april marie beauty photoshoot

We sat down at a local coffee shop & started talking about Instagram & the look of your feed & aesthetic, & about how you have to just make things happen to get where you want to in life. We sipped our iced drinks & complimented each other about all things each of us were accomplishing. She told me that she wanted to put together a photoshoot so that she could start a portfolio for doing hair & make-up for weddings & events. I told her that if she wants to do this, then to just go ahead & do it if it’s something she really wanted. Our talk sparked something in her that day & she made her vision come to life.

April & I had gone to high school together, but it wasn’t until we graduated & she started dating my older brother’s best friend that we really started to get to know each other. She had tried another career path & I was just starting my blog back in 2012. But then, in 2016 April had gone to & graduated from beauty school & had just started at her current salon when I was looking for a new hair stylist after attempting to go silver & it just turning my hair a nasty bleached blonde color. April had just gotten engaged to my brother’s friend who was basically a brother to me & so I thought why not give her a chance to color & cut my hair because now she’s pretty much family. I remember sitting in her chair for the first time & telling her to work her magic & to make my hair an icy blonde. She suggested that we do the balayage technique, which was new to me, but I trusted her & we went for it.

I have always gotten compliments on my hair. It always seems to hold color really well especially since I only get it done three times a year. But, I have never had so many people comment about my hair color since I first started going to April. She is a wizard when it comes to coloring your hair just right, & the suggestions she gives for how to care for your hair in between salon visits is spot on. I texted her the other day & told her that I should start carrying around her business cards because I get asked about my hair at least once or twice a week!

So when April & I sat in that coffee shop a few months ago & she told me that she wanted to put together a photoshoot to help showcase her work, & that she wanted me to model for her, I was totally on board! I gave her some names to contact that would possibly be willing to be a part of it with us & she went to planning. Within a few weeks she had everything all set up & she was making her dream a reality. I was so honored to be a part of that photoshoot alongside another one of her clients, Lauren. It was so unique to have her be the one who colored mine & Lauren’s hair, then be the one to style it the day of the shoot, AND also do our make-up for that day as well. Talk about a dream team, except she’s a one woman show! 

We shot out in the desert one Sunday afternoon in February in the freeeezing cold! It was cloudy & windy, but you would never be able to tell because the photographer, Sam of AB Photo knows how to edit a bright photo right! Despite the weather that didn’t want to participate, the day was still so much fun & totally inspiring. Getting to work with other creatives is something I love SO much & I thrive off of the energy that comes to life when creatives surround one another. 

I am so happy to have April in my life as my hair stylist, as a creative inspiration, & as a friend! She is the sweetest & kindest person you will ever meet. She is driven to succeed, to do the best work, & to encourage & support others in their journey. If you haven’t met her yet, you definitely need to. And if you are looking for a hair stylist, or make-up artist then she is your gal to book! You will not be disappointed having her glam you up for your big day or event, like she did for me when I won a Reno Instagrammy!

Follow her on Instagram to see her cute pups & Hawaii wedding (that I got to attend because dreams do come true), & check out her website to see all that she offers! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your styled shoot, April! It was dreamy beyond words & I loved every second of it!

Always know that your dreams & vision are much closer to happening when you start working toward them today instead of tomorrow!

– abbey kay

*brought to you by a girl who would do a styled shoot everyday of her life if she could

Photography – AB Photo

Styling, hair, & make-up – April Marie Beauty

Clothes & Accessories – Nomad Boutique

Florals – The Stem

Models – Abbey Kay, Lauren, & April