom or bachelorette party.
She hasn’t forgotten about a whole other group who could benefit from a few minutes in the grooming chair.
“Some men could really use moisturizer,” Berryhill said, shaking her head and smiling.
The basic 10-minute maintenance package will offer a brow and ear trim, facial cleanse, lip conditioner and hand-conditioning massage for $20.
For special occasions, like weddings or even a first date, men may consider the $25 Camera Ready service, which focuses on dark circles and wrinkles.
Berryhill’s mission to make clients feel comfortable and free to express themselves, whether with an everyday, natural application or a more glamorous and dramatic look.
Makeup, she said she came to realize over the years, was more than powder and lipstick on a woman’s face — it is a tool to boost moods and make clients feel special.
That’s when she thought of the butterfly as her company’s icon.
“The butterfly represents metamorphosis, and that’s what putting makeup on is all about,” Berryhill said.
And on opening day, she’ll be sure to wear waterproof mascara.
“I’m going to be crying all day,” Berryhill said with a laugh. “It’s about seeing this vision come full circle. I just want to see a customer walk out with a happy face.”
For more information, visit butterfli.me.