Cheryl Honc, the Chief Operating Officer and Product Formulator for Belegenza, is the embodiment of brains and beauty. She is the living breathing fantasy of the babe in the lab coat and spectacles that transforms into Marilyn Monroe with a shake of her tousled platinum curls. We’re all very lucky, you know. She might have gone a different route. She might have stayed in her small hometown and become a pharmacist. After all, she was headed in that direction. Cheryl was certain her future would involve formulas and potions, but on the other hand, she also knew her heart was just too fancy to be sequestered in a research facility or doling out prescriptions at your corner drug store. While attending school full time and managing her local pharmacy, she puzzled over what kind of life would possibly combine science and style, formulas and fashion? What was a brainy glamour girl to do? Every night she threw wishes at lucky stars and stared into the crystal ball with a brilliant blue gaze, filled with faith that her questions would be answered and life would be a fairy tale. She searched long and focused on far away places, but when the answer arrived it was much closer, and in the form of family.
When her brother Alan opened a new salon in the world famous Houston Galleria district and needed a receptionist, a bell rang in Cheryl’s head and she ran as fast as her red stilettos would carry her from hometown of Victoria, Texas to sign up and sign on. And just like that, with a click of her fabulous shoes, she was Dorothy, permanently ensconced in the Emerald City makeover scene. Like a tornado, she was whisked into a whirlwind of beauty and fashion and glamour.
Surrounded by this thrilling and fast paced world of stylists, Cheryl looked around and felt everything clicking into place. It still wasn’t completely clear yet, but she saw a glimpse of her future, and it was beautiful! Without a moment of hesitation, she registered in Cosmetology College, seeking out as many extra workshops and classes as possible. In the blink of an eye, she was certified by Goldwell Color Systems and CHI Japanese and Bio Ionic Straightening Systems, rocketing past her initial position as receptionist, to apprentice extraordinaire, to a talented stylist and colorist. One of her fondest memories is the first time she met the International Color Director of L’Oreal, who complimented Cheryl’s work on a “double process” blonde. “It was like having Annie Lebowitz compliment my photography!”
The cherry on the cheesecake sundae that brought everything together was yet to come, a few years later. While Cheryl was immersing herself in the excitement of being an in-demand stylist both behind the chair at the Houston salon as well as jetting off to work behind the scenes at glamorous shows like the Emmys and the Oscars, her brother was busy with his own big dreams.
As the owner of Belegenza, Alan was building the perfect environment for fostering creativity, beauty, and science, all under the same roof. He became obsessed with creating natural beauty products that did no harm to the client, the stylist, or the environment, yet far exceeded the performance of any conventional product. Cheryl found herself spending more and more time working closely with Alan to uncover these impossible solutions and became fascinated with the process of discovery, and committed to the cause.
One day, while assisting with the latest experiment, she suddenly connected all the dots in her constellation and realized that this was the life she had asked for when she looked into her crystal ball, years ago. Immediately, she pulled out her lab coat from the old hometown pharmacy, added some corset lacings and a frosting of sparkles, of course, and officially began consulting on the development of these new and exciting products that fulfill natural beauty. She happily plunged into the testing phase, and applied her pharmaceutical wisdom to the challenges of the formulation process. When the alchemy was perfected, she became the official “nose’ of the line, selecting the fragrances that beautifully complimented these revolutionary new products.
She knew her life would be magical, but never imagined that her talent as a colorist and stylist, and her background in science would one day make the journey full circle to find her the Chief Operating Officer and partner in Belegenza! She’s never looked back. It must have been fate, or maybe the red stilettos.