March 19, 2018

For our latest monthly muse interview, we’re featuring the lovely Janine Holmes, founder of Toronto based hair and makeup company, I Do! Beauty Co. Janine has over 16 years experience under her belt in the bridal hair and makeup world. Last year, Janine set a goal for herself to become recognized as a Bridal Beauty Expert and to be a regular on Television, giving makeup & hair tips to future brides. Well, wouldn’t you know it…she is now an on-air Makeup Expert for the CBC daytime talk show The Goods and can happily cross that goal off her checklist! Congrats Janine!  She would also love to see I Do! Beauty Co. as the number 1 Bridal Beauty Agency in Toronto and to possibly expand into other provinces.

Janine always knew she wanted to do something in a creative field and she was heavily involved with the arts throughout school.  She was always the go-to-gal for doing hair and makeup on her friends but she never thought she could make a career out of it.

When she was younger, Janine wanted to be a physiotherapist, but that quickly changed when she found out she had to dissect a human cadaver, lol! Janine had a family friend who taught the makeup course at George Brown College and she saw potential in Janine and suggested that she enroll in the course. Luckily, Janine took her friend’s advice, took the course and loved it!

Being a one woman show is not easy, and often times, that’s the case for Janine in her line of work. She generally handles all aspects of her business, from invoicing to following up with clients, emails, accounting, social media and the list goes on!  It’s a lot of work but kick ass girl bosses like Janine find a way to manage it all.

“The most rewarding part is I get to make people feel good about themselves. It doesn’t get any better than that!”

I love to get insider’s secrets when it comes to the pro’s must have products for hair and makeup. Get a pen and paper ready ladies and take note! 

“For hair, I love Ellenet Hairspray but it needs to be the unscented one.  Big Sexy Hair Powder Play for creating volume & Sally Beauty Supply bobby pins are the best to hold updos.

“For makeup, a must have is Inglot’s Black Gel liner which is beyond waterproof and super black. Face Atelier Foundation is velvety, works great on all skin tones and photographs like a dream. And lastly Laura Mercier’s Eye Brightening powder is a must to help set concealer and to brighten up the eye area.”

When it comes to bridal hair trends, Janine says that incorporating braids into a hairstyle has been very popular over the last few years and that brides love the half up/half down look. She’s also a huge fan of waterfall braids and will often add in a braid for texture to add a little drama to the hairstyle.

Another useful tip that Janine shares for soon to be brides is to avoid doing really heavy ‘Instagram styled’ makeup. I personally think a bride looks best when her makeup is more on the natural side, like Lilia, who was a client of Janine’s…and also an Olive Studio bride! She perfectly embodies the ‘natural beauty’ bridal look.  I’m also a sucker for a great red lip so it’s all about finding the right balance. Janine says the key is to make your makeup look good both in person and in photographs, something all brides strive for. 

“I like to have my brides bring photographs of the style of makeup they would like.  It’s then my job as an expert to tweak the look to suit the bride’s features. I will always do my best to give my bridal clients what they want.”

Janine is inspired by the timeless and classic old Hollywood glamour look from the era of the 1920’s-1950’s…one of my favourite Hollywood eras as well! For her wedding, Janine had a “very stylised updo that was a modern take on a hairstyle that you would see in the 1950s.”  Janine says her friends all think that she was born in the wrong era! Her wedding hairstyle was created by her own personal Hair Muse, Justin Rousseau, who is a Toronto based hairstylist. 

“He is seriously a hair genius! I met Justin working backstage at Toronto Fashion Week and his hair skills blew me away.  I was lucky enough to have Justin do my hair for my wedding. My hair ended up being my favourite part of my day!”

I think you made an absolutely stunning bride, Janine! Some of her bucket list goals are to go on a cruise for her 40th birthday, to see the Sistine Chapel and to one day get the chance to do Britney Spears’ makeup. I wish you continued success with your business, Janine, and well done on achieving one of your career goals!  Watch out Britney, she’s coming for ya!

~Marilyn

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photo credits: www.idobeautyco.com // Olive Studio // Facebook: @idobeautyco // Instagram: @idobeautyco