California Woman Shares Her Remarkable Rise In The Beauty Industry
Beauty expert Holli Gensole’s life mission is to help people look beautiful and feel good about themselves.
But it took more than a decade on the unlikeliest of career paths before she finally discovered her true purpose.
The journey began as a holiday hire for make-up brand Bare Escentuals, then cleaning teeth as a dental assistant, caring for elderly people, switching back to working for big name cosmetics companies…before ultimately launching her own beauty business in Morgan Hill, California.
Now working her dream job as owner of Haus of Arches, which specializes in permanent make-up artistry, Holli reflects back on the common link between the wide variety of jobs she’s worked to get where she is today.
She explained: “After many years at Bare Escentuals, I simultaneously attended school to be a dental assistant and worked doing that for a brief time.
“I even attended school to be a CNA (care nursing assistant) working with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients where I fell in love with the senior community.
“I later worked in cosmetics retail management with Christian Dior, but it was actually when I was able to work one-on-one with people that I thrived.
“Ultimately, it came to light that a true passion of mine was really just to make others feel great about themselves – and that in return is what made me feel happy.”
With her extensive knowledge of the beauty industry and her experience in PMU artistry, opening her own business was the next natural step for Holli.
She launched Haus of Arches last summer and the company has gone from strength to strength, providing permanent make-up artistry for women in Morgan Hill and beyond.
It’s all about the beautiful brows. Holli is a certified expert in microblading and microshading with phi brows from the Phi Brow Academy. With patented mapping and microblading tools, each client’s new brows are designed specifically for them.
“I am passionate about this work and have dedicated myself to helping beautiful people with permanent cosmetics,” said Holli.
But how and when did her love for the beauty industry and cosmetics all begin for Holli?
She said: “Ever since I can remember I was always a girl that loved make-up and all things beauty.
“When I was 18 I applied for a job at Bare Escentuals as a holiday hire. There I learned the basics behind customer service and helping people. It was also a gateway into understanding cosmetic application and color theory.”
Despite working other jobs in dentistry and caring for elderly people over the years, Holli was always involved in the beauty industry and continuously developed her skills and knowledge.
It was this expertise that led to Holli landing jobs with several big name cosmetics brands.
She said: “I worked in retail management at Christian Dior where I was able to discover a new realm of the luxury type of beauty world. It was there where I realized I was not a management type of person and did not fully enjoy myself since I worked on more of behind the scenes, rather than hands on and directly with people.
“I juggled back and forth on what it was that really made me happy. While in my late 20s I worked for Tory Burch and Burberry. Both places filled my cup in terms of fulfilment where I was able to work one-on-one with people and thrive. This was really what it was that made my heart happy.”
Five years of motherhood led to an extended break away from the industry she loved – and also resulted in plenty of reflection.
Holli had worked for the big name beauty brands. She’d learned all the skills. She was way ahead of the game. What next?
A whole new career path suddenly opened up when the world was upside down during the pandemic.
Holli explained: “During the Covid shutdown I had read an article about a woman who was laid off from her tech company and ventured off to try something new: microblading in the land of permanent cosmetics.
“It was then when it dawned on me ‘hey, I can do that. In fact, why haven’t I already?’
“I considered how I had the beauty background and thought that this was something I could definitely be good at! A few months later, I started training in microblading, which is semi-permanent cosmetics that help create the look of natural eyebrow strokes.
“I have since started doing microshading as well to enhance the overall look of the eyebrow after microblading is done. This career choice has allowed me to work at my own pace and still be able to be at home with my children.
“I’ve felt complete since starting this career path and have learned that with everything else I have tried in the past, each of those roles have all prepared me to be able to operate my own business today.”
Just the fact that she was able to establish her own successful business has become the number one highlight for Holli in what was been a long, colourful career path. She credits her husband for playing an important part in the success of Haus of Arches, admitting that her brain is “geared more artistically rather than technically”.
The magic ingredient is, and always will be, giving clients the VIP treatment and making them feel great.
“I want people to know that they are important to me and what I do for them will help them feel like the best version of themselves,” said Holli. “I want everyone to feel comfortable and aware of what is going on, and be informed and educated on all things beauty that I provide.
“I just want to help others feel as good as I would want to feel if it was me in their shoes.”
* For more information on Holli and her PMU artistry, visit: www.hausofarches.com
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