He makes up, combs and dresses the biggest stars in the local community and also makes a splash on red carpets abroad. A creative thinker and product developer for leading brands, he has accompanied the "Big Brother" show for 7 seasons, and along the way he also managed to conquer the prime time in "The Race" For a million" together with his sister Tali (soon you may see him again on the small screen). Beauty master
Gili Elgabi
(33) ticks another V on his dream list and launches an intriguing beauty brand.
Gili Elgabi dreams big (Photo: Dana Lavi)
"I've been working in the industry since I was 16, but let's just say that I didn't get there in the usual ways," Elgabi says.
"I worked in the pizzeria above Ada Lazorgan's studio, and that's how I got into the world of beauty. I have to admit that it happened very, very quickly. It didn't take me too long to realize that this is what I wanted, but what did take a long time was really my assimilation into this world. We're talking about a time when there were no social networks yet and there was no option to break through in the way we're used to today, like let's say take a star, make a reel with her and that's it to explode on Instagram. You had to come from magazines, clients or photographers who recommend me by word of mouth. Usually Anyone who dreams of getting involved in the beauty business is going to study, but in my case the profession chose me. All my life I wanted to be an actor or something in these worlds."
I mean you wanted to be in the front?
"I don't know whether to call it that. I wanted to be something in the world of showbiz and specifically behind the scenes. As a child, I really liked productions or fashion shows, I was always interested in who is behind the scenes. Who does the scenery, the costumes, the lighting and how it's all done. This Something that recently took a bigger place in my life, when I became a kind of creative for a lot of brands. Suddenly instead of being just the stylist, or the makeup artist or the hair stylist who brings the team, I also say where I want it to take place, who the people are to be photographed and how. I mean today I have the full vision."
The confidante of the biggest stars in the industry (Photo: Public Relations)
And when was styling added to your work?
"At that time, when I first started working in the industry, I wasn't there, nobody looked in my direction. I'm talking about the 17-18 age range. That's why I started doing makeup, hair and styling together, because basically nobody wanted to work with me, so right from the start This is where I found my strength when I offered the whole package. Do I need to get an exact black dress for the hair style I did? No problem, I know where to get it."
In an industry like the industry, which for the most part prefers to catalog or separate the beauty professions from fashion and styling, they didn't quite know how to "eat" the multi-skilled young man who suddenly offers a both-and-both deal, and it's clear that at the beginning they didn't appreciate the 360 package His.
Did it affect you that in the beginning it wasn't welcomed that you were doing everything?
"This doesn't just happen in the fashion industry. Let's look at people and our country in general, which, unfortunately, in many places prefer to put people in a frame. And I'm not a person of frames, on the contrary. I'm most comfortable and pleasant when I'm not in a frame, all my life too I ran away from definitions."
Elgabi's new beauty mug - KANDY (Photo: Dana Lavie)
The complicated and explosive reality in Israel these days does not escape Elgabi.
"Look, we are very sensitive these days in the country, and it affects me very much on a personal level. It is true that now I am launching my own brand, bringing my news, which is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in my career, but the energy is very difficult. On the one hand, everyone is very anxious about freedom of expression and freedom The creation, to preserve the existing democracy as we grew up on it, and to make sure that minorities, women and a proud community are not weakened here. On the other hand, we want to continue creating here. But something is definitely happening and it is much bigger than us."
Despite the rather flashy, strong and unapologetic image in which he is perceived in the eyes of the public, in the end Elgabi is a simple type of house.
"When I arrive at my family's house in Ashkelon, I realize how connected I am to my roots and how important it is for me to keep it."
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Beyond women or brides who choose him to accompany them on the most exciting day of their lives, Elgabi makes up, combs, dresses (together or separately) the hottest names in the local swamp.
If we do a bit of Nim Dropping, we are talking about Yael Bar Zohar, Jordan Wiesel, Yael Goldman, Bar Sommer, Sagit Rabivo, Tahonia Rubel, Margol, Miki Mokhtar, Natalie Dadon, Jordan Jarbi, Tikva Gideon and more.
Can you put your finger on what sets you apart and attracts stars to you?
"I don't think I'm the best makeup artist or hairstylist, and I don't think I'm the best dresser, but today, when someone sits in front of me, I know exactly what she needs to get her final look right. And then also fax what are her most beautiful points and highlight them, compared to What she likes least is then blurred. And this is the result of many years of work and precision, whether it's in front of people or in products. Look at doing a circus, everyone knows, I was there too. There were times when I did colorful makeup, a colorful look, and exaggerated hair. In recent years, I've gone through some A renaissance with myself, I do things differently."
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Last week you launched your beauty brand KANDY, was this the dream all along?
