Urban Call Briefs

By Lafayette Jones

Weave Expert & Educator

Platform Artist & Salon Owner

Film & Celebrity Makeup Artist

Esthetician & Beautician

Online Entrepreneur & YouTuber

Weave Expert & Educator

Jane Okoth, also known as Jayne Stylist, is an International Shades of Beauty (ISOB) educator. Okoth is from Nairobi, Kenya and has 30 years combined experience in the beauty industry; and she spent 24 of those years working as a licensed hairstylist. Her repertoire of services includes educational and professional training to licensed cosmetologists and salon owners in topics including, but not limited to, building business etiquette, marketing and hands-on styling techniques. Additionally, her services have expanded in the areas of makeup artistry, distribution of products, as well as participation in tradeshow events, and motivational speaking. This Kenyan superstar developed a team called “The A-Class Weave X-Perts,” a group of stylists trained by Jayne; they travel internationally to train other stylists. The mission of The Weave X-Perts is to teach the world to weave. Jayne’s philosophy is “We treat everyone with respect, answer the questions about the things that people really want to know, travel as well as host training in stationary locations, and give people what they need.”

Training is a joint effort amongst Okoth and her team; they use a system she designed. Her team trains in schools, salons, tradeshows, and inclassroom formats. Okoth even has her tradeshow, the Jayne Stylist Extensions Expo Show. Annually, she sees hundreds travel from near and far to attend this show with over eight classes per day. Her calendar remains filled with events, including training, meetings, tradeshows, classes, and community service projects. She is qualified to teach the following courses: Lace Wig Application, Frontal Application, Lace Closure Weave Installs, Hair Replacement Techniques, Malaysian Weave, Mekani Weave, The Detachable Sewn Weave, Fusion, Microlinking, Wig Making (sewn and bonded), Quick Weaves, Basics of Hairstyling, Clippies, Skin Weft, Full Sewn Weave, Roll-N-Sew, Lash Application, Closures of Weaves, Latch Hooking, and more.

Platform Artist & Salon Owner

Penna’e Akpuru, an International Shades of Beauty (ISOB) educator, is an international beauty influencer, image consultant and educator. She celebrates 40 years as a beauty professional. She is a boss, continuing to leave her imprint in the world and beauty community. She is the creative director of International Shades of Beauty and CEO of Salon Penna’e, an upscale fullservice salon in Buckhead (Atlanta, Georgia). Additionally, Akpuru is the CEO of Lyfe Hair Care, an all-natural, organic line formulated to help grow, repair, strengthen and become more radiant. Her latest product line, Lyfe’ Fifty What’ Skincare, is a unisex collection for achieving clean, radiant, and healthier skin. A graduate of Empire Beauty School, she became an educator and platform artist for Empire, Paul Mitchell Academy, Dudley Products, Clairol, and Nairobi. Moreover, she served as Bronner Brothers International NU Exhibition Beauty Liaison.

Akpuru’s work has graced the cover and or pages of Forbes Africa, Essence, Ebony and Upscale Magazine, commercial advertising ads and more. This boss worked and had personal appearances on many television networks such as BET, BRAVO, We TV, VH1 and several African networks. Her resume includes preparing many clients for award shows. Her hands have styled some of the biggest movers and shakers in Hollywood, including

BRIEFS By Lafayette Jones

Ruby Dee, Barry White, Omotola Jalade, Nigeria’s polo queen, Neku Atawodi; Steve Harvey, Sherri Shepherd, Cynthia Bailey, Tisha Campbell, Tyrese Gibson, Dorinda Clark Cole, and Boris Kodjoe, to name a few. Akpuru is the proud author of “Living Past Your Pain to Live Your Dreams” and the artist of the song “I Got Myself Together,” the official “Living Past Your Pain” anthem. She uses her own story of going from victim to victor to open women’s minds to see their true power. She’s using her experience in the beauty industry and life to launch the Living Past Your Pain Movement to change women’s lives around the globe. She is helping women shift from a mindset of lack, doubt, and fear to abundance, confidence, and hope. Akpuru’s mission is to reach millions of women and give them the tools they need to release the pains of the past and take control of their lives.

Film & Celebrity Makeup Artist

Marietta Carter-Narcisse is an International Shades of Beauty (ISOB) educator in Marietta, Georgia. She is an internationally renowned educator and veteran celebrity makeup artist. Carter-Narcisse has a passion for sharing beauty that’s apparent in everything she does -- whether she’s standing with a color palette in hand, brush poised before a famous face ready to be made up, or lecturing before a classroom, training a whole new generation of makeup artists.

