LBP: What qualifies a person to be an image consultant?
MJ: Believe it or not, individuals can simply start a business under the title of “Image Consultant”. However, to assess the credibility, commitment and professionalism of an image consultant, look for two things. First, look for membership to a relevant industry professional association. A good image consultant should make you feel that you are faithfully expressing your authentic self, he should never make you feel like you are playing a role or becoming someone else. An image consultant should listen carefully to your need to understand your unique identity, then translate that into ideas, color and style choices that help you authentically to express who you are and how to convey your intent in a given situation.
As an image consultant, you should give people advice that will help them achieve what they want – whether it is to make a perfect image, a good impression, or simply to feel good about themselves. To help people look better.
As for me, psychology and trust are the clue, we should understand the client and comfort him in the first step before giving the services as:
1- Image Analysis or Makeover Consulting (giving someone feedback on the overall image they are projecting, and helping them develop a new image)
2- Fashion Styling or Wardrobe Consulting (reviewing someone’s current wardrobe to determine what should be discarded or purchased, coordinating outfits, and closet organizing)
3- Makeup Analysis (you can also consult on other specific aspects of physical appearance such as: Colors, Skin Care, Hairstyle, Make-up)
However, image is more than physical appearance. In addition to how someone looks, people also form impressions based on how that person talks and behaves. Therefore, as an image consultant, you might also consult with clients about:
* vocal communications
* non-verbal communications (such as handshakes, posture, and eye contact)
In addition to consulting with clients yourself, you can develop a network of strategic partners to refer clients to, such as hair stylists, makeup artists, dietitians, dentists, personal trainers, plastic surgeons, and voice coaches.
I’m as well a hair stylist / make-up and special effects artist / fashion helper / air brush, body paint and tattoo artist / art director / accessories and costume maker.

LBP: Do you prefer a perfect smooth technique or a more energetic expressive technique and why? Explain.
MJ: I like both methods but it depends on the project I’m working on and the end result I have in mind.
Within a color palette or body type there is a whole spectrum of choices. Often, those subtleties can be confusing. An important part of my work is finding the right range in that spectrum for everyone. A successful image doesn’t make you look like anyone else, because it ensures that you look only like you. I use a variety of analysis tools and listening techniques to draw out the individual style personality and then I show them how to convey that authentically through choices in color, clothing and accessories.
Many of my clients experience situations in which the feedback they get from others’ body language, eye contact or verbal comments is not what they had hoped for or intended. Image plays a large role in guiding other people in how to respond to you. It has direct influence on a person’s credibility, and can play varying roles in professional, social and personal interactions. I use various tools and techniques to uncover each client’s unique style identity – this includes their natural coloring and attitude, their body type, and their clothing personality. The results of that process create a road map for us to develop that identity into an authentic personal image that will help you to successfully communicate your intent to others.
And my way changes depending on the project I’m working on, whether it’s about a client, a product or an event.
 
LBP: Back to image consulting. Don’t you think this business is based on a superficial mindset and beliefs? Why did our image become so important in our society these days?
MJ: Most people want a perfect life, they want everything they need and they do anything to be perfect. And here is the power of everyone to get influenced by all those tricks or not, everything in life has its good aspects and its bad ones, and wise people choose what suits them best. Sometimes looking good can be a stress cure; so image consulting isn’t that superficial after all, it depends on how people react to it, they can either use it as a  destructive weapon or a way to improve themselves for the better.
Again I’m going to say it, image has become so important in our society these days because of the television shows and the fashion industry that people are affected by, because they believe that the others will judge them by the way they look and make a business or personal decision based on that. It’s superficial but I also know how true it is that we make instinctive – and very fast – initial assessments of individuals based on what they convey through their appearance, communication and etiquette. Those “first impressions” tend to form patterns of interaction between us and others – and that’s why image matters. Having a handle on and control of your personal image is the most powerful tool you have to influence first impressions and initiate the patterns of interaction with others that will define your success in various situations. So take the image as a step to prove what you have to give after that with what you have in mind, and don’t do the opposite so you’ll end on the proverb saying: “be beautiful and shut up”. So twist everything in life on what suits you more, not the opposite, without being a victim of perfectionism.

LBP: What is the most valuable piece of advice you want to give to people who are looking to improve their looks?
MJ: Be yourself, you’ve been born original, don’t die a copy!
Makeovers are quick fixes that can make you look incredible or just incredibly different. My advice is to ensure that you can incorporate a successful image into your life. You should know what suits you more and makes you comfortable with yourself first, don’t just be a victim of looks. Find your successful image and in that I mean one that is authentic – and image that helps you better express who you are and also your intent in any given situation.

LBP: Do you have any other goals set for yourself?
MJ: I always get what I want career wise… I have never set a goal that I have not reached it. And yes, I’m dreaming to have my own academy, and right now I’m working to make that happen.

LBP: A final word to Lebanese Beauty Press?
MJ: Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting, a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing. Inside everyone of you there is something special, and none of you is ugly, you just need to find the power and the source of beauty and reflect it, then all the world will see your unique beauty. Never allow fashion and perfection to make from you a victim; and every time you feel you’re ugly, just close your eyes and open them again, and you’ll understand that you’re lucky to be one of GOD beauty creatures.
Thank you Lebanese Beauty Press for your clean and honest strategy. I enjoyed this one of the kind interviews that I’ve ever had in my life. I’m blessed to feel at home when I’m on your pages. 

For more about Mosbah’s work visit his official page: http://www.facebook.com/madeinheavennnn