Meet Nicolette Vonchelle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicolette Vonchelle.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am native of Alabama (ROLL TIDE LOL). I moved to Southern California in 2010 to follow my artistic gifts, not knowing exactly how difficult that would be. It took me a few years to figure out which career path would be the best start towards opening up doors for everything else that I wanted to do. Not only am I a Hair & Makeup Artist, but I’ve been a drummer since I was 12, a dancer since I was 5, a Choreographer since I was 16, a Vocalist since I was 5, and a Songwriter & Spoken Word Artist since I was 17. Most of which I honed in Church, working conferences throughout the South. What brought me into the beauty industry was obsession with color AND it was honestly the cheapest trade I could afford at the time. Which I am SO THANKFUL for because it’s allowed me to work for myself & be home for my babies. I am an alum of LuRoss Academy’s Makeup Artisty 2013, under the tutelage of Holly Hughes & mentorship of Cyndi Tuzak. Holly taught me how to hustle in this industry by making myself valuable in ways that other Makeup Artists couldn’t.

Cyndi taught me how to pay attention to every aspect of a person’s face, pores to features. So Hair & Makeup was my open door, financially-speaking. It led me to meet my girl, Sade Champagne, who is another multi-gifted Artist. I became her personal Hair & Makeup Artist about four years ago, and now I open up for her on her tours across Southern Cali as well. In January 2019, she talked me into auditioning for a local play in Oxnard, CA, which I did begrudgingly because I wasn’t an Actress. I thought it was to be an extra on stage and actually booked the Lead role in a Gospel comedy play called Mixed Nuts. I completely fell in love with Acting & storytelling, basically decided to pursue it at the end of our 1st show. So here I am, adding Actress to my resume. While doing all of this, I am a full-time Mommy of 2 gorgeous, high-energy, little munchkins. So my life right now is never dull, LOL.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
OMGAAAH. It definitely has NOT been a smooth road. It’s actually freaking DIFFICULT LOL. Moving to SoCal as an Artist who was all self-taught & plays-by-ear, meant being up against Artists who grew up trained in their skills. It was very intimidating at first. Even going to school for Makeup Artistry, I was the oldest one in class with the least knowledge of Cosmetics. I am a tomboy who used to only wash my face with water & only would ever wear a little eyeshadow, LOL. I was 29 and never wore foundation before, didn’t even know what concealer was. But my Instructor did not play & I give 200% in everything I do, so I dove into the world of Makeup just completely fascinated by how colors can work together and against each other. I literally fell in love with the aspect of creating Art from nothing, but with Cosmetics & molds & prosthetics. Now, seeing myself as a Vocalist was a MAJOR struggle for me. My voice is very raspy & deep, (growing up, boys would call me MacGyver). I hadn’t seen too many female Artists with raspy voices actually make it. I’d always been a Background Singer & doing crazy runs isn’t my thing, which had me believing that I would probably have to sell my music because who would want to hear ME sing it?

But my Music Mentor, Barry, passed away last year suddenly & that was hard for me. He pulled me out of the background and made me believe that I had something no one else had, with my voice and my sound, and that people needed to hear it. So when he passed, I promised myself that I wouldn’t hold back anymore on it. And everyone knows that being an Actor is a daily struggle. Even when you book a gig, you still have to keep submitting for new ones while learning your lines for the current one. That’s not including also trying to land an Agent and/or Manager, and keep them. It so important to know who your people are in this industry because they’re going to be honest with you, challenge you & pull you up. They’re going to be able to see the things God put in you that maybe even you can’t see and help to bring it to the forefront, and then believe in you about it even when you don’t. I’m crazy frikkin’ grateful for those people in my life. MAJOR shoutouts to Good Luck Road Films, Wait What Comedy, Sade Champagne, TK Productions & Diana Cabuto; thanks for the challenges & the faith.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Nicolette Vonchelle Artistry is about catering to You. For Brides, Bridal parties & personal clientele, I specialize in helping every single person realize they don’t need to put on a mask, but to be comfortable in their own skin. I don’t just want to make you feel good; rather, I will make you wholeheartedly believe you’re utterly and indisputably gorgeous. Simply because you ALREADY are. For Cinematic and Editorial clientele, I specialize in providing dependability. When I am on your set, it’s not just about Hair & Makeup for me. It’s about the team and bringing the vision to life in the most epic way possible. I will always be 30mins-1hr early every time, everywhere. I’m the person that will fill whatever holes you need plugged because if You win, then I win too.

I am skilled in custom blending for every skin type & ethnicity, enhancing your personal natural beauty, freehand artistic makeup, special effects & time-tested hairstyling. I fully believe that there is nothing I can not do because if I don’t know how to do it, I will learn. The main thing that sets me apart from others is that I am a one-stop-shop. I am always prepared. I pay attention to the personality and character of my clients so that I can successfully anticipate the necessities that they might have forgotten to tell me or may not even know that they’ll need it. I honestly care about my clients and want to see their projects truly flourish. I freelance because I want to make your life easier & be wherever you need me to be.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, my relationship with Jesus was my moral center (and still is). Because of that, I was the happy go-lucky kid who wanted to make sure that everybody was good. If I could tell you were having a bad day, I’d make it my purpose to put a smile on your face or make you laugh. I have way too much energy for one person, which definitely comes in hand with my kids & helps me sustain my crazy, no days off type of lifestyle. I’m an early-riser night owl who fully functions off of 4hrs of sleep naturally. I loved sports & fitness because it gave me somewhere to put most of that energy. Weightlifting is my boo thang! Sweatin’ it out just makes me feel like I’m ready to handle the chaos of life. I was always aggressive & slightly violent (LOL, I pretty much still am).

Coming from the South, I have that big family with crazy cousins my age who all happened to be boys and in some form of martial arts. So let’s just say that my cousins trained me to handle myself if I ever got jumped and they weren’t around. I grew up playing ball in the dirt or the gravel. My Mama would have to threaten me just to get me in a dress or a skirt. I started playing drums because a group of boys told me that girls couldn’t play drums. If anyone would’ve told me that my main stream of income would be Hair & Makeup, I would’ve taken it as disrespect LOL. But I LOVED fashion. You couldn’t catch me not fitted at all times and still to this day. You can’t get back a first impression and you never know who you’re going to run into. When God places you in the right place at the right time, be ready inside & out.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.NicoletteVonchelle.com
• Phone: 805-415-4033
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/NicoletteVonchelle
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/NicoletteVonchelle

Image Credit:
@GiannaDorseyPhoto, @katurahashby, @beverlydejesus, @elpandatriste, @nathanmartellfoto, @laynabeephotography, @bethanyanderikphotography

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