Pistolas Beauty

Pistolas Beauty is a hair and makeup studio in La Jolla, open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Carolina Acuña founded the business, and it works with a hairstylist and a makeup artist alongside her. The business accepts payments and offers house calls, with additional travel rates for locations more than an hour away.

The studio aims to shape each hair and makeup service around the client's own preferences, lifestyle and personality. It describes itself as a go-to destination for hair and makeup needs and says it keeps its skills and knowledge current, though those are the business's own claims.

Clients can book a private one-on-one makeup lesson with Carolina Acuña, a two-hour session where she demonstrates a look step by step and recommends products. The business also provides personalized tutorials and product suggestions so clients can recreate their looks at home.

For weddings, the studio offers three makeup packages sized by group. Plata covers up to five people for $1,350 and runs eight hours. Oro covers up to seven people, including the bride, for $1,800 over the same length of time. Diamante covers up to ten people, including the bride, for $2,400 and adds a two-hour bridal makeup consultation at the salon, day-of makeup, touch-ups and a gift bag for the bride. Airbrush foundation can be added to the bridal packages for an additional fee.

Each package requires a $500 deposit from new clients, and deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable. Clients are asked to arrive with their faces free of makeup or mascara residue, and removal may cost extra. Cancellations made within 48 hours of the appointment incur a 50% fee, and no-shows are charged the full service price. Credit card payments carry a 3.5% fee, while Venmo payments have no added fee.

Tailors hair and makeup to each client's preferences, lifestyle and personality, and supports clients with lessons and product advice for recreating looks at home.