COMPANY: Elke Von Freudenberg Salon and Brow Collection
LAUNCH: 2006
MISSION: Your brows should be as fashionable as you are!
LOCATION: New York
HERSTORY: I was born in Munich Germany, and grew up in Orange County, CA. I then lived in Los Angeles for 25 years before I moved to New York City about 15 years ago. I first arrived on the beauty scene in 1991 as a longtime editorial, runway makeup artist and celebrity makeup artist.
“Stay true to your instincts and what your heart says. I used to listen to others and how they felt things should be…It’s my name on the door and I need to make sure it reflects my vision and goals.”
What motivated you to become a makeup artist?
I have always been fascinated by faces. My mom was a photographer and she remembers me trying to put watercolor on my face when I was about 4, copying faces from her Vogue magazines. Needless to say that didn’t work out that great. But, it lead me to beauty school when I was in high school, and doing photography makeup, which was my passion for about 25 years.
When did you open your salon and launch your brow line?
I opened my own private brow salon about 13 years ago after working and renting from some salons in NYC. The brow line launched around the same time—just as a retail item to sell to my clients—which has now expanded as a wholesale line that we sell to about 100 salon, spa and brow bar accounts across the USA and Canada. We also offer certification programs to other salon professionals that they can take online to advance their services in brow shaping, Henna Brows and soon, Brow Lamination.
Who are some of the notable clients you have worked with?
I’ve worked on Anjelica Houston, James Franco, Kate Moss, Alexandra Paul, Jamie Fox and many others, as well as my work appearing in Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, New Beauty and InStyle magazines.
