At the Heart & Soul of Aloha Beauty Boutique
Aimée Lê Grigalonis ~ Owner
Aloha (hello) and mahalo (thank you) for visiting Aloha Beauty Boutique’s website. My name is Aimée Lê Grigalonis, owner of Aloha Beauty Boutique, and I am so very grateful for the opportunity to have worked on such amazing clients throughout my years of being an Esthetician.
My career path was not a straight one, although is anyone’s nowadays? As a senior in high school, while all my friends and classmates were applying for colleges, I decided I was going to take a break from school because I was burnt out by academia. When I graduated, I worked odd restaurant jobs and took classes here and there at my local community college. After working for a large corporate auto dealership for 4 years in the service department and getting yelled at by clients, service advisors and managers on almost a daily basis and thinking about how to better understand my family, people and the world around me, I decided to obtain my undergraduate degree in Psychology. My thirst for knowledge was quenched for a time, and I felt like I could better understand and feel compassion for people. As I got older, I knew that one of my innate gifts was to intuitively know how to listen, as well as make people feel good. While I played around with the idea of getting my Masters in MFT (marriage and family therapy), I was 22 years old at the time and didn’t feel like I had enough life experiences to warrant advising people on their lives, especially since I wasn’t married and didn’t have any children. To be honest, I wanted to help people, but didn’t think I could handle the emotional and mental toll it would take on me to become a therapist (shout out to all the amazing therapists!).
Fast forward to 2011, when my live in boyfriend of almost 5 years broke up with me in the midst his mother, who lived next door to us and whom I was close to, dying of cancer. My whole world as I knew it had instantly changed. I moved from Santa Clarita, CA, where I was born and raised, to Culver City, CA to live with my sister. It was an emotionally difficult transition for me as I felt lost and sad (all the feels), yet I was granted this opportunity to start my life over. My mother always wanted me to become a nurse or an Esthetician; I never really gave it much thought before. As I sat in deep thought about my life thus far, I remembered how I spent my childhood/after school program in the nail salon (my mom was a Nail Technician, which was and still is a common Vietnamese career in the U.S.) and how very different it was from the corporate world and how women felt beautiful, happier and more empowered when they left. After that epiphany, I decided to enroll at the Academy of Beauty in Culver City and become an Esthetician, which was one of the best decisions I made, (besides having our son Keanu) and the rest is history!
Since 2012, I have lived and worked in Los Angeles and Orange County, the beautiful island of Maui in the town of Lahaina, the bustling city of Chicago and now, currently, in the amazing city of Austin, Texas. To be honest, I would not be where I am today without all the people and clients I have had the pleasure of working with throughout the years and my previous boss, Marta Wozniak, the owner of Painless Waxing Boutique in Chicago where I worked for 2 years prior to coming to Austin. Marta continually gives me so much support, believes in me as a woman and an Esthetician, and has given me so much more confidence in my skills. In a world where you can feel lost, stressed out and alone at times, I learned that through my life experiences and skills as an Esthetician, I could provide a safe, joyful and healing experience in the form of a beauty service. Moreover, I feel fulfilled when someone comes to me and leaves my salon suite feeling beautiful. On the wall of my old workplace is a quote that I 100% believe in, and it is:
“When Someone Feels Empowered And Beautiful, They Can Achieve So Many Things That They Felt They Could Not Before.”
I would love the opportunity to work with even more amazing people in Austin. If you have any questions about services or sugaring certification courses, I would be happy to assist!
My career path was not a straight one, although is anyone’s nowadays? As a senior in high school, while all my friends and classmates were applying for colleges, I decided I was going to take a break from school because I was burnt out by academia. When I graduated, I worked odd restaurant jobs and took classes here and there at my local community college. After working for a large corporate auto dealership for 4 years in the service department and getting yelled at by clients, service advisors and managers on almost a daily basis and thinking about how to better understand my family, people and the world around me, I decided to obtain my undergraduate degree in Psychology. My thirst for knowledge was quenched for a time, and I felt like I could better understand and feel compassion for people. As I got older, I knew that one of my innate gifts was to intuitively know how to listen, as well as make people feel good. While I played around with the idea of getting my Masters in MFT (marriage and family therapy), I was 22 years old at the time and didn’t feel like I had enough life experiences to warrant advising people on their lives, especially since I wasn’t married and didn’t have any children. To be honest, I wanted to help people, but didn’t think I could handle the emotional and mental toll it would take on me to become a therapist (shout out to all the amazing therapists!).
