Providing an intimate touch

Christine Carrillo

Twenty-five years ago, Joan Mazzei had a vision.

From it, the single mother of three transitioned her hair-styling

career into a booming cosmetic business. It was a somewhat selfish

response to the numerous inquiries she had received about her

cosmetic talents.

Longing for a more creative outlet, Mazzei, who has an educational

background in art, decided to take a chance. She went to cosmetology

school and has been reservedly sharing her talents ever since.

With a strong desire to stay near her children in Newport Beach,

Mazzei has been pleased with the one-on-one business she has

established and has never really had a desire for more. Turning down

offers to work as a makeup artists for studios in Hollywood, she

established a more intimate operation.

“I custom blend makeup for the face and I blend for texture and

for coverage,” she said. “I have a good background of colors and

contour and I see the face as my canvas.”

Focusing on making mature women look younger and teaching clients

the art of makeup application, Mazzei developed her own line of

cosmetics and skin care.

Creating a professional makeup line consisting of 200 colors and

150 lipstick colors, along with a number of other products, Mazzei

used herself and her artistry as her creative inspiration.

With crayons in hand, she started blending colors, sending them to

the lab and waiting for her vision to become a reality. And although

she has learned, primarily from the first skin-care line she created,

that always using herself as a guide for what works doesn’t always

work, she has learned a lot about her business.

“There’s nobody down here better in the business ... she’s usually

ahead of her time,” said Joan Moiola, who has been a client of

Mazzei’s since the beginning. “As your skin changes and your looks

change, she changes with you.”

Being able to change with skin types has served as a profitable

talent for Mazzei, who gets the majority of her clientele from

referrals by plastic surgeons.

After having their skin or facial features altered via laser or

surgery, many of the men and women don’t know how to work with the

end results. Mazzei has given them an answer. By hiding scars,

covering raw skin or teaching her clients how apply their makeup

correctly, Mazzei has increased her business demand.

Now in her late 60s, at a time in her life when she would have

expected to be winding down her business, she’s just beginning to

expand it. While developing a catalog to sell her cosmetic and skin

care lines, she is also looking into opening a second location.

For the time being, Mazzei is happy with the slight expansion

within her current location. A partial owner of the Salon Belcourt in

Newport Beach for the last 10 years, she has added a facial room to

her makeup application corner, allowing her to give the skin a

further jolt of youthfulness.

“I would think the main thing is that most everyone wants to look

younger,” she said. “You can be attractive at any age.”