Carter-Narcisse launched her career as an assistant wardrobe stylist to her younger brother during The Commodores’ 1983 European Tour. Through him, she met and toured with Natalie Cole as her image consultant and personal assistant. This opportunity led to a string of hit music videos, commercials, television shows and a successful career as one of the most sought-after makeup artists in motion pictures. She has amassed an extensive list of film credits that include NAT GEO’s limited series “Genius: Aretha,” John Singleton’s BET project, “Rebel,” Lifetime Television’s remake of “Beaches” and 2015 movie “Whitney.” She is also credited on “Sparkle,” “Baby Boy,” “Eve’s Bayou,” “Tina: What’s Love Got to Do With It?” “Malcolm X,” “Boyz ‘N The Hood,” “Ghost,” and numerous others. The list of actors she has worked with reads like a who’s who in entertainment, from Angela Bassett, Denzel Washington, Michelle Pfeiffer, Whoopi Goldberg, Cindy Crawford Jordin Sparks, Nia Long, Danielle Mone Truitt to being a personal makeup artist for Samuel L. Jackson. The list goes on and on.

Carter-Narcisse is a voting member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy. She is a former member of the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Branch Executive Board, the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild IATSE Local 706. She’s also a former master educator for Make Up Forever’s Film & Television Academy at Cite du Cinema in Saint-Denis, France. She holds a master’s of science in higher education and current cosmetology licenses in California and Florida. Carter-Narcisse has also authored two books about the film and television industry: “The Little Brown Book - Buzzwords & Lingo” and “The Official Film & Television Weekly Planner,” now in its seventh year of publication. She also offers online educational classes via Marietta’s Virtual Make-up Academy.

In 2014, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Barbados Music, Fashion & Film Awards. In 2016, she received a nomination for Best Contemporary Makeup for her work in the Whitney for Miniseries (MOW) Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Local 706. She was also honored by Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC) for her contribution to makeup and hairstyling for film and television.

A humanitarian who’s passionate about filmmaking and giving back, Carter-Narcisse has lent her hand to the budding film industry in Barbados by consulting, producing, training and doing makeup. She also designed costumes for local Barbadian filmmakers Alison Saunders’s “Panama Dreams;” and Marcia Weekes’s “Chrissy, Vigilante – The Crossing and Errol Barrow: Freedom Fighter.” She also produced the 2019 Step by Step Productions feature, “Joseph: A Quest for Identity,” which won the 2020 African Academy Award for best narrative. She recently completed the Tyler Perry/Netflix feature production, “A Jazzman’s Blues.”

Esthetician & Beautician

Esenam Adetunji (Esse) is an International Shades of Beauty (ISOB) educator. She has been a beauty entrepreneur, professional esthetician and beautician based in Finland for the past nine years. She is originally from Togo and moved to Finland to pursue her education. Subsequently, Adetunji studied esthetics at Oulun Kosmetologikoulu in Oulu, Finland and is currently studying International Business at Oulu University of Applied Sciences. Her love for helping women with their confidence, enhancing natural beauty, health, and wellness motivates her to research and study products and services to help her clients achieve flawless skin and healthy hair. Adetunji’s motto is “look and feel good.” She is the founder of Beauty By Adetunji, a company offering a wide range of skincare products from very reputable brands. Because of her commitment and dedication to her clients, she makes it easy to purchase her services and products through various platforms such as the company website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Additionally, Beauty By Adetunji offers beauty consultancy services, both virtually and in person. Her clientele spans Europe, Africa and North America. She is multilingual and comfortably communicates in English, French, Finnish and her native tongue of Ewe. Additionally, she runs a YouTube channel where she shares insight into healthy lifestyles, product reviews and offers trusted beauty tips.

Online Entrepreneur & YouTuber

Deleesa St. Agath is an International Shades of Beauty (ISOB) educator. The multi-talented reality TV personality, beauty influencer, content creator, Youtuber, and entrepreneur has touched every area of the entertainment industry. As a native of the Bronx, the proud wife and mother of two has gone on to star on Netflix’s hit TV show, “The Circle,” where she won $100,000 as Season 2’s champion and is best known for playing the game as her husband, Trevor. St. Agath is the founder of two successful online businesses, Be Unique Shoppe and The Goodie Box Store. She is also working on a TV show based around her family and writing a series of children’s books. She is passionate about building platforms that shine a light on uplifting black families and creating platforms for mothers who are also entrepreneurs. You can keep up with all things St. Agath and her family brands at @leesaunique and @itsthesaints on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Each month, Urban Call Briefs covers subjects that provide readers of OTC Beauty Magazine with information on multicultural consumers, Hispanics and African Americans, who are the fastest growing consumer segments in the U.S. The mission of this column is to build a bridge of communications and information between manufacturers and retailers and the ethnic consumers they wish to serve better. The column offers resources covering marketing, retail merchandising, consumer research, purchase behavior, fashion and beauty trends, industry events and people, trade association news, new product launches and a potpourri of information designed to help the readers make intelligent decisions about the customers they serve. Urban Call is a registered trademark of Segmented Marketing Services, Inc. (SMSi). For more information, call 336-759-7477 or visit www.segmentedmarketing.com.

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