Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Laurine Shirley.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Beauty has been a passion of mine since I was 8 years old. I started doing my own hair when my mother no longer had the time. It didn’t feel like a task or a chore, I loved it so much that I began looking up trending hairstyles and practicing on myself. After watching so many tutorials I decided I could start making money by taking clients. I came from charging two dollars a braid in high school to revamping my room and turning it into a salon space. It was hard to give up my personal space but it was a step in the right direction.
I got into makeup naturally as well so doing hair and makeup eventually became a huge part of my life. I’m not where I want to be by far and there’s a long journey ahead but looking back at where I came from to my clientele now, I couldn’t be more proud of myself. Living in Miami I grew up with the mindset that the beauty industry was so saturated with talent and I was a self-taught nobody, so I would fail.
Now I get booked by models and record labels. So I had to learn to never doubt myself to fight for this spot and to learn as much as I can so I can be a beast in this industry. To make people feel beautiful and seen means the world to me cause I felt invisible my whole life. When I touch someone’s head or face I see their natural beauty shining through my job is to simply enhance it and put it on display.
A job I want to take to the next level. I’m an entrepreneur at heart I quickly realized working for other people was not the long game. Especially since my status in this country is like a blockade to my success. I wasn’t born in this country but I’ve been here since I was 5 years old. My family came seeking asylum and I’ve been on TPS ever since. Which is a temporary protection status. I felt trapped, I couldn’t go to any of my dream universities.
So I started 4 businesses I turned all my passions into income. Sensuous Touch for my cosmetology dreams, Laurex Beauty and apparel (beauty products and clothing), Laurex Creatives for my creative directing dreams, and Shirley’s Kitchen which I hope to turn into a 5-star restaurant one day. I’m the little girl who liked to daydream, who turned into a woman that realized daydreams are a blink away from reality.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No one paved the way for me so it was hard to get started. My biggest struggle was convincing my mom to let strangers into her home. It took some time and lots of arguments but once she realized this was something that was important to me she gave in. My biggest struggle now is looking for a salon space and being able to afford it.
My skills are getting better so I need to grow, the end goal is to have a space that defines my art and why I do what I do. A spot where people come in for a hairstyle or a makeup look but leave feeling like a brand new person, an experience. I don’t only want to do hair and makeup, the dream goes beyond that, smooth road or not I’m not willing to let anything stand in my way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an entrepreneur for sure. But essentially I’m a hairstylist, that is my specialty and my main focus for now but my talents go beyond that. I’m known for my shoots because In every production I’ve creative directed I played every role. I did the hair, and makeup and even made the entire wardrobe for all the girls.
Last year that project went viral on Tiktok, with over 80 thousand views. It’s called The Vague Project. It was a black women’s history month video shoot and I couldn’t tell you the blood sweat and tears that went into it. I believe one day that video will make me. That’s what makes me so proud of myself, I have this hunger and this drive and with every shoot, I get better.
The creative director also being the hairstylist and makeup artist and from time to time she hand makes the wardrobe from scratch, I would say that is what sets me apart from others. I want to do it all and honestly, I can, Hopefully, one day I’ll have a team and our work will be on the big screen.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I love this question because although no one paved the way for me the ones that saw my talent for what it was, always supported me in a way that mattered the most. @senseishands_ on Instagram offered me an opportunity that opened my eyes to see what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. It was my first time working with big-time producers and artists and that experience will forever remind me why I want to do this and take this path.
Models like @theviktoriiavs booking me when she has gigs that end up in magazines set the bar for me. Cause if she saw my work and thought yes I want this person to do my hair for this magazine shoot then I knew others were watching. It made me step my game up and hold myself to a higher standard. The price definitely went up cause they gave me a sense of worth. Because of her, I get to say my work was published in a magazine she has no idea how grateful I am.
Because of him, I get to say I did hair and makeup for a well-known record label music video. The music video was Bae by DaeDalTM (78k views on YouTube). Also a huge thank you to all the ladies that were always willing to help me with these shoots and be my unpaid models. I owe them big. Last but not least my number 1 supporter is my boyfriend, all I can say is on my worst days he picks me up when I can’t pick myself up.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @sensuous.touch, @laurex.creatives, and @laurex.beauty
Image Credits
@vulture.visions
