EXCLUSIVE: A MASTERCLASS IN BEAUTY & STYLE WITH DR. KENDRA VICARS

Dr. Kendra Vicars has been an educator for 16 years and has been in the beauty industry for the same amount of time. She holds a doctorate degree in Curriculum & Instruction and is owner of professional makeup artistry brand, Fab Faces by Ken. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kendra Vicars.

It’s back-to-school time here in the USVI and while young people are once again cracking open the books, we wanted to crack the code on quick and easy beauty and style tips that will have busy professionals and moms out the door on time, and on point, all year ‘round.

We couldn’t think of a better instructor for this class than Dr. Kendra Vicars, Ed.D., a respected educator in the St. Thomas-St. John District and owner of Fab Faces by Ken, a professional makeup artistry brand based in St. Thomas.

If you know Dr. Vicars, you know her presentation—from head to toe—is flawless. The 40-year-old Ivanna Eudora Kean High School assistant principal dished on her best beauty and style secrets—and we took plenty notes—to help you look and feel your best from morning drop-off to afternoon pick-up, and beyond.

As a working professional and mom to an 8-year-old son, Dr. Vicars knows first-hand how hectic juggling work and home life can be, especially on school mornings. But she leans on her support system.

“I do balance with my son and at work because I have a really strong support system. So, in the mornings, my son’s dad or his aunt would assist me in getting him ready for school while I can focus on getting myself ready,” she says. “It’s kind of like a teamwork effort to help me get out of the house.”

Now a proud member of Rays Country at the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, Dr. Vicars showcases her preference for trousers and a statement belt paired with a stylish blouse during her time as an assistant principal at Charlotte Amalie High School. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kendra Vicars.

And when it comes to getting out the house and looking her best—and yours, too—Dr. Vicars, who has been in the beauty industry for16 years, offers her first pro tip.

“I never skip my skincare routine,” she says.

Skincare, Dr. Vicars points out, is the first step to achieving a polished look.

“I always tell my clients that your makeup is going to look as great as your skin,” she says. “So, what’s happening in the era of social media is that people are using a lot of filters and they are creating this false appearance that once you put on makeup, it’s going to make your skin flawless.”

That simply is not true, Dr. Vicars says.

“It doesn’t matter if you have the most professional makeup artist in the world, if your skin underneath has a lot of issues, it’s going to reflect in the makeup,” she explains. “So, I always encourage my clients, or anyone, to incorporate a skincare routine for morning and nighttime.”

A good skincare routine, Dr. Vicars says, includes daily cleansing, toning, moisturizing, application of serums, and sunscreen. But, like anything good, it takes time to see results.

"A lot of time, people will start a skincare routine and be like, ‘Ah, this isn’t working.’ But it isn’t working because you haven’t given it enough time. It’s really important to do that,” she says.

After establishing a consistent skincare routine, Dr. Vicars wants you to consider a light makeup application. It isn’t lost on her, however, that some women may find it challenging to do so in the morning rush.

“Because I’m really good at doing makeup and because I’m a professional makeup artist, I’m able to apply makeup in the morning a lot quicker than the average person,” she acknowledges.

But most times, she says she actually wears very little makeup. She attributes this to having healthy, glowy skin as a result of her morning and nighttime skincare routines.

“Despite the fact that I’m a professional makeup artist, I don’t wear makeup as often as people would think,” she says. “I usually wear makeup when I’m going out to an event or a function or something of that sort, but when it comes to coming to work, I wear makeup about fifty percent of the time, and when I do, it’s minimal.”

“It’s easy for me to do a quick makeup routine primarily because I take good care of my skin,” she adds. “I always try to encourage people to take good care of [their] skin so [their] makeup looks flawless. So, if I go without makeup or wear minimal makeup, I still look polished.”

This leads us to Dr. Vicars’ next pro tip for achieving a quick and easy ‘no-makeup makeup’ look: sculpted eyebrows, light foundation, mascara, and lipstick.

Dr. Vicars’s sculpted brows, light foundation, mascara on natural lashes, nude lip, and soft blush is the perfect ‘no-makeup makeup’ look for a polished and professional face. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kendra Vicars.

“Minimally, to come to work, I would definitely sculpt my brows—that is absolutely necessary,” she says. “Having a clean brow really makes you look a whole lot brighter.”

“I would also put on a thin layer of foundation,” she adds. “You don’t need eye shadow, you don’t need highlighting and contouring, you don’t need the whole glam to come to work. All you need is a thin layer of foundation.”

She understands that some women, depending on the health of their skin, may require an additional step of concealer to cover blemishes before applying foundation, and she encourages women to incorporate this step when necessary.

