your Beauty Our duty

It's been said that beauty's in the genes, and for Atlanta entrepreneur, Darnethea Lawrence, that statement has a double meaning. The brow/ lash stylist is a third generation beauty practitioner and business owner. Having spent much of her childhood in her grandmother's and then mother's hair salons, she saw the boost in confidence women received when they were happy with their appearance. Ms. Lawrence eventually realized that she also wanted to help them in achieving that feeling, so in 2005 she enrolled at the International School of Skin and Nails.

After graduating in 2006, Darnethea perfected her craft at the Alicia Art Complete Salon. Then, in 2007, she founded her own company. As the economy worsened, clients' purse strings got tighter. Therefore, at the encouragement of her client, Marjorie Harvey, she decided to move her business into an already-established salon. Mrs. Harvey - the wife of comedian, actor and radio personality, Steve Harvey - recommended that the single mother of two work at the popular U Salon in the affluent Buckhead section of Atlanta. Soon after, she became a certified 3D Beauty lash technician, eventually earning trainer status. She also added Dwight Eubanks, of the Real Housewives of Atlanta to her client roster and worked on his brows for the show's promotional commercials. Darnethea's proudest professional moment, though, came when she got the news that her lash work had won 3D Beauty's 2008 Photo contest for flair lashes and for general lash application. She was selected from a pool of 56 applicants based on her precision and the natural look of the lash extensions she applied.

Darnethea hopes to extend her client base to include more celebrities and to eventually become a well known name in the beauty industry. She knows it'll require a lot of work, but she's ready to take on the challenge one lash at a time.