If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then Taryn Dean is here to help you see yourself in the best light. As The Beauty Mage, the L.A. eyelash extensions expert has made it her mission to enhance her clients' flutters and souls as part of her transcendental beauty services, which now have a home of their own at her new appointment-only studio at Maker City L.A. in the Fashion District.
Blink and you might miss her tiny healing haven that's nestled behind a fashion atelier at The Reef, the DTLA building's 11th floor office spaces. When we recently visited the intuitive lash guru, the building's front desk required us to sign in before heading up the high-rise — and that security check-in (among the reasons she chose to open at the creative hub, in addition to the photo and podcast studios) is the first step that Dean takes in creating a safe space for her female clients, she says.
To give clients brighter eyes from the inside out, Dean blends luxury lash services ($125 to $500) with metaphysical healing ($150). The approximately three-hour session kicks off with a therapeutic chat, followed by reiki to realign the chakras. After the energy balancing, the lashline work begins, and clients can choose from fills or full sets of classic individual, hybrid, mink, or volume extensions that last from up to four to five weeks. Once your peepers are done, Dean finishes the treatment with a tarot reading and offers each client a small ritual jar so you can leave all of your negative energies behind continue practicing positivity and meditation at home.
"There is no greater source of energy transfer; that is the like highest connection that you can have to someone," says Dean. "I'm touching your face, I'm in direct contact with your third eye. And so with that is really important to me, that I'm instilling good energy into my clients and I am connecting to people who are going to be in tune and open to my messaging."
Dean's relaxing vibes and expert lash upgrades have attracted stars like Ava DuVernay, Constance Wu, Jada Pinkett Smith and Stephanie Beatriz. "All of the celebrity clientele that sort of come has either come from referrals from other clients that have followed me and loved me for a long time — or it was just like an absolute fluke," Dean reveals. "Honestly, I don't have an answer as to how any of it really happened beyond, you know, just doing the work and sowing good seeds."
Before she tended to the lashes of stars and industry insiders, Dean actually wanted to work behind the scenes in Hollywood as a screenwriter. After becoming disenchanted with the "formulaic" creative writing process she was learning at USC (where she landed a full scholarship), she dropped out, pursued a career in fashion, and became a stylist and personal shopper for music and film insiders. Seeking a change, she embarked on her second chapter and became a licensed aesthetician after stumbling upon the craft of lash extensions.
She also fell in love with witchcraft and the traditions of her African and Native American ancestors, specifically, hoodoo, she says. (Mindful of the fact that it's a "closed practice," Dean explains that she always works to honor its ancient rituals and culture.) As she progressed in her spiritual practices, clients also began asking the naturally intuitive beauty expert for life advice. That's how The Beauty Mage was born.
Ready to elevate your spirit and your lash game? Book a positive energy-powered beauty service with Dean online here (she also offers lash services at GBY Beauty in Silver Lake as well as mobile appointments), and see her dish even more self-care knowledge Thursday, July 18 starting at 7 p.m. at stylish facial bar Heyday on Beverly Boulevard — get all of the details below.
The Beauty Mage at The Reef in Maker City L.A., 1933 South Broadway, Suite 1107-E, L.A., 90007; (310) 754-0249
