When it comes to makeup, Tammy Taylor knows what she's talking about. Growing up in Southern California, where she was surrounded by several Hollywood makeup artists within her own family, Taylor learned early on that the makeup and beauty business was about much more than just shampoo.
"It was make-believe," says Taylor, whose father, grandmother, uncle and two cousins were all involved in the business. Her grandmother dated one of the heads of Warner Brothers Studios and as children, Taylor and her siblings were able to visit movie sets and get a little taste of the industry, in addition to amassing autographs of the rich and famous, and, on rare occasions, meeting some of their favorite stars.
"The first impact (the makeup business) had on me was when my dad introduced me to Barbara Eden of 'I Dream of Jeannie,' " says Taylor. One of her siblings was into Star Trek and was able to meet William Shatner, while another met the Three Stooges.
"My memories are all fancy memories," she says. "Meeting Barbara Eden really started it for me."
After high school, Taylor attended beauty school and later worked summers at her father's stores, Taylor Maid Beauty Supply.
Through it all, she knew that one day, she wanted to own her own shop. Now with the opening of Got Beauty at the corner of 900 East and 2100 South in Sugar House, her dream has become a reality.
"It is beautiful chaos," says Taylor of her unique all-service beauty salon.
Hairstyling clients are wrapped in fanciful leopard-print capes, while those receiving pedicures relax in luxury on an oversize couch.
The store shelves are stacked to the ceiling with bookstore-style ladders that roll along the ceiling. It's the only way to reach the products at the top.
The business also offers a free search service for beauty supplies. Taylor knows many people become attached to a certain beauty product, only to find that item discontinued or unavailable in the local markets. The willingness to hunt down those elusive beauty supplies has even earned Taylor and her associates a tongue-in-cheek moniker: Beauty Bloodhounds.
"I kind of know everyone in the industry, and can find hard-to-find, archaic items," says Taylor.
The service is offered in-store and through http://www.gotbeauty.com. If the item cannot be found locally, Taylor can usually track it down through her network of beauty connections.
Besides makeup and professional haircare, Got Beauty also sells gifts, jewelry, hats and what she calls "only impractical shoes."
Boas, wigs and purses round out the accessories. If it's offbeat, fun and a "grown-up gift," Taylor says you can find it at Got Beauty. She even stocks Sigmund Freud action dolls.
Most of Taylor's employees were customers before they were hired to work there. Assistant manager Rebekah Thatcher had been in retail for over a decade when she saw an ad in the paper after shopping at the store herself.
"I've been in retail but usually ended up in the office," she says. "I'm a people person. The personality here is very vibrant. It's not work to me."
Another employee, Alexandra Hemmert, had also come into the store as a customer when Taylor, who was looking for a nail tech, learned that she had just graduated from beauty school.
"She told me, 'You have an interview at 2 o'clock tomorrow,' and I've been here ever since," says Hemmert. "This (store) is my kind of style. I love the energy here."
Consistent with the playful atmosphere of the store, Hemmert and fellow nail tech Laura Bresin refer to themselves as "Nail Goddesses," while hairstylist Brandy Winrow is a "Color Diva."
Taylor is determined to make her business stand out.
"People enjoy talking to someone who remembers them. The store has some personality that I think we miss in homogenized strip-mall America. We are price-competitive with the chains, but (here) you're also getting the service," she says.