Fast forward to 2011, when my live in boyfriend of almost 5 years broke up with me in the midst his mother, who lived next door to us and whom I was close to, dying of cancer. My whole world as I knew it had instantly changed. I moved from Santa Clarita, CA, where I was born and raised, to Culver City, CA to live with my sister. It was an emotionally difficult transition for me as I felt lost and sad (all the feels), yet I was granted this opportunity to start my life over. My mother always wanted me to become a nurse or an Esthetician; I never really gave it much thought before. As I sat in deep thought about my life thus far, I remembered how I spent my childhood/after school program in the nail salon (my mom was a Nail Technician, which was and still is a common Vietnamese career in the U.S.) and how very different it was from the corporate world and how women felt beautiful, happier and more empowered when they left. After that epiphany, I decided to enroll at the Academy of Beauty in Culver City and become an Esthetician, which was one of the best decisions I made, (besides having our son Keanu) and the rest is history!
Since 2012, I have lived and worked in Los Angeles and Orange County, the beautiful island of Maui in the town of Lahaina, the bustling city of Chicago and now, currently, in the amazing city of Austin, Texas. To be honest, I would not be where I am today without all the people and clients I have had the pleasure of working with throughout the years and my previous boss, Marta Wozniak, the owner of Painless Waxing Boutique in Chicago where I worked for 2 years prior to coming to Austin. Marta continually gives me so much support, believes in me as a woman and an Esthetician, and has given me so much more confidence in my skills. In a world where you can feel lost, stressed out and alone at times, I learned that through my life experiences and skills as an Esthetician, I could provide a safe, joyful and healing experience in the form of a beauty service. Moreover, I feel fulfilled when someone comes to me and leaves my salon suite feeling beautiful. On the wall of my old workplace is a quote that I 100% believe in, and it is:
“When Someone Feels Empowered And Beautiful, They Can Achieve So Many Things That They Felt They Could Not Before.”
I would love the opportunity to work with even more amazing people in Austin. If you have any questions about services or sugaring certification courses, I would be happy to assist!
Gracie Homerosky ~ Junior Esthetician
Aloha, my name is Gracie, and I am the newest member of Aloha Beauty Boutique. I moved from Kentucky to Texas in 2015. It was a rough transition, but I would not trade it for the world because it has led me here today, to work with the amazing people of Austin, Texas and surrounding cities.
After high school, I attended Austin Community College aspiring to obtain my BSN. My life dream (or so I thought) was to be a Labor and Delivery nurse. Struggling being a single mom, working, and in college full time eventually took its toll on me. I withdrew from school and sought out other options. I had no idea what an esthetician was or what they did until I started getting waxed at a small salon in Pflugerville. From there, I saw the passion, energy, and all the fun the Esties were having, so I decided to look into esthetician school.
I made the greatest decision of my life in October of 2021 to enroll myself at Aveda Institute of Arts and Sciences. Through the ups and downs of beauty school, I met some of the most important people in my life. I graduated in May 2022, and thanks to my best friend, Cassie, I met Aimee, owner of Aloha Beauty Boutique, who basically took me under her wing.
I have found my passion (and patience lol) in the ancient art of sugaring and look forward to helping enhance your natural beauty, bring forth more confidence, and I am more than excited to continue our journeys together!
After high school, I attended Austin Community College aspiring to obtain my BSN. My life dream (or so I thought) was to be a Labor and Delivery nurse. Struggling being a single mom, working, and in college full time eventually took its toll on me. I withdrew from school and sought out other options. I had no idea what an esthetician was or what they did until I started getting waxed at a small salon in Pflugerville. From there, I saw the passion, energy, and all the fun the Esties were having, so I decided to look into esthetician school.
I made the greatest decision of my life in October of 2021 to enroll myself at Aveda Institute of Arts and Sciences. Through the ups and downs of beauty school, I met some of the most important people in my life. I graduated in May 2022, and thanks to my best friend, Cassie, I met Aimee, owner of Aloha Beauty Boutique, who basically took me under her wing.
I have found my passion (and patience lol) in the ancient art of sugaring and look forward to helping enhance your natural beauty, bring forth more confidence, and I am more than excited to continue our journeys together!
