Journey to Change

Embracing Change with Perfectly Claire

This year was I stepped into adulthood. Someone told me in life turning 25 is a year long transition, and I can admit to that. In 2016 I moved to New York City, began more first corporate job and strived to find myself in a whole new world.

I encouraged myself to embrace change and responsibilities instead of running from it. I came to an understanding that there are many different ways to tackle change. The first thing I began to examine about myself starting with my outside and working inward.

When this was just a thought, I shared it with friends who listened and provided their two cents. I happened to attend “I’mPart” mixer, sponsored by the Advertising Club of New York City and met Claire Mike  . I like to consider her a transformative guru. It was as if the universe brought her into my life, and we embark on a new journey.

I was automatically mesmerized by her smile and gentleness. Our connection was direct. She mentioned that she has a business in “personal imaging and assisting people with finding themselves and style.”

In that instant, we decided to work together. Claire and I began this project and with our collaborative efforts, I found a way to have comfort in my transition of stepping out and finding the new. With a series of sessions we explored shapes, colors & tones, and worked on cosmetics, brands and styles. I even found the confidence to coordinate a photo shoot in honor of my birthday.

Through her custom questionnaire I was able to gain clarity of the person I wanted to see myself become. Claire suggested creating a vision board via Pinterest. I began visioning my looks and options for the photo shoot and before you knew it, I fell into the rabbit hole pinning countless images to my board.

I knew nothing about makeup. I mean I just understood the greatness of concealer last year after I graduated from college. Claire definitely guided me in the right direction during one of our sessions at Sephora. I became familiar with the SmashBox Color Correcting Stick, an “orange” pencil for the leather suitcases that reside under my eyes. I fell in love with NARS’ “Hazelnut” concealer and discovered Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer. I found myself in a whole new world.

I left the store feeling confident and secured that I knew a few simple steps to make a pull off a "natural-look" with just a few steps. Claire and I then embarked our next journey by challenging my wardrobe. Check out my next blog post to read more.