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“Hey girl, hey!
Dena Bruton here. I'm super excited to be a part of Butterfly Typeface Publishing’s I Am … Black History Month series. It is an honor and a privilege.
I believe I initially met Iris at a networking event. Remember those? (LOL). This was pre-covid. Needless to say, she stood out to me as we talked about my desire to venture into writing. We worked on some writing projects together, and she was later a guest on 'my 'ole school teleconference line.' Eventually, she moved away, but she made such an impression on me that I could not forget her.
As a master cosmetologist and makeup artist, I love teaching but never fancied writing. I thought in order to be super effective, I needed to write a lot. I found out that was a big ole lie. Iris taught me I didn't need to pen a bunch of training manuals. Sharing beauty is who I am, and anything I write makes me an author! Being an author looks different for everybody.
I have been creating, testing, and perfecting products for years. But, I never thought of it as ‘published work.’
Shoot, I'm a chemist! I create and test beauty products all the time.
I also write product descriptions, which is sometimes tedious, and on top of that, it's something you never get recognition for. No one thinks, "Who wrote this hair care routine?"
Well, no one but me. (LOL)
Being on this side of innovation in the beauty industry does have its special moments. For example, I love it when a client calls to say her makeup lasted through her happy tears at her wedding or a woman's confidence is boosted because she came to me for a head-to-toe makeover and now feels ready to date again. I love using the gift I have to better the lives of young girls and women.
When you help women, you help nations.
That's my commitment to the world!”
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I can vouch for Dena’s proclamation. A few years back, I needed professional photos. I hired a professional photographer, but the pictures were not usable. Admittedly I don’t photograph well - something about having the spotlight on me has been a deterrent.
While watching a reality TV show, I noticed the women typically had a glam squad. I initially thought, “That’s a complete waste of money.”
But Holy Spirit quickly corrected me and said, “No, that is what you need.”
Although I wasn’t living in North Carolina anymore, I called Dena anyway and wondered if she could help me long-distance. She assured me she could. We didn’t even have Facetime then, if I’m not mistaken! I just took pictures of my closet, shoes and jewelry, and she talked me through it!
Long story short – she directed my steps, and the next photoshoot was a huge success! They are still on my company's Facebook page to this day!
Thank you Dena Bruton for helping make the world a better, more beautiful and bold place to live!
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