Marian Stones, the owner of Illusions Color Spa in St. Louis, Missouri, was thrilled when she learned Oribe was coming to her salon for an exclusive training session for her staff. And, when MODERN was invited to come to Illusions on the day of Oribe’s visit, we too were thrilled to witness the training and meet and greet.

“My team is very proud of our continuing education and make a point to brag to our guests about it,” Stones says. “Our clientele is impressed by the education we pursue—it makes our team continue to be motivated and makes our careers exciting. We don’t just ‘do’ hair, we create new illusions—we have the best job in the world.”

Oribe, along with long-time assistant Judy Erickson, chose three stylists from the salon to create smooth updos, voluminous curled sets, a French twist with touseled texture and demo’d how to achieve the perfect wig fitting—all achieved using Oribe Hair Care’s line of styling products.

Oribe is fascinated by the true superstars, the super models, the divas, “the pussycats”—it really should come as no surprise as Oribe himself is a true superstar; not only was the Illusions staff a little star struck to see the man in action, but the clientele who were welcomed into the salon following the training were also star struck to meet Oribe, as he mingled with guests over refreshments and appetizers.