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I recently had the pleasure of meeting a local artist - with an extensive Hollywood resume, Mark Retacco, whose unique work has been featured on MTV, PBS and in the White House just to name a few; with his latest addition to the list — our Spa / Studio Face to Fase!

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After Mark caught a glimpse of our televised interview on behalf of Downtown Toms River, he says he “just had to come in to meet me in person!”  It was then that I realized that a mutual passion for our esthetically pleasing and culture-filled downtown area was not our only common ground…

Mark and I share the same values of seeking-out our goals, working until we succeed and surpass them, and always staying true to our creative visions.

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It is my gratification to showcase some of Mark’s original pieces in his extensive collection, and to be offering his glamorous line of artwork; design-inspired in our style, at our Studio.

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Listen for Mark on 92.7 WOBM where he will be speaking of his involvement in our storefront; and we wish Mark great luck and exposure on the Wendy Williams Show this March where he will be presenting her with another one of his amazing pieces!

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Our Interview on Eye On Ocean County.  Airing December 20th, 2010 on the Comcast Network

“Working Woman”

Leigh Ann Borrelli

face to fase – Facial Spa & Cosmetic Studio. 44 Washington St. Suite 108. Toms River, NJ  08753

732 . 668 . 2181 .   www.Vanity101.com

Work ethic is something that I learned at a very young age; in fact I began working at 14 as soon as I could get my working papers, and even joined a high school marketing class program, just so I could leave school early to go to work.  When my employer at the time told me that they could not guarantee I would get off work on my graduation day because they were short-handed, it left me no choice but to look for another job.

That misfortune (or what I thought it was at the time) and a series of other “misfortunes,” unexpectedly led me to my passion – which 10 years later I now call my career…

I began working for a makeup counter – something I NEVER envisioned myself doing; if not for the fact that they were hiring, and I needed a job.  But immediately after, I started loving what I was doing, and it showed.  I was getting repeat customers, I was out-selling everyone in the store including the manager by thousands of dollars each month, and people kept asking me where I learned to do makeup the way that I did. 

I was self-taught, and the idea of school had never even crossed my mind, but two years later when the same question kept coming up, I decided to look into it. It was then that I encountered my next set of supposed adversity…once my teachers saw what I could do with makeup, they asked ME to instruct the rest of my class. Disappointed, I was convinced that I just taught myself an expensive lesson.

But one of my teachers encouraged me to keep going.  She saw potential in me, and, she saw someone else in me.  She made me borrow her copy of a book that beauty icon, Sophia Loren wrote.  This book (particularly a chapter on vanity) inspired not only my personal life, but my career as well.  In fact, it came literally in-hand with me when I registered my business name – Vanity 101, at the age of 24.

With a business name, and an unclear vision of what I wanted to do with it, I continued working the front desk for a hair salon, but soon became nostalgic of my makeup days.  It was then I decided that the only job worth having is one that you are happy with everyday, and I knew that I was the only one who could control my happiness.  So, I began an extensive research process, and acquired my own line of product– Vanity 101 