A Chanel short film starring Timothée Chalamet, directed by Martin Scorsese. A worldwide YSL Beauty campaign with Austin Butler. “The most epic moments,” celebrity groomer Jamie Taylor said, listing her career highlights.
“I remember doing this music video with Johnny Depp and Paul McCartney — I was in the bathroom grooming Johnny — and Paul McCartney comes in, and they just start jamming right in front of me,” she went on.
The international travels, too, have been memorable: “I went to China twice in three weeks and climbed the Great Wall with two different clients. And there’s the Venice Film Festival, being on the boats with clients, hearing the fans go nuts. Walking any red carpet behind your clients, it’s amazing and surreal.”
She’s quick to share her gratitude: “I’m really grateful for my clients. I have, honestly, the best clients. They’re so sweet, they’re so talented and they’re so thoughtful. Going to work every day is just a blessing.”
Timothée Chalamet attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Searchlight Pictures “A Complete Unknown” at Dolby Theatre on December 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
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Taylor is the imagemaker behind today’s leading men; alongside Chalamet and Butler, she’s worked with Nicholas Hoult since 2015 and Channing Tatum since 2006. A sought-after men’s groomer, she’s known for an effortlessly cool, undone look.
“I never like anything too polished. I like things really undone, really raw,” she said, on a call from London.
She’s been on tour with Chalamet to promote the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” for which the actor was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. The two have worked together since Chalamet’s breakout in “Call Me by Your Name” in 2017. She’ll be by his side throughout the upcoming awards season, starting with the Globes.
“It’s a collaboration with him, with the stylist,” she said of putting together a red carpet look. “I’ll see what he’s wearing, see what the vibe is and we go from there — if he needs a new haircut or how I’m going to style it.”
She creates shape by embracing the natural movement of each person’s hair, while enhancing hair texture using salt sprays, creams and pastes.
Austin Butler arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Focus Features “The Bikeriders” at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 17, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
FilmMagic
“I’m a beach girl,” she said. “So, for me, I love hair that has tons of texture and dimension — salty hair and sun-kissed skin. Flaws and little imperfections are perfection to me. I like hair wild. I like things to look organic. I like skin to shine. If you have freckles, I want those to show. I just want your skin to be super hydrated and super glowing. I don’t play by any rules.”
Taylor’s story started in Northern California, growing up in Fremont before relocating to Los Gatos for high school — where she got an early start in beauty school.
“They had a program where you could go to beauty school half the time and high school half the time,” she explained. She was licensed and working in a salon by graduation.
“I was always into fashion as a kid,” she said of her early years. “I would go through magazines and cut out pictures that I would glue to notebooks and stuff like that. I cut my friends’ hair all the time, did makeup.”
US actor Channing Tatum attends the “Blink Twice” premiere at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in Los Angeles, August 8, 2024.
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But a salon setting wasn’t for her, she said, and a chance encounter with a makeup artist took her to San Francisco for a fashion show. “To do the makeup,” she said. “And I knew nothing about makeup. I was never trained. I just loved doing it. I just threw a kit together and drove to San Francisco.”
She was hooked, she said, and ended up packing her bags for Los Angeles for more opportunities. It was 1995. “I left all my friends and family,” she continued. “I knew nobody.”
Nicholas Hoult attends The Fourth Annual Academy Museum Gala at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
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In Los Angeles, she did a series of free work on commercials and films to grow her portfolio. “Someone I met said, ‘You should do the print celebrity side of this, which means going to agencies.’”
She was turned down three times by her dream agency, Artmix Creative, before they took her on, she admitted: “They said, ‘This is what we’re looking for.’ So, I would go do free photoshoots to make it look like that. Finally, they were like, ‘This girl’s persistent.’”
She was with them for four years, then with The Wall Group for 18 years, where she made the pivotal decision — following the agency’s advice — to specialize exclusively in men’s. (She’s now with A-Frame.)
Nicholas Galitzine attends The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024 in New York City.
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“I love men’s grooming,” she said, asked why she chose that path. “I have always had more guy friends, and just always felt like one of the guys. It was just an easier fit for me. It felt more organic being in that situation.”
These days she’s constantly traveling. With high-profile clients, and a mom of two teenagers, how does she juggle it all?
“I would like to have a clone,” she joked.
