John From 'American Beauty Star' Has Worked With All Your Fave Celebs

If you're can't get enough of shows like Project Runway and America's Next Top Model, look no further than Lifetime's new series American Beauty Star for your latest obsession. This reality competition, hosted by supermodel Adriana Lima, pits hairstylists and makeup artists against one another to compete for title of America's best beauty director. And, as you can imagine would happen when you put a bunch of Instagram celebs and salon owners in the same room, the show seems like a recipe for d-r-a-m-a. One contestant who looks like he might be at the center of this season's catfights? John Blaine, a hairstylist based in Los Angeles who seems ready to claw his way to the top. But who is John Blaine from American Beauty Star, and why is he so confident that he could win?

It turns out that John has a pretty impressive resume, which makes his cocky attitude a little easier to understand. His online portfolio shows that he has had plenty of experience working with celebrities, which may put him at an advantage during the competition. He's styled hair for Mariah Carey, Dita von Teese, and Kate Upton, just to name a few. Gaining such high profile clients indicates that John might really be as good as he says he is.

But working in Hollywood certainly hasn't taught John how to play nice. Since some of the contestants on American Beauty Star specialize in hairdressing, like John, and others are makeup artists, the show pairs each contestant with a "teammate" whose expertise is in the area that the contestant is lacking. In the premiere episode, John can already be seen expressing his frustration that he can't just do the whole dang thing himself. "There's only one queen bee in the hive, and it's us, okay?" he said in reference how much the contestant's looks should be a collaboration with their teammate. "I will figure it out, I will do the makeup myself." There might be no "I" in team, but for John there certainly is an "I" in competition.

The premiere also shows that John might not be the person you want as a creative director on your shoot. He spent most of the time during the photoshoot for his look bellowing instructions at the model. The poor girl couldn't seem to do anything right in his eyes, and was near tears the whole shoot. I guarantee you Mariah Carey would not have tolerated that kind of abuse. There's only one queen bee in the hive, John, and it's definitely Mariah.

But, despite his poor attitude, John really seems like he could be poised to win the whole competition. He's got extensive experience, and a singular creative vision (even if that determination alienates the other contestants). He didn't win the first challenge, but he sailed to safety without a critique. And hey, maybe his sass will serve him well in the long run.

It's true that he's unapologetic about his feelings, and though it might not win him any BFFs, it would allow him not to fall into the same trap that fellow contestant Sylvia did, when she let her teammate essentially take over the whole look. That mistake got Sylvia the ax, but I doubt that John would let anyone walk over him or disrupt his creative vision.

Yet sometimes judges really don't like it when contestants won't play nice. On Project Runway for example, Heidi Klum and her fellow judges never look kindly upon a contestant who can't work with others during a team challenge. Often, that contestant's work suffers from their own unwillingness to cooperate. If there are team challenges to come on this season of American Beauty Star, I have a feeling that might lead to John's downfall.

Whatever the case, John is definitely a contestant to watch this season. Not only does he make for great TV, he also creates some stunning looks that will give you hair inspo for this fall season. Or, if you're anything like me, you'll think about trying that fishtail braid but end up just throwing your hair in a ponytail like always. I leave everything more complicated to the professionals.