Today we’d like to introduce you to C O H O.
Hi C O H O, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My interest in beauty started with the women in my family. I remember watching them put on their makeup, dress up in their finest clothes, and spray their best perfume. It was pure magic. I could instantly feel the energy in the room shift by the way they carried themselves, and I was so deeply inspired. Even though I knew I was too young to wear makeup myself at the time, I spent my childhood imagining and waiting for my moment to come.
Eventually, it did in high school! But by my late teens and early 20s, I went through a really challenging phase. I felt completely disconnected from myself, and the things I was doing just weren’t aligning with my spirit.
Then, in early 2020 right before the pandemic hit, I finally listened to my spirit. I decided to change careers based on a powerful vision that was gifted to me. From that moment on, my mission became crystal clear. It was so clear that I realized beauty wasn’t just cosmetic for me—it was medicinal. Being a Healer in Beauty is my true purpose in life, and this path heals not only me but every single person who sits in my chair.
Listening to that calling is exactly what led me to where I am today. It brought me to my everyday work with Clinique, where I get to help clients find confidence in their own skin. And ultimately, it brought me all the way to New York Fashion Week this past September. Working backstage for the Indigenous Fashion Show—backed by Clinique and the incredible Indigenous-owned brand Prados Beauty—was a profound full-circle moment. Bringing cultural storytelling to the runway allowed me to use my gift of healing on a global stage, showing the world that our beauty and our spirits belong everywhere.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not—and honestly, it still isn’t! But to me, that’s the beauty of the hills, the mountains, and the unexpected turns. I’ve learned that whatever path you decide to walk, it is going to teach you something profound about yourself, especially if you are serious about becoming better for this world. The road is full of dead ends and messy seasons.
Then, you’ll get a beautiful break and enjoy a smooth ride for a bit, until the next turn hits and you just have to have faith, keep going, and refuse to let the unexpected scare you.
On a personal level, a big part of my struggle was learning to release control. I can be a total control freak—I’m working on it! (laughs)—and in the past, I would throw myself a pity party for way too long whenever one little thing didn’t work out. I would waste so much of my sacred energy focusing on what went wrong.
But I had to realize that those disruptions weren’t happening to me, they were happening for me. Hard times are the absolute greatest teachers. The bumps in the road taught me how to finally let things go, how to surrender, and how to stop forcing myself to be perfect. Every redirection is just preparing me for the next big stage, whether that’s healing a client at the beauty counter or painting faces backstage at New York Fashion Week.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At the core of my work, I am a beauty healer. While I am a certified makeup artist who works with global powerhouses like Clinique and high-fashion platforms like New York Fashion Week, the actual makeup is just the medium I use to connect. I specialize in high-performance runway artistry and skin-first, glow-focused beauty, but my true specialty is reading the energy in the room and shifting it.
I’m known for my ability to create a safe, sacred space in my chair. Clients and models don’t just leave with a flawless complexion; they leave feeling lighter, seen, and spiritually grounded. Whether I am using the vibrant, culturally rich pigments of Prados Beauty backstage or prepping a client for their everyday life, my brush strokes are intentional.
What sets me apart from others is that I don’t chase perfection—I chase alignment. In an industry that can sometimes feel superficial, I bring soul. I understand that beauty is a feeling that starts from within, rooted in the legacy of the women who came before me.
If you ask me what I am most proud of, it’s my resilience and my commitment to representation. Standing backstage at NYFW for the Indigenous Fashion Show, painting the faces of Indigenous models with an Indigenous-owned brand, was a monumental moment.
But my ultimate dream stretches far beyond New York City. My deepest mission is to help everyone feel completely empowered, beautiful, and seen. I am building this platform so that I can one day bring this exact medicine, healing, and art back home to the reservation to uplift the women in my community. I am incredibly proud that I listened to my spirit back in 2020, because taking up space on the world’s biggest stages is how I pave the way for them.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Without a doubt, the most important characteristic to my success is spiritual obedience and the faith to surrender.
As a self-proclaimed control freak, I used to think success meant forcing pieces to fit, perfectly planning every step, and holding on tightly to my expectations. But my journey has taught me that the biggest breakthroughs happen when you let go. Changing my life in 2020 required me to completely quiet the noise of the world, trust the vision I was gifted, and listen blindly to my spirit.
When you choose a path of growth, the road is going to get messy. You are going to hit dead ends and unexpected mountains. Having the character to not let the unknown scare you—and instead having the faith to say, ‘This redirect is happening for me, not to me’—is what keeps you moving forward.
My technical skills get me into the room, but my faith, my resilience, and my dedication to being a pure vessel for healing are what keep me there. It’s what took me all the way from the beauty counter to the stages of New York Fashion Week, and it’s what will eventually take me back home to the reservation to empower my community.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thee.coho
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GqzoawbY4/
