CEO/Founder Authentic Beauty
Alyson Howard-Hoag’s career in the beauty industry spans more than 20 years and includes working with leading cosmetic giants such as Lancome, Borghese, Revlon, Sebastian, and Aveda. As an educator and trainer, Alyson has instructed hundreds of makeup artists at salons in the Southeast region for makeup application and technique, as well as business development and is currently an instructor at the Elaine Sterling Institute of Esthetics teaching her newly developed Art of Makeup Series.
Alyson discovered her love for makeup at the age of three when she hoarded her mother’s unused cosmetics. In the third grade, with a shoebox full of makeup, she was sent to the principal’s office for performing makeovers on her classmates during class. By age 16, she had enrolled in college in pursuit of her passion to empower people to live a fulfilled and purposeful life.
As a college student, Alyson worked at the cosmetic counter for Lancome while earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the State University of New York, New Paltz. At the age of 19, the book Rejuvenation by Horst Rechelbacher (founder of Aveda) was her inspiration to begin her journey to help women discover their inner beauty by way of the beauty industry instead of as a social worker.
Over the next 20 years, Alyson honed her true talent: inspiring women to have their image be a reflection of their Authentic Self. She takes her clients through a transformational journey from self-doubt to the full self-expression of their authentic beauty.
Authentic Beauty was born from the idea that a woman should never be told how she should look coupled with the belief that inner beauty, self-acceptance and learning to express your Authentic Self will create outer beauty. It is Alyson’s commitment that women make peace with and fall in love what they see when they look in the mirror. The full-service makeup studio (and now salon) located in Atlanta, Ga., specializes in the Image Journey, an interactive self-discovery makeup lesson that empowers women to learn how to express their Authentic Image and aqcuire simple and refined makeup techniques that they can do themselves.
I truly believe that every woman is beautiful, says Alyson. When she looks in the mirror, she should recognize her inner-self shining through, rather than a face dominated by makeup. I love guiding her through that journey. Watching a woman fall in love with herself is the best job anybody could have!
Alyson’s passion, commitment and talent have earned her the opportunity to work with the Alive! Green Expo Pavilion and World Peace One and Retna Photo Studio at Sundance Film Festival 2008,the V-Day 10th year anniversary celebration in New Orleans where she worked on Academy award winning celebrity Jennifer Hudson as well as coordinating the makeovers of over 2000 women of New Orleans . Alyson is also Laura Turner-Seydel’s personal makeup artist. Her work can be seen in many Atlanta magazines such as Jezebel Magazine( winner of Best Makeup Artist 2010 and Best of What’s New 2009), Best Self Magazine-a regular contributor and Piedmont Review-a regular contributor. She is also recognized as one of the best brow experts in the country and is known as the “brow guru” of Atlanta.
Alyson is married and has two children, whom help to bring joy and fulfillment to her life as well as bring out her inner beauty.
