Flash forward 19 years, and she's out to dinner with Dave Matthews. "I responded to his question with, 'I really want to work in beauty and move to LA or New York,' and he was like, 'You totally should.' I don't even remember exactly what he said after that, but I was so high from being in his presence — not actually high, but I was just inspired, and this was someone who is a huge celebrity — that I was like, 'OK.'"
So she moved.
Within the year, Atkin and her best friend Lindsay packed up, got out of their leases, and drove to LA with $300 and nothing to lose. "That was my first big leap of faith," she said. "The two of us were the only ones to leave our small Mormon community, and not get married and start having kids. We just broke out of this mould, and came to LA with no money. I only had Little Ceasers on my resume from Utah. But t hat chance meeting with Dave really put fire under our butts. He gave us the permission to go work in beauty, to go work in fashion, and we did."
She landed a job as a receptionist at a salon called Estilo in Beverly Hills, where she was "feeding the meters for Bette Midler and Winona Ryder," sweeping up after hairstylists, and getting a bird's eye view of the hair world. "It was also my first-ever time meeting gay men. I always joke that when I got to LA I was raised by gay wolves; I got this amazing education of art, culture, fashion, music, and all these things that I never had growing up. We'd go dancing, and that's where I really fell in love with the idea of dressing up and going out, and just seeing so many amazing people transform and express themselves with beauty."
Atkin quickly advanced from receptionist to salon manager, then assistant at Chris McMillan's salon to Andy LeCompte, Madonna's longtime hairstylist.
"That was my time to sit and learn," she said. "I loved assisting; I did it for way longer than I should have, but that's when you get the most experience — what it feels like to cut different hair types and textures, how to style different types of hair with different tools. You have to put in the work because no one knows who you are. This was before Instagram, so you just hoped and prayed that a top publicist or manager would come into the salon for a blowout and recommend you to a client."