Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Friends With Benefits:

Stylist Sharleen Andrade helps brighten Color

Sharleen Andrade

Justin M. Bowen

Stylist Sharleen Andrade

Click to enlarge photo

Available exclusively at Boychuck's salons Color and AMP (at the Palms), the Oribe line of hair care products helps an average set of locks take that first step toward fashion-spread greatness. Andrade uses the supershine moisturizing cream for that shiny, magazine blowout look favored by Victoria's Secret models, and the smooth style serum for a final, polished look.

When Sharleen Andrade met her future boss Michael Boychuck for the first time, she didn't have an appointment, but she did have her résumé. So the celebrity stylist gamely offered her an audition. Five years later, he still employs the Hawaii native as a hair artisan, now at Color — A Salon by Michael Boychuck at Caesars Palace.

"You don't get disappointed when you come to Color," she said. "When I go to Las Vegas, I want all the extravagance, and Color delivers that."

Like Boychuck, Andrade is a laid-back presence, an attitude she says comes from growing up in relative paradise on the island of Kauai. She doesn't have a particular specialty like some stylists, preferring to dabble in everything from a Carrie Underwood updo to Jessica Alba's classy looks. And growing up with two older brothers and seven male cousins close by, she makes even the most skeptical clients — guys — feel right at home. It all starts, she says, with the shampoo.

"I think it's a touching thing," she said. "Once you get your hands on somebody, then they open up to you and they're your best friends. It's like you've known each other for life."

Motivated by her job, Andrade appreciates the challenge that each client — and look — brings.

"There's always something new, so it always keeps you kind of hungry, I think. There's always a little bit of a rush you get when you make somebody look so good."

— Originally published in Las Vegas Magazine

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