By Theodore Tollefson

One of the newest businesses in downtown Hastings is Vue Beauty Salon. Vue Beauty opened in June of 2019 under the ownership of Danielle Oehrlein. Oehrlein attended Hastings Beauty School right after high school and graduated from there in 2003.

“I went to beauty school right after high school because I knew I always wanted to be in the beauty industry. I like how after you style someone and give them just a huge boost of confidence, it sort of changes their life. Then I worked in the industry for a long time, went into more of a corporate side, I didn’t like that. I ended up working back more in the Woodbury area, but I realized that smaller towns like Hastings needed other beauty services than what were being provided, mainly eyelash extensions. So I decided that I wanted to open something here. I love the downtown area, and this is where I want to be,” said Oehrlein.

The main service that Oehrlein and the stylists at Vue Beauty Salon provide that many other salon locations do not provide in Hastings are eyelash extensions. Oehrlein describes the service as her latest beauty addiction after receiving her first extensions a while ago. After her own experience of getting extensions, Oehrlein was inspired to provide the service to others.

“So we are the only salon in the area that does eyelash extensions. We have body waxing and then we also offer Botox and fillers, and no one else does that anywhere else in the area. We do some other brow services that no one does either,” said Oehrlein on the uniqueness of her salon’s services in the east metro area.

Like many businesses in the past year and a half, Vue Beauty Salon faced the complications of COVID-19 shut downs. Thankfully for Vue Beauty, the client outreach and support was steady once they were able to keep their doors open consistently again.

“It was a little scary. We were just within our first year being open when we had to close for quarantine, and so at first, I wasn’t sure, like how well or how we would survive, if people don’t even want to come back after. But they did and we actually never really slowed down. As soon as we were able to open back up. All of our clients just came back in the end, we were overly busy as well,” said Oehrlein.

Not only were the clients of Vue Beauty Salon a great help in keeping the doors open through the COVID-19 pandemic, but also fellow business owners in downtown Hastings.

“The downtown businesses here have a really great support system of business owners, mainly women, which I’m super proud of! We all just help each other, we didn’t really do anything much to get people to come back. And mainly just through social media outreach, just letting people know that we are open again,” said Oehrlein.

Even with COVID-19 cases increasing in the Twin Cities area as the month of September continues, Oehrlein is confident that her business will not be a place where clients have to worry about spreading the virus. Especially when there is enough space for ten people to be inside at any given time of day.

“We obviously follow all the mandated laws and guidelines, but the beauty industry is very sanitary already. So we’ve had zero cases of COVID come from here and I think being a smaller salon is helpful. Just because there’s not a lot of people here at any given time,” said Oehrlein.

Vue Beauty Salon has now been open for a little over two years in downtown Hastings and Oehrlein looks to continue the salon in its current location for years to come.

“I love my job and put my heart and soul into each and every client. It’s much more than making someone pretty on the outside. Beauty services empower people, helping them feel confident and ready to take on anything! Opening VUE has been beyond a dream,” shared Oehrlein.

Oehrlein looks to continue providing eyelash extensions and other beauty services that other salons do not throughout Danielle Oehrlein looks to continue providing eyelash extensions and other beauty services that other salons do not throughout the East Metro. Photo by Theodore Tollefson Metro. Photo by Theodore Tollefson