Kevin Battiste, Stylist

Kevin Batiste is from New Orleans, LA and has been at Urban Retreat since he moved to Houston 5 years ago. As a Louisiana native and a fellow socializer myself, we quickly bonded. Kevin told me he first attended Tulane University in New Orleans before he decided to become a hair stylist and has now been a stylist for over 10 years. I had to quietly ask how old he was because that almost seemed impossible….unless child labor laws have recently changed. They haven’t.

Kevin has participated in several of Houston’s Bridal Shows and River Oaks Country Club fashion shows styling the models for the runway. He was also a part of a makeover story featured in Women’s Day Magazine. What I love about Kevin is that he clearly truly enjoys his profession and quickly gets involved with events that can help him grow as a stylist as well as socialize with other stylists. On October 2, 2010, Kevin, along with a team of Urban Retreat stylists, will have their work showcased in another local event- the River Oaks Fall Fusion event. Kevin boasts that he can style any texture hair. That’s a big statement and he backs it up. During our 2-part interview, I saw Kevin work his magic with various textures of hair. I have to agree with Kevin, the man knows what he’s doing. So whatever your texture is- BRING IT ON!

Kevin specializes in bridal up-do’s and extensions. When creating the perfect look for brides, he’s inspired by the bride’s ideas and the season that the wedding will take place as well as nature. Kevin follows fashion week each season and pays attention to the trends on the runways and fashion magazines to keep up with the latest hair trends. He adds his fab touch to these runway looks to create an amazing style for each of his clients.

Exciting Fall 2010 hair trends Kevin mentioned:

  • 1960’s mod look
  • 3-D color- different blends of blondes, browns, reds (Ex: Jennifer Aniston, Mary J. Blige, and Eva Mendes)
  • Long bangs on a long layered cut

Kevin lives in the Heights and absolutely loves to mix and mingle. We’ve working on setting up our happy hour date! His nights and weekends are filled with jazz brunches at the House of Blues, cocktails at ZaZa, or dancing at Meteor. Once Kevin told me this little piece of information, I was ready to make him my new honorary BFF! I love cocktails and dancing! When Kevin is at home, you might find him flipping through one of his subscriptions of National Geographic, Allure, or Harper’s Bazarre. Kevin’s looking forward to Houston’s first Fashion Week (me too!) which is October 11-14, 2010 and how this will affect the fashion/style aspect of living in Houston.

Kevin’s hours are Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Kevin is at the Urban Retreat Spa and Salon Main location at 2329 San Felipe, Houston, TX 77019. For more information or to book an appointment with Kevin, call Urban Retreat Day Spa and Salon at 713.523.2300.