After setting her foundation with a spray and powder, enhancing her natural eyelashes with mascara and gliding on a lipstick of choice completes her look. And depending on how she feels, some days she may add a little blush.

“Just doing that alone enhances your look. You look really polished,” she says. “Sometimes, people may think you have on a whole lot, but you really don’t. Just having a minimal application can make you look polished for the day.”

Personal Style, Outfit Formulas & Restyling Outfits

The biggest style hack that can get you out the door in no time is knowing the types of clothes that fit you well and having them at the ready to wear—and Dr. Vicars has mastered both.

“My personal style has always been characterized as really classy, modern and edgy,” she says. But she points out it always surprises her when girls and younger women find her style relatable and are drawn to it.

“It’s so crazy to me because my style differs so vastly from the younger generations,” she says. “But I think what they realize and what my style represents is that you could be classy and covered. You don’t have to show a whole lot to be really stylish and classy.”

She describes herself as “a neutral girly” when it comes to the preferred color palette of her wardrobe and swears by blazers, trousers, and flowy skirts—all of which she uses as part of her go-to outfit formulas.

“I’m very big on blazers. I think it’s important for a woman to have a blazer of just about every color in her closet,” she says. “A blazer, sometimes, really makes an outfit, and without it, it can break it. You can see an outfit take a step up to become more professional when you just throw on a nice blazer.”

She loves wearing trousers for these same reasons and also because of their versatility.

“I’m a pants kind of girl,” she says, admitting for the first time publicly that she is drawn to the garments because she is somewhat self-conscious of her well-defined legs that often gets her compliments. “I just like the concept of the belt and the shoe kind of flowing together. I like to throw on nice pants with a black shoe with a black belt, and a brown shoe with a brown belt. I think the pants allows me to be a bit more creative in styling than a dress would.”

Dr. Vicars is seen interacting with students in her signature look of a structured blazer (this one in chic polkadot), black trousers, white button-down, and black belt and shoes. Her hair is pulled back in a bun, offering effortless styling for her tresses. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kendra Vicars.

She explains that pairing trousers with different tops “can create a whole new outfit” and that the “creativity in wearing pants and a blazer” is what she likes the most.

Second to wearing trousers, Dr. Vicars will often reach for a nice, flowy skirt.

“Those two, I can really be creative with them,” she says. “I can throw on a blazer with [a pants on a flowy skirt] and just take the outfit to another level.”

A flowy skirt in a bold print and a neutral top in black accentuated by a designer belt represent Dr. Vicars’s versatility in dressing. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kendra Vicars.

While she encourages others to have outfit formulas and uses them herself because she says it “just makes life easier,” she also enjoys the thrill of the hunt…for clothes.

“I enjoying finding stuff to wear,” she says. “I enjoy the time it takes. I enjoy the way I’m able to mentally picture a look and put it together. That part of it, I never want to eliminate.”

In addition to blazers and trousers, Dr. Vicars believes every professional woman should have button down shirts in neutral colors as wardrobe staples.

“I think it’s important to have staples and then mix and match and create different looks every time you wear something,” she says. “Because when you’re going to work, let’s be real, a lot of times our work clothes are recycled, and you don’t want to wear the same thing the same way every single time.”

“As an educator, I recycle a lot of my work clothes because I don’t have one hundred and eighty brand new outfits—one for every day of the school year,” she says. “But what I’m going to do is mix pieces, work with different bottoms and different tops so that the look changes every time.”

Of her knack for styling using timeless neutral shades, she adds, “I find myself using more of my neutral blouses more often because I can pair them with so much more than if they were a color. I would recommend a blazer, neutral or black pants, and neutral blouses, as well, because you can pair them with different things.”

Easy Hair & Comfy-Cute Shoes

“For work, it’s important to have hairstyles that require minimal fixing in the morning,” Dr. Vicars says. “My go-to is a ponytail or a bun because it requires a whole lot less fixing in the morning. Anything that saves me time when it comes to my hair, that’s my go-to for my everyday look.”

But make no mistake, Dr. Vicars can easily switch her hair game up when the occasion calls for it.

“I, of course, would glam up my hair for events. I do something a little bit more fun for events, but when it comes to work, I either have my hair pulled up or pulled back in a ponytail or bun,” she says.

While she admits not having enough experience with natural hair to offer quick and easy hairstyle tips for busy mornings, Dr. Vicars loves seeing friends and colleagues wear their natural kinks and curls proudly.

“I’m not natural, but I’m definitely jealous sometimes because I just like to see the natural coils and curls and the hair just free,” she says. “I don’t have a recommendation for the natural girls because I just don’t have the experience, I think, with natural hair enough to give a recommendation. But, as someone that’s fashionable and someone that’s into style, [I like to see] when the natural girlies wear their hair loose in a twist out … because it still looks really funky but professional.”

