Salon • Community
Meet our #BLVDBestof2020 Contest Winner: Faith Venditti

By Shanalie Wijesinghe . Feb.26.2021
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2020 hit the beauty industry harder than ever. But we still felt there could be ways to celebrate the little wins that were had in an otherwise difficult year. So, back in January, Boulevard ran the #BLVDBestof2020 social media competition where we asked our followers to show off their best looks from 2020. We received many beautiful entries, flooding our hashtag’s feed with some truly inspirational art. And while it was a tough judging process, we ultimately selected Faith Venditti as the winner for her gorgeous foilyage!
To learn more about how Faith works magic in her salon and what she sees for the future of the industry, we decided to go straight to the source. Without further ado, let’s meet the incredible Faith Venditti!
Faith, will you please introduce yourself?
Hi!! I’m Faith Venditti and I’m a color specialist at Brian Charles Hair Studio in Austin, Texas. I’ve been in the industry for 19 years!
When and how did you know you wanted to become a hairstylist?
It all started in high school. My best friend’s mom, Melody Blocker-Morris, owns a salon in Shreveport, Louisiana called Shear Artistry. After school, I would go to the salon and hang out while watching her work on her clients. Seeing how happy she made them, how beautiful they looked, and the bond she shared with each person is what sealed the deal for me! I wanted to make people feel beautiful and establish those connections, too!
2020 was the hardest our industry has ever been hit. How did you remain positive during a year of so much turmoil?
Mostly, I kept myself busy through watching hair videos, painting, working on mannequin heads, and keeping up with artists on Instagram that inspire and motivate me. I tried to stay away from negativity and focused on finding ways to be better coming out of this. When I needed a positive boost, I reminded myself of how thankful I was for what I have: family, my passion for my craft, health, and friends. In a world of negativity, you have to find the good and focus on the blessings that surround you!
Looking forward, what excites you about your work and the salon industry in 2021?
Oh my gosh! Where do I start? I’m hoping to attend some classes and hair shows later this year — in person that is. It’s very inspiring to see all the virtual learning and how much more accessible knowledge has become because of the past year, but nothing quite beats hands on learning! We are also very fortunate here in Austin that our salon is in good health and we will get through this thanks to some careful and strategic planning from the owners. I’m excited for more of my clientele to return when the world is safer for them to do so as more and more restrictions ease up.
We have to end with a trending topic: What do you think your clients are going to be asking for in 2021? Are there any trends that you’ve noticed in the reopened world?
My fashion-forward trendy clientele ranges from age 18-80. They know what’s going on in the world and love to look current! Lived-in hair color is very popular with my clients and so is the famous money piece. I’ve also been seeing a lot of balayage, foilayage, baby-lights, root shades, root smudges, and teasy-lights! I can’t wait to see what else comes up!
Want your business and work to be featured on Boulevard? Be sure to follow us on social @joinblvd and stay tuned for our next challenge!

Shanalie Wijesinghe
Content Strategy Director
Shanalie Wijesinghe is the Content Strategy Director at Boulevard. She lends her industry and platform expertise to both in-house staff and partner salons and spas. A salon industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience working for high-end luxury salons such as Sally Hershberger and BENJAMIN, Shanalie was previously Director of Education for Boulevard and blends her knowledge of the beauty and technology industries to help put the company’s partners and employees on the path to success. A Bay Area native and first-generation immigrant, Shanalie is a graduate of the Paul Mitchell School specializing in cosmetology, styling, and nail instruction.
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