Meet Dina …

I began my beauty career in 2006 doing makeup, and decided later on to expand my skillset and begin a career in haircrafting, as well.

I had always experimented with makeup, but I never intended on making it my career. In fact, my mother always used to bug me to put “just a little mascara” on my eyelashes. With much complaining and refusal, she always lost, but I obviously changed my mind, haha! At the age of 12, I started getting cystic acne which was not only embarrassing, but it affected my self-esteem. It was then I discovered “Dermablend” cosmetics for my face. My skin was so bad that I had to use their “Leg & Body Cover” intended for tattoos and rosacea.

I felt like a whole new person once my skin looked normal, and that’s where my love affair with makeup began. In 8th grade I began experimenting with eye color. I took a shot in the dark buying a blue CoverGirl eyeshadow quad. I just remember trying really hard to make it look good, and one compliment later I was sold for good on this whole “makeup” thing.

After high school I found a local makeup class that piqued my interest. I spent my 18th birthday in class and I knew then that I wanted to be a makeup artist. Less than a year later, I was trained as an employee, and was flying around the country teaching a 40 hour seminar to hundreds of other makeup artists. I was lucky enough to teach in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York City. After that, I continued freelancing, finished college, and worked on a movie, a couple music videos, and many weddings.

I also worked at some of the most popular makeup counters, but I knew ultimately I wanted to begin my own business. Finally, I got to make my dream come true of creating a makeup line. DKM Cosmetics is everything I’ve wanted in a line. As an artist, I would always critique other products and say, “I wish this, I wish that…” and now I have it available! Everything from my line is hand-selected by me and I’m so happy to offer it to others. It is really crafted towards makeup artists as well as the everyday woman. The products are versatile and deliver beautiful results.After a couple years of developing the line, I found my shop in Hoboken at 57 Newark St. I was walking by and signed the least two days later on my birthday!As stated, I decided to dive into the hair industry and I love it! I studied at Capri Institute in Paramus, NJ. I’ve continued my education by becoming a Pravana educator and held that position for 3 years, teaching in various salons and stores. My additional education includes: Martin Parsons “The King of Updos” 2-Day bridal course, Dry Cutting classes at John Sahag workshop on Madison Avenue, Shannel Mariano’s Visual Haircutting class, Candy Shaw’s Balayage Class, Bridal Styling at the International Beauty Show, Coppola Keratin Certification, PulpRiot color class, and the BehindTheChair show. I also had the pleasure of styling at Jenni “JWoww” Farley’s wedding doing Deena Cortese’s hair, and continuing styling for the team at iHeart Radio. I work closely with the members of The Elvis Duran Show, and got Elvis ready for his book cover! I also work closely with national radio legend Delilah.

I look forward to my next chapter which includes transitioning the salon and makeup line to have a cruelty-free approach to beauty. All services and products are being migrated to be 100% vegan ingredients with no testing on animals. I believe we can be beautiful without causing harm to other beings.
“Makeup is not simply about vanity- it’s an art form that invokes emotion. A face without makeup is a blank canvas, and my job is to create a masterpiece.” –Dina