The inaugural COTY Professional North American Beauty Envision Awards presented by TrendVision took place in July at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. The event welcomed 27 hairstylists and nail artist professionals from the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

The competition is for salon professionals who are ready to influence beauty with the art they create. Finalists where narrowed down from over 5,000 entries, competing across eight beauty categories ranging from “nail art” to “complete transformation.”

The year’s theme was “Kaleidoscope” and was meant to challenge competitors to capture the complex pattern of constantly changing colors and shapes tied to the idea that life is constantly evolving, as is the beauty industry.

Judges acted as mentors and looked for high levels of innovation, technique, skill and creative interpretation of the theme. Finalists were tasked with demonstrating their range and creativity.

The competition acted as a replacement for the Wella Professionals’ TrendVision Awards and the Sebastian Professional’s What’s Next Awards.

The night included a creative presentation from Wella Professionals Global Ambassador Darren Ambrose which nodded to major moments in fashion and pop culture.

In addition, two categories separate from the eight live categories named winners prior to the event. Jose R. Quinones of the Peter Cardon Salon received the “Elite” award. While the talented stylists at Harlot Salon were awarded the “Salon Team” prize for their collective mastery of skill and creativity in cutting and styling.

Here are the 2019 Beauty Envision Awards winners:

• “Editorial Hair” sponsored by ghd: Carly Purdy (CA), Valvano Salon

• “Bridal Hair” sponsored by NIOXIN: Shakhnoza Azimova (US), Affinity Hair Academy

• “Total Transformation” sponsored by Kadus: Daniel Lozada (PR), Saline Salon

• “FUTURE STAR” sponsored by COTY School Program: Bryan Nieves Santana (PR),Modern Hairstyling Institute

• “Men’s Hair” sponsored by SebMan: Adrean de la Parra (US), The Kingly Hair GroupSalon

• “Creative Hair” sponsored by Sebastian Professional: Nico Norris (US), Vamp HairStudio

• “Nail Art” sponsored by OPI: Amy Hwang (CA), Kumi Nail Beauty Bar

• “Color Artist of the Year” sponsored by Wella Professionals-US: Emma Hancock,Moriah Brandon’s Hair Salon

• “Color Artist of the Year” sponsored by Wella Professionals-CA:Elena Bogdanets,Figaro Salon

• Mentor of the Year: Dani Zaugg (US), Taylor Andrews Academy of Hair Design

• People’s Choice Awards: Nico Norris (US), Vamp Hair Studio

Wella Professionals’ “Color Artist of the Year” winners received:

• $5,000 Visa gift card

• $1,000 Wella studio voucher

• 12-month Ongoing Digital education: Business & technical teachings

• An invitation to attend and compete in the International TrendVision CreativeRetreat in Seville, Spain in March 2020

All other category winners received:

• $5,000 Visa gift card

• $1,000 Wella studio voucher (flights + hotel must be booked on their own)

• 12-month Ongoing Digital education: Business & technical teachings

The evening was complete with a $100,000 pledge from COTY Professional Beauty to Make Your Mark, a campaign that aims to transform traditional perceptions about careers in beauty and raise awareness of the career opportunities, possibilities and potential available to licensed beauty professionals.