"Yes, one of my biggest dreams was to develop my own brand, to build the creative, the story and the visibility for it. I am a person of a way, that together with creative is always more important to me than the result. I am proud to stand behind a brand that both its principles and its language are Different from what's happening here, and very connected to what's happening in the world. Two of our slogans are "Backstage meets beauty" and "Addicted to beauty" because one, beauty speaks to everyone, period. If it's my mother, my girlfriend or anyone else, and that It can also be men. Everything from everything. The second thing is that I am very loyal to my principles from the backstage worlds and all my experience with brands, with stars, clients and the women I meet every day. From all of these I take the interpretation of what makeup is."
KANDY's first drop - makeup accessories (photo: Dodi Hasson)
What is behind the brand name and why specifically with K?
"I don't mean candy, which at some point you can get tired of. But you will never get tired of me," he declares, "you will always want more and more. Women who are legends in my eyes, and especially Hollywood stars of the 1920s are always an inspiration for me in my works. In the brand , the inspiration was Candy Darling (an American transgender actress best known for working with the artist Andy Warhol in the late 1960s, TA), who was Warhol's muse. Almost ten years ago, at one of the first fashion weeks I did in New York, I got to see their joint work for the first time. And now when I was in LA at Kelly Rowland's launch event for her upcoming single, the first thing I saw when I walked into her house was this 4x6 work, which was actually one of the inspirations that Tal Kleinbort was working on when she was branding me for Kandy. This inspiration really accompanies me."
"The most expected of me was that the branding would be in pink bazooka or neon, but I actually went for a clean gray," Elgabi adds.
"One of the things I'm most known for is that at every stage the preparation before is longer than the make-up itself. The assumption of pads, face water, serums and creams - for the reason that I truly believe that the 'before' really gives the final finish to the make-up, and there's nothing more important than that."
All brand photos were taken using old vintage cameras and the characters standing on the front are diverse - Norit Gefen who is the exit, former models Lehi Alon and Dana Spector and two models from abroad one Korean and the other African-American. "My intention is to broadcast strongly to the international market," Elgabi declares "One of the things that I regretted about my flags in the brand is the constant emotion.
I want whoever buys from the brand to be excited that they have an item from Kennedy's first collection 001, and it is likely that in the next collection this product will no longer be available.
Relative to Israel, the quantities will be small, but in the end, it's clear that this is a commercial brand for all intents and purposes, and you also need to make a living."
Nurit Gefen in the new campaign (Photo: Dodi Hasson)
On the development of his beauty brand Elgabi worked for over three years together with the Rice Group, one of the leading importers in Israel in the field of care and beauty products.
KENDY's products, which are intended for both home and professional use, will be sold and marketed exclusively at Super Pharm, including online, with Elgabi making an impressive stride as the leading chain's Beauty Master.
The first drop includes 15 products and the accessible strategy is clear - NIS 89 for the most expensive product, but this is actually just the beginning.
"As for the next three drops in line, let's wait," he finishes with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Are you into makeup too?
"We're not quite there yet, but yes, we'll also get to makeup and I assume it will happen very quickly."
And what's next, what do you dream of or where do you aspire?
"If it used to be my dream to move to New York, now at the last fashion week I was at, she suddenly seemed cold, turned off and emotionless. Yes, I will continue to make forays and take my products there, but at the moment I see her differently, in LA for example I felt much more at home . and in the long run, I dream of moving to Malibu and not working anymore," he chuckles, "but until I get to make it come true, the dream is really to grow with my brand. In the future, I also plan to develop Canadian pro (professional) products, but that will include some kind of A college or an academy. I also want to enter the global Sephora, even though Natasha Danone has already planted the flag there before me, but that is one of my biggest dreams."
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Are there true friendships in the industry or do you make sure to keep them separate?
"There can definitely be true friendships in the industry. I am not one of those who say there is no truth in the industry and that everyone is fake. In the end, a lot of it is a matter of connection. You also fight with your husband, your mother or your daughter, so obviously there is no way that there won't be at least one An explosion. And this is natural in any relationship with people we love and have common interests. The only problem is that when it happens in the industry we are exposed to all eyes. When I fought with Nasreen Kadri (who was angry that Elgabi did not come to take care of her before a performance, TA) they put us in the headlines and pulled Each of us in every direction to get the Jeep out of us. But in the end, Nasreen is my friend, I love her very much and we have gone through together with moments that are reserved only for the two of us. To tell you that I don't have fights with my friends? I also fight with my mother, and With my employees I sometimes have quarrels. But I am a person who knows how to browse quickly, forget and remember only the good things from everyone."
In an interview about two years ago, you said that after you have your own makeup line, a child will come.
is it still valid
"A year ago I had a relationship that really shook me, that for the first time after many years I talked about marriage and of course living together. We are on good terms and have remained friends, and in the last few days we have corresponded about a child and that it is a dream. So yes, it is very burning in me and I really want to be a young father Let's just hope that they will let us have children here in this country, and I hope that within a year from now it will happen. But right now I am focusing all my energies on the brand, and that it will be welcomed here."
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