Life & Work with Koire Black of St. Louis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Koire Black.

Hi Koire, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started doing makeup before I started doing hair. I had my first big girl job and used the money from that to buy my makeup kit and from there I started practicing on myself, my friends and my mutuals on social media. I eventually met other makeup artist in my city after being invited to a little luncheon. Through those connections I started working fashion shows doing pro bono work. Mind you, I was still working my full time job but anytime an opportunity came about it felt like perfect timing, maybe I’m a bit delusional. It would seem like fashion shows aligned almost always with my off days, in my head I thought that just meant I was, meant to be doing exactly what I was doing.

When COVID hit I thought my full time job would slow down, I was wrong. My job became so busy my vitamin D levels dropped and I started getting burnt out. It felt like Black Friday rush everyday.

Eventually I quit with no type of back up plan but I felt so overwhelmed the good pay was no longer enough to keep me. I had my kit, a couple clients and a half a vision. I worked part time jobs in between building my portfolio and one day I decided “I know a little something about hair I can offer touch up services with makeup to stand out” from their the rest is history.

My business started as Koires Angels in honor of my baby sister, Angel, who just wasn’t old enough to get beauty services yet lol. Eventually becoming what people know today as Rich Aura.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road?? Barely. I had days I doubted myself. Telling myself I could have done better, knowing through the clients body language they weren’t likely to come back. Days of crying, running to my fiancé telling him I wanna give up. Constant anxiety because I was working out my home, working in hair salons full of drama, drugs and violence. I really had to earn my stripes. The path to success isn’t linear so through it all I just kept going. It was tough but I couldn’t give up.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a hairstylist, artist, makeup artist, social media personality and creative director. I’m most known for doing hair and being silly on the internet, sometimes dropping a tutorial or review here and there.

I am most proud of myself, I didn’t grow up with many people around me being self employed, creating a business or brand but don’t get me wrong I grew up around hustlers.

Now that I think about it, I didn’t even grow up being well liked. I was a nerdy little black girl in the middle of Walnut Park, St. Louis, Mo, with gapped teeth, out of style clothing, no siblings at the time while everyone else ran in packs, I liked anime and rock bands, PLEASE.

All my life I’ve felt pretty isolated and anxiety induced. The little girl I was would see the adult woman I am today and think I’m the coolest person ever. I’m everything I ever dreamed of with so much more to accomplish.

What sets me apart is the passion I have for what I do and my creativity. I love timeline styles anything from the Victorian era to the 90s or 2000s doesn’t matter much to me. I experiment and play around with the mechanics of hair and makeup. Taking risk and putting out work I genuinely like vs what’s popular. It’s gotten me pretty far. I’ve coined somewhat of a niche.

What makes you happy?
My family, my friends, my clients, art and the experiences I have because of the individuals God has put in my life. What is life without people. I’ve been solo for a long time. Having a 16 year age gap between me and my only sibling I spent 16 years alone and having to figure things out. While I love my solitude, it’s familiar and brings me peace, there’s nothing like being loved on by people. Take away money, clothes and all the tangible things and all you have is yourself and your loved ones. They make me happy, they uplift me, support me, are inspiring individuals. I had to add art in there because art makes life worth living. Sometimes I think to myself wow I’m so happy I was alive to see that. From new movies, new games, new music, the younger generations rebel and fight for what they feel is right. The privilege to age and witness things be created around me, art is life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rich-aura.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koireblack