Rising Stars: Meet Nora Bratteng Doench of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nora Bratteng Doench.

Hi Nora, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I come from Storsteinnes, a cozy little town located way up in the northern part of Norway, where in the summers we have 24 hours of daylight and in the winter 24 hours of darkness. During the winter months, the sky fills itself with the glow of the green Northern Lights, and in the summer, when the sun lights the surroundings, one gets to enjoy the majestic mountains and fjords.
As a child growing up, I found myself gravitating towards anything artistic. It was becoming ever clear to me that I must work in beauty and entertainment industry, an industry that encourage creative people to create and grow. I felt strongly that I needed a plan, so I began calling around to different schools, trying to line up a path for myself before even starting high school. I graduated and went on to get my cosmetology license, and worked in a hair salon. I loved that job and it was a great time in my life. I also had bigger ambitions, and in order to grow I had to move to the more bustling city of Oslo, which was the only city in Norway with real opportunities in entertainment at that time. There, I got my degree in Makeup Artistry from Nordic Institute of Stage and Studio (NISS), and became a makeup & hair artist on Hotel Cœsar, the biggest soap opera in Norway at that time. I also freelanced for different magazines, talk shows, news etc. One job led to the next and I was enjoying my work journey and the people that I was working with and around. One connection led to another and soon I was in Los Angeles pursuing my career here. The energy of the city is electrifying and loaded with others chasing down their dreams. I met my husband here and we have two amazing kids together.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a freelancer is never a smooth road. You have to work really hard
and your income is never consistent. Some periods are great, other periods are slower, and the competition is fierce with so many brilliant artists who are eager to work in this town. The industry as a whole can be very cutthroat. But I’ve truly been blessed with some honest, good and supportive people. One of the more significant challenges was juggling motherhood with my work. I became a mom 13 years ago and it did augment my career path for the first couple years as I wasn’t able to work 12-hour days on set, or travel too much. A few long days here and there was okay, but sustaining that workload every day with kids, was a struggle. So I scaled down during those first couple of years, which had its own challenges. I’m lucky that my husband, who is also a creative in the industry, had the flexibility in his work weeks. So, we were able to find a way where I could slowly but surely roll back into more of a workload.
There was never a ‘Plan-B’ for me, no other option, so it had to work out. I’ve been determined to make it a livable and sustainable career for myself. I’ve worked hard, and I’ve also been very lucky along the way to be able to materialize my childhood dream, and I feel endlessly grateful for being able to do what I love.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I do makeup and hair for red carpets, events, influencer shoots, weddings, advertisements, print, commercials, TV, film (all media).
One of the biggest productions that I’ve worked on was as lead makeup and hair for the host and the jury of Top Model Norway that filmed here in Los Angeles and New York, and that was an incredible production to be a part of. I’ve traveled to Africa and many other magnificent places on photoshoots, and worked with lovely people and brands. One of the most memorable jobs in my career, was doing grooming for Dr.
Muhammad Yunus in 2006, for when he received the Nobel Peace Price. I felt so honored that I got to be there, working, at such an important and meaningful event, and it’s truly something I will never forget.
Those who work in the industry know, it’s a super-fast paced hustle from one place and job, to the next. So when I get to the location where my client sits in my makeup / hair chair, I like it to be a moment in time where they get to catch their breathe and just be themselves, while I do their makeup and hair. To enjoy this human connection and transformation, it’s truly magical. It is also very important to stay in the loop on new products and trends. Eventually you come to realize that fellow makeup and hair artists are contributors to the influence of trend and style.
At the end of the day, what I’m the most-proud of, is that I can reflect back on that young girl, from a small town in northern Norway, with big hopes and ambitions, who followed her heart and made them become a reality. I love the idea that my work could potentially inspire the next girl or boy to run towards their dreams in the industry, full steam ahead.

What were you like growing up?
I was a daydreamer. I listened to music a lot (which my brother was a big influence for me on that) wrote poems for a period of time and painted pictures. For a time when I was growing up, I would visit my friend’s mom’s hair salon every Saturday to watch her cut hair. I remember studying how she used different techniques to transform or freshen up peoples’ looks. At home I would bribe my younger sister to let me experiment with her hair, and I’d sneak into my older sister’s makeup and skincare and play with her products (I became that annoying little sister). I definitely had an adventurous side to me, and I was very inspired by my siblings as they traveled a lot before me. I remember having this burning feeling inside, knowing there was something bigger out there for me. My ambitions were bigger than my fears, and I couldn’t wait to get started on my path.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.noradoench.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautybynorad/?hl=en

Image Credits
Eric Curtis
Lika Brutyan
Nora Doench