Bossier is home to many millennials doing interesting things and making great strides in their careers. And one millennial is making them all look fabulous.
Meka Bennett, a makeup artist/stylist at Salon 90210 off Benton Road in Bossier City, has partnered with Fleur De Vie to debut her own curated plant-based makeup palette. Having been in the beauty industry for more than 20 years, Meka has leveraged her talents on runways, short films, magazine shoots and celebrities all across the country.
Let’s find out more about Meka and what she likes about working in Bossier.
1. What made you want to be a stylist?
I’ve always been in the salon. Ever since I was a kid growing up, every Saturday we would go and get our hair done, and I never got the hair style that I wanted. When I get older, I thought I’m going to give people exactly what they want. As I got older, I decided that I wanted to work for myself and I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that. That’s when my mom gave me the idea of becoming a hair stylist and a makeup artist, because I constantly got questions, comments and compliments on my hair and makeup.
2. Tell me about the salon and what you like about working there…
My friend Nikki came up with the name. She actually owns the salon, and she’s from Orange County, so that’s where the name came from. I love it because there’s only three of us that work here. We are all independent contractors, so we just come and go as we please. I have my own space and it’s like my own business within a business.
3. You’ve been a stylist for films and events, how does that differ from the every day work in the salon?
It’s extremely different, it’s like day and night. When I get to go out and work on different projects I get to travel, I’m going to encounter someone new that I’ve never met before, and then the hair and makeup execution is going to be completely different from the every day look in the salon. I love the fact that I get to go out, do something different, have fun and get a great adrenaline rush, and then come back home to the salon and settle in with everything that’s familiar.
4. How did you go about starting your own makeup palette?
I had been working with a company called Fleur De Vie. I actually met the owner, Jody, almost 3 years ago and we have literally kept in touch because her products were so amazing. And then one day she offered to do a collaboration with me on a makeup palette. She said, “You can do whatever you want. You can pick the packaging, you can do how many colors you want, whatever colors.” They backed me 100 percent and pretty much let me do what I wanted.
5. Is this just the start of what you want to accomplish?
This is only the beginning. Makeup is something that we as women will use everyday, probably for the rest of our life, but I truly believe that we should be using products that are good for us — that enhances not only our skin, but our overall health. Using or creating products from a plant based ingredient, there’s no other way, that’s the way God intended it. My ultimate goal with this is getting something that is not only beautiful and trendy and luxurious and pretty, but getting something that is good for you.
6. So what do you like about working in Bossier?
Bossier is awesome. What I really like about working in Bossier is that it’s convenient, not only for me, but clients. Whether they live in Benton or out on Ellerbee Road, it’s only a 10 to 15 minute drive.
7. What is your favorite thing about Bossier?
What I really love about Bossier is that it’s growing rapidly. That inspires me because change is a good thing. We should all be growing, and whenever I see new businesses coming up or new things happening in Bossier, I feel like I need to get on the ball. It’s very inspiring because of the potential and the growth.
8. What is your favorite thing to do in Bossier?
I love going down to Black Bayou. It’s so beautiful. That water is so pretty and sometimes I’ll just pull over on the side of the road and just look and just take a moment. I feel like I’m away from the city, but I’m literally right next to Benton.
9. What would you like to see Bossier have in the future that it doesn’t have now?
More stores for creatives. We need a true, artistic craft store, or a few more makeup stores, or a professional photography store where you can purchase equipment. Because for me I do a lot of ordering online and it would be so nice to go into an actual store to purchase goods or to check it out or to compare.
10. Looking a few years out, what do you want to accomplish in the future?
My ultimate goal is to inspire those that are coming under me or after me and show them that a little hard work, dedication, commitment and some passion will take you so far. I used to be the girl that was insecure about myself and about my life and my goals, and then one day I just had to realize that I was worthy. Professionally my heart has been to educate. I have been through so many obstacles I want to teach other artists because I wish I had it coming up in this business.
Check out last month’s Bossier Millennial Pros: Kevin & Kyle Gallion.