Stylist Evgeny Shatokhin: Beauty is a System, Not a Coincidence

Evgeny Shatokhin, a top stylist and co-owner of Cosmico eco-salons, shares his insights on style as a way to live authentically, the freedom that comes with self-reflection, and a business where everyone has the right to be themselves.

Finding My Calling

I’ve always believed that a profession finds you before you choose it. This was true for me as well. I grew up in a family that prepared me for a medical career, and I genuinely enjoyed helping people. However, I always had a passion for aesthetics. It was essential for me not just to heal but to transform. To make people look in the mirror and feel, “This is the real me!”. If I hadn’t become a stylist, I would still be working with transformations because seeing someone become more confident, stronger, and more beautiful is magical.

The Essence of Beauty

I used to think, like many others, that beauty was about form: a neat hairstyle, the right color, symmetry. Today, I understand that beauty is a system, an internal state that grows from within. It’s about your rituals, your honesty with yourself, and your awareness. I don’t just do hairstyles; I help women see the person they want to be in the mirror.

When a woman comes to the salon, her real request often isn’t verbalized. She might say, “I want to change something,” “I’m tired of everything,” or “I want to look different,” but behind these words lies a deeper desire: “I want to be myself again. Or finally become her.”

Style and the Woman

Style doesn’t start in the wardrobe or the salon. It begins with the question: “Who do I want to be?” This is a very personal and often challenging moment, especially if you’ve lived by “rules”—others’, family’s, society’s. Even a simple question like “What suits me?” can cause confusion because it implies “Who am I really?”.

My goal is not to impose but to listen. Not to remake but to emphasize. Every woman already has her style; it just needs to be brought out carefully and respectfully. Sometimes, all it takes is a change in shade to make the eyes sparkle or a slight softening of the form to bring out the gentleness that has been missing.

I am particularly drawn to the idea of naturalness in both appearance and approach. People are tired of gloss. They want authenticity: soft forms, complex shades, honest images. This is a return to oneself.

Another myth I want to dispel is that style is complicated and expensive. No! Style is about regularity, not one-time feats. It’s about consistency, conscious choices, and listening to yourself. And when it’s tough, delegate to a specialist. You don’t have to do everything yourself! Sometimes, self-care is about trusting someone else.

I believe that a woman has no age for style. There is no wrong figure, wrong eye color, or “inappropriate” time. There is only one criterion—inner agreement. If it’s there, everything else can be found.

Team, Business, and Principles

When I became a co-owner of Cosmico, many things changed. A new responsibility emerged: for people, for the atmosphere, for the system in which beauty works. We built the business during challenging times. Sometimes we paid salaries even when there were almost no clients. All because I believe that you can’t talk about beauty if there is no respect for people at its core. Business without empathy is dead.

It often seems that creativity and business are opposites, that if you’re an artist, you can’t be organized. And if you’re an entrepreneur, you must regulate everything, even inspiration. But it’s not like that.

For me, business is not a system with frameworks but an environment. An environment where talent can grow, where a creative person feels not only freedom but also security. Where they know they can create, and the team and processes will support them, not suppress them.

I truly build Cosmico as a space for people who know how to feel. But at the same time, we have clear principles: a transparent schedule, clear conditions, and defined roles. Without this, it’s impossible to build trust, and without trust, there is no strong team.

I don’t control every step. I inspire, guide, and keep the course. I also learn to listen because a good leader is not only one who leads but also one who can step aside when the team is ready to move forward on its own.

And perhaps the most important thing: I remain a master myself. This is my way of staying connected to the profession. When you stand by the chair, you truly understand what your team lives by, what clients feel, what works, and what doesn’t. Without this connection, no system will be alive.

Sources of Inspiration

When asked about celebrities who inspire me, I think first about inner content rather than things. I’m not moved by flawless images for the sake of a picture. Energy, message, and the person behind the image are important to me.

Zendaya is about strength and freedom. In every appearance, she sends a message: “I’m not afraid to be different.” She can be grunge and glamorous, minimalist and theatrical, but you can’t mistake her for anyone else. This, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of style: when you are different but always yourself.

Charlotte Gainsbourg is the antithesis. She seems to have nothing extra, everything is on the verge of invisibility, but you feel a powerful inner core. This is the style of silence. When you don’t need to shout to be noticed. When elegance is in gestures, pauses, and unsaid words.

I’m interested not just in stylish people but those whose style is an extension of their personality. People who can be real, not fashionable. This could be Monica Bellucci, Chloë Sevigny, or Tilda Swinton. They all have one thing in common—a position. An inner manifesto that is readable at first glance.

And the most interesting thing: such people are not only found on red carpets. Sometimes you see a woman in a café, in a coat bought ten years ago, with tousled hair, and you can’t take your eyes off her. Because she has truth, and that inspires more than any magazine cover.

Personal Balance

I also need resources and rejuvenation. I find it in nature and silence. Sometimes, you just need to get out of the city to want to create again and feel that you don’t have to be someone constantly. It’s enough to be yourself.

Nature is not only a source of inspiration for me but also a point of responsibility. That’s why, from the very beginning, we decided as a Cosmico team that our business should be eco-friendly. We use cosmetics without aggressive components, minimize disposables, sort waste, and implement recycling programs.