Charlton
My story is a song. It spans many octaves. It has the melody of a songbird and the majesty of a soaring eagle. There are solos. There are duets. There are full chorus anthems. And yes ... many, many stages.
While I was born to be in a spotlight, it is the audience I most care about. I am an empath. I am a teacher. I am a leader. I am a coach. I am a passionista. I am consumed by all things beauty. My motto is, Beauty is our birthright.
I want to touch your soul and share my white light. While captive in my hair or makeup chair, not only will your outer beauty shine, your inner beauty will manifest beyond your wildest dreams. I have been told that! I have also had strangers tell me they feel inspired after watching my segments on television.
I consider all things possible, every dream achievable. As Mother Superior in The Sound of Music reminded us, “Climb Every Mountain.” I have lived that dream. I started performing when I was age 8 in the church choir. At that time, I even started doing makeup, and hair! And then I danced and continued with choreography. Every day of my life since then, I have sung this song.
I was a champion ballroom dancer for a decade or more. I taught professionals as well as amateurs. I partnered. I mentored. I won competitions throughout the country. I have sung, danced, and acted in ten musicals. I am a two-time national title holder of male pageantry. I won Dancing with the Stars in Charlotte. I have been on TV more times than I can count. I finished the Spartan race and am as strong as a stallion.
I have been in the beauty business for over fifteen years. Hair, makeup, skin. I am the owner of Jeffre Scott Apothecary, now Tapp Beauty. It is iconic in Charlotte, yet, in many ways, we have just begun! The sky is the limit.
Where did my strength, confidence and aspirations come from? My parents! They encouraged me in every way. Even when I wore my Daisy Duke outfit when I was three! “Be who you are, my darling!” As soon as I could walk, we danced together. My fondest childhood memory is of my mom twirling her dresses to the Salsa with my dad and his je ne sais quoi. I was born into a family who danced! And I loved it when my mom got dolled up, never stepping out into the world without her makeup on and several lipsticks stashed in tow, always looking good. And teaching, “when we look good, we feel good and our spirit comes alive.” Despite my family’s humble beginnings, I felt we had everything, and we did! I cherish the suitcase my parents carried with all their earthly possessions when they moved to the US from Puerto Rico in 1967. It is a reminder that all things are possible.
I am ecstatic my career permits me to bring all things beautiful to so many people! It is what I live for.
“Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
'Till you find your dream”
Bob: aka Bobbie Beautiful
My quest for beauty is involuntary. I started rearranging furniture in my family home at age 5. I helped my parents hang artwork starting at age 6. When I suggested putting the lighter landscape in the corner and the darker one near the doorway due to the inherent lighting in each of the spaces, my mom asked, how did you know to do that? I think the answer is, I was born this way. At age 7, you could find me in my mom’s closet touching her velvet gowns and silk dresses. At age 8, I wrapped all our family’s holiday gifts with great big bows and tissue paper galore. Starting at age 9, I found myself frequently in a trance when I saw something beautiful. I think it was my way of meditation.
A funny example of my need for beauty all around me, was my dorm room at Harvard. Most students’ rooms looked like barracks. Mine was described as a window display at Bloomingdale’s.
At age 50 I built a very elegant house on the Peconic Bay in New York. It immediately became a beacon for sailors circling Robin’s Island.
Fortunately, I have made opportunities throughout my life to further my beauty obsession. It was so important to me; I left my ten-year career on Wall Street to start my own clothing company. I am a fabric freak and am mesmerized by color, texture, and print. I had several early lucky breaks, including my first customer being Bergdorf Goodman. They even put my first delivery in their 57th St. windows. One thing led to another, and I had the pleasure of riding the wave of my clothing line for many years. Its point of view was exuberant, jubilant, and elegant, with a dose of kitsch and whimsy. I loved it so.
I am a creature who desires challenges in newness. The clothing line wave ended safely on the beach of soft white sand. I then pursued what was a hobby of gardening to professional landscaping. Just as I had a lucky break in clothing, my first beautifying gig was a country club. I designed and installed many, many gardens on the eastern end of Long Island. Their commonality was they all sang. My goal was to make them all appear to be a very happy place. I felt I furthered God’s love through the beauty of the earth.
I have also had the pleasure of creating many residential interiors from sea to shining sea. My rooms also sing.
I am ecstatic that I am spearheading the creation of another clothing line again with this team at Tapp Beauty and technical collaborators in NYC, LA, Florida & Asheville. We are calling it Tapp Beautiful and cannot wait to introduce it to you.
Erica
Audrey Hepburn has always been one of my idols; grace, beauty, and her innate sense of elegance intrigued me. Arriving in the US as a shy girl from Argentina, it seemed an unattainable goal to emulate even a few of the attributes she so eloquently displayed. Today, I feel as though I am a product of all the things that inspired me, despite the fear or doubt. I believe that our true passions in life live inside of us, and it is our job to let them manifest and grow.
I have always had a passion for the extravagant, the feeling of beauty, the movement of dance, the sound of a beautiful operatic aria. This inspiration led me to 15 years of competitive ballroom dancing, 12 years of professional hair styling and makeup, 10 years of dress design and a lifetime of appreciation.
If there is one thing that I have learned on my journey it is that, the beauty inside reveals our truth to others ... but the beauty we create on the outside, makes us stand a little taller, and gives us the confidence that we so often fail to see in ourselves.