Dr. Vicars’s flowy skirt and chic, oversized top, paired with a black designer belt, purse and shoes are hallmarks of her classy and covered style. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kendra Vicars.

Now that her role as an assistant principal requires her to move about her school’s large campus regularly, Dr. Vicars is all about wearing comfortable shoes that are still fashionable.

“When I was a district administrator, my go-to has always been to wear a lot of heels because we’re not traversing a campus, per se, twenty-four seven. Being on a campus is a lot different, but I still like an elevated look,” she explains.

To achieve that coveted elevated look, Dr. Vicars now opts for “flats that have more of a pointy toe or kitten heels” and encourages other professional women to give either shoe style a try.

“I think a pointed-toe shoe gives an elevated look to your outfit, and it gives the illusion of wearing a [high] heel, even though it may be a flat or a kitten heel,” she says. “I still want to be stylish, but I want to be able to get from point A to point B on the campus without being in too much pain.”

Dress Code Advisory for Parents: A Welcomed Change

Days before the start of the new school year, the Virgin Islands Department of Education issued a Dress Code Advisory for parents and guardians when visiting the territory’s public schools.

From her vantage point as both a school leader and beauty expert, Dr. Vicars says the new policy has been a welcomed change.

“This has been big news ever since the department decided to put it out, but the truth of the matter is, we have gotten some really inappropriate dressing by parents when it comes to school visitation,” she says. “And it’s really offensive. It’s offensive to staff, it’s offensive to students, and embarrassing sometimes to their own children.”

“I wholeheartedly agree with [the new policy], and I do think that we can do better as a community,” she continues. “There is some controversy because the whole community isn’t aware [of what happens on school campuses]. But as an educator, a lot of [us] agree with the policy because we’re in schools and we see it. We see how offensive it can be, and we see how embarrassed children can be from parents coming to school dressed inappropriately.”

While Dr. Vicars is sympathetic to the fact that everyone does not have the same level of resources to make regular clothing purchases, she believes “it is important that when you leave your home, you look clean, you look polished, you look put together, you look like you took some time and invest in yourself,” she says.

From as far back as she can remember as a child, Dr. Vicars says she has “always been into self-care, grooming myself and making myself presentable,” traits instilled in her by her mother.

“My mother, she was a very classy woman and when she would leave home, she was well put-together,” she says.

While her mother’s early influence helped shape her relationship to dressing well, Dr. Vicars acknowledges that her chosen profession has further honed it.

“I also feel like the profession I’m in have forced me to be conscious of what I'm wearing, no matter where I’m going,” she says. “I’ve always felt the pressure of my job to represent the department in a different way.”

For this reason, Dr. Vicars says she is “cautious and careful about … what I have on when I go to the grocery store because I don’t want to run into a student or colleague and then they’re like, ‘Oh, Ms. Vicars.’”

“I think that for me, and I can’t say that’s for everybody, but for me, that has been my compass a little bit, even though I’ve always been into self-care and making sure that I’m presentable,” she says.

Look Good & Feel Good

As she prepares to wrap up the class, Dr. Vicars says she stands by the cliche: When you look good you feel good.

“It really is true,” she says. “Sometimes you’re having a bad day, and it only makes it worse if you don’t look [good] either. I do think that we need to realize that we are our own billboard and we represent ourselves. When we put ourselves together and come out into the public, it’s a representation of how we feel about ourselves. I think that when people think about it in that way, they will strive to do better.”

In her 16 years of being in the education field, Dr. Vicars, who holds a doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction and who has spent much of her career teaching English, says she has been faced with an unfair and untrue notion that being educated and caring about one’s looks can’t happily coexist.

Dr. Vicars is also a popular makeup artist in the USVI beauty scene. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kendra Vicars.

“What I’ve noticed as a young, beautiful educator is that people look at me and they say, ‘Oh, you’re so pretty’ and then they say, ‘Oh my God, you’re smart, too?’ It’s almost like an anomaly—can the two exist together.”

“Being in the beauty world, I have conversations with my clients all the time as I’m applying their makeup. Sometimes, we’ll question each other about our professions and a lot of times when I tell people I’m an educator, they are like, ‘Oh, wow’ because people don’t [often] associate beauty and cosmetology with being educated and in a professional leadership role.”

“There’s nothing that says, if you’re beautiful, you’re dumb and if you’re smart, you’re not beautiful,” she says. “I think it’s important for us to have more of these conversations for people to understand that you can pour into yourself as much as you give out, and you can take care of yourself. And taking care of yourself makes you feel better about yourself.”