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by Laura Kruty
With their highlights bright, lashes curled, limbs toned and teeth white, Hollywood's A-listers always seem to look perfect. And it's no wonder, with as many people as they have fussing over every aspect of their appearance. Red carpets may be few and far between here in Indianapolis, but obviously women still want to look and feel their best, regardless of the occasion. It doesn't take an army, either. Read on to meet four local professionals, all with the same goal: keeping Indianapolis women looking great from head to toe.
SIRO DERRER-BROOKS - Personal Stylist for Nordstrom We've all done it. As the seconds tick away before we absolutely have to leave for that cocktail party, we've stared into our closets in despair, sighing aloud for the umpteenth time, "I have nothing to wear." That, of course, isn't true. We do have clothes to wear, but sometimes they just don't make the grade. Enter Siro Derrer-Brooks. The Nordstrom personal stylist has been helping Indianapolis residents put their best wardrobes forward for 14 years. Working in the Personal Touch department, Derrer-Brooks finds it all, from the right shoes to lingerie to accessories for any occasion, be it that cocktail party or a business meeting with the CEO. It's simple, really. Clients, mainly strapped for time, call Derrer-Brooks and she asks them a series of questions, such as their favorite color, hair color, eye color, lifestyle, what height heel they prefer, and the list goes on. She then pulls clothing from all over the store for the client to try. Best of all? It's complimentary. "My goal is to provide the best services and save them time," she says. "You know how busy we all are. We don't have time to shop, but we still want to look good and fashionable. I give them fashion guidance, the new trends, and how they can use them in their wardrobe." Some clients come in once a year, some every few months. Some Derrer-Brooks hasn't even met in person. But, due to her meticulous notes, she knows what works for them and simply ships them their clothes. Clients range from young children to teenagers to business men and women, and they come to her from all over Indiana and surrounding states. Derrer-Brooks' love of fashion started in her homeland of Helsinki, Finland. When she was 5 years old, she made a dress, entered it into a contest and won. "I've always read fashion magazines my whole life, and I love fashion," she says. "It's always been a part of my life." Fashion inspirations for her include her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy and her own customers, which number more than 1,000. "They get very excited when they read about fashion and they come to me and say, 'How can you help me do this?'" she says. A part of how she does it includes getting clients to try on colors and styles they normally wouldn't choose. "(The color) might look awful; it might look wonderful," she says. "Certain styles are the same way." If you're on the fence about a certain look, leave it to Derrer-Brooks to tell you the truth. Honesty: "That's what they know me for," she says. Showing people how great they can look is incredibly rewarding, Derrer-Brooks says. "I have customers leave in tears because they're so happy and they look so good," she says. And because of that, "I love my job."
Siro's Top Tips for Fall Fashion: > Look for clothes with a more polished and stream-lined look. > "It's all about coats," Derrer-Brooks says. Capelets and those with cropped sleeves are especially hot. > Belts, belts, belts, "with coats, suits, blouses, everything. That gives you a waistline," she says. > "Ankle boots are big this year, and they go with everything," from pants to skirts. > Handbags are still big, both in popularity and size. "They have a more luggage look to them," Derrer-Brooks says. > Snatch up a pair of long gloves to wear with your cropped-sleeve jacket. "They're really big," she says.
DAVID MILLER - Co-Owner, David & Mary Lifestyle Salon & Spa Hearing the word "acne" usually conjures up images of a pubescent boy indulging in a daily diet of french fries and potato chips. But, the truth is, acne doesn't go away once you reach adulthood. It can affect 25 percent of adult men and 50 percent of adult women. And that's something David Miller knows all too well. Miller had a severe acne problem 25 to 30 years ago, he says. The silver lining? "It led me to pursue a solution for myself," he says. And by doing so, he realized he could make a career out of his enthusiasm for the skin care industry. After graduating from school in New York, Miller returned to Indianapolis and worked for Ann King, who owned a salon called Ann King -- Orlane. There, Miller says, "she taught me how to take something very beautiful and make a person feel welcome. I was weaned on that you do skin care in beautiful surroundings." A four-year stint at Scandals allowed the two to build a clientele, and in 1986, they opened the first David and Mary. They'll celebrate their 2-year anniversary at their current location in Clay Terrace next month. Miller's clients, who range from 12 to 80 years old, deal with a range of skin care concerns, from freckles to melasma to wrinkles, he says. How he treats those issues varies. There's conventional skin care, like deep-cleansing treatments, but gaining popularity are more 21st-century methods like Titan, a nonsurgical skin tightening procedure, and Laser Genesis Skin Therapy, a "laser facial." Clients also come to him with another inevitable issue: Aging, and the physical and emotional anxieties that accompany it. "'I'm getting older and I don't know what to do,'" Miller echoes some clients' complaints. "'I feel invisible. I don't feel pretty or desirable.' You don't take it lightly when someone says that. "We need to show them how to feel good about what they have -- way beyond a laser," he says. One way to help women on the path to feeling and looking good is to provide accurate information so they'll know where to go, what type of service they'll receive and what kind of experience a spa will offer. Cue the creation of SafeSpa, "a tool for the existing community to gain information as a bridge to other services," Miller says. "We're a chat room, a safe haven. At this point, people can ask questions, and we can give them direction. It's all about creating a community where clients can come in and feel comfortable. "We are trying to give you information to make the lightbulbs go off," Miller says. "We're taking the guesswork out of it."
David's Tips for Skin Care > "Never discredit the importance of drinking water," Miller says. "It's so important for maintenance as you age, with fluctuating weight and with diet programs." > Don't overlook putting sunscreen on your chest. (You are wearing it each day, right?) > Use a sunscreen with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide listed among the first five ingredients, Miller advises. > Mineral makeup may be good for your skin, but that doesn't mean you can sleep in it, Miller says. "Your skin rests at night, and you need to be putting something else on it at night." > "No matter how much you love any product, don't use it exclusively for a year," Miller says. Your skin will build up a tolerance and the product won't work as effectively.
KATHERINE STERRETT - Makeup Artist Chances are, if Katherine Sterrett hasn't done your makeup, you've seen her work anyway. She's been a freelance makeup artist since 2000, and has worked with Mastercard, Gatorade, Simon malls, Sara Snow, host of internationlly aired Get Fresh with Sara Snow, and O and Shape magazines, just to name a few. She's acquired quite the portfolio, but wasn't always sure she could be a makeup artist in Indianapolis, a fairly small market, she says. "I just feel it a great gift to be able to do what I love, with my children, in the city of Indianapolis." Sterrett's love of makeup was due in large part to actresses in soap operas like Dallas and Knot's Landing. "For me, being Asian American, the big blonde hair and large eyes were intriguing," she says. Whether they liked it or not, her younger cousins became her guinea pigs. "All my cousins had eyes like Donna Mills so I would pin them down and put loads of eye makeup on them," Sterrett recalls. She eventually worked at an Estˇe Lauder counter for one year before moving to MAC Cosmetics for five years, where she says she really grew as an artist. "I worked with so many other great makeup artists," she says. "We all fed off of each other and were eager to share things that worked and things that did not." Most of Sterrett's work now is in print or video, but she occasionally does weddings and has recently been receiving calls for makeup lessons, which she loves doing. "That's what I miss most about the retail part, just giving that instruction to women," she says. "I like being able to make them comfortable and give them advice." Sterrett's work is also about making them look good, and, in turn, feel better, one of the most rewarding aspects of her job. A self-proclaimed "people person," Sterrett's inspired by those she works on, people with whom she bonds for sometimes mere minutes at a time. And, she's quick to credit the "creative, wonderful, supportive people" she works with for letting her live her dream. "Just to be a part of their team and their crew, that's rewarding to me."
Katherine's Top Secrets > Looking for a great eyelash curler? You can't go wrong with Shiseido's version, Sterrett's favorite. Shu Uemura makes a good one, too, she says. > Don't overlook eyeliner. "A thin strip applied with a brush across the lashline does so much," Sterrett says. > For flawless makeup, consider investing in quality brushes. "Brushes make a huge difference," she says.
REEDA BEAM - Owner, ReedaTodd Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa Luckily for the women and men of Indianapolis, Reeda Beam didn't fulfill her longtime dream of becoming a lawyer. She started styling the hair of women in her mother's bowling league when she was 12, but "I never really thought ... that I would become a hairdresser," she says. Instead, "I wanted to be a lawyer so bad. I wanted to help people. There's just something innate in me that I want to do things for people," Beam says. But there was one thing standing in her way: "I couldn't get through the LSATs." While driving home from a meeting with her advisor, Beam saw a sign advertising the need for a hairdresser. "I went in there, talked to the guy, went to school and became a hairdresser," she says. Legal briefs would no longer be in Beam's future, but being a hairdresser did give her the chance to help people, albeit in a different way. "What inspires me is to make people feel good about themselves," she says. "I look at people and I think what I can do to change their look and make them look better, more youthful." A big part of that happens outside the salon. Beam says it's up to her and her staff to teach clients how to style their hair after they've left. "If they can't do their hair when they leave the salon the way we did it, then we're doing something wrong," she says. "Our whole hair cut and color is about educating the client on what to use on their hair and how to use it. Beam has been educating both her stylists and clients for nearly 30 years in Indianapolis, owning three salons in Greenwood before moving to her current Geist location in 2001. She's gained national recognition, being named Stylemaker of the Year by Allure magazine in 2003. She's been on the show Ambush Makeover, and has done hair at runway shows for designers, like Betsey Johnson. Beam's reputation certainly precedes itself, and oftentimes, it's what drives clients to seek her out. "When people come in and say, 'Do what you want,' it's such an honor," Beam says. "I've been known to stop people and say, 'I'll do your hair,'" she says. "I can just see a change. I love making people look and feel better. I just love it."
Reeda's Favorite Products & Tips > Replenish moisture and keep hair shiny by deep conditioning once a month. > Get your hair trimmed every 8 weeks, at a minimum, Beam suggests. > Prolong your hair color with Aveda's Color Conserve -- but only if your hair is dark blonde or darker. With hair lighter than that, try Aveda's Camomile shampoo, which contains an astringent to keep blondes bright, she says. > Want that bedhead look? Try Aveda's Pure Abundance potion. > For that "piecey" look, "I cannot live without my Control Paste," Beam says. "It works with all lengths and styles."
Article appears as published in the IW September 2007 issue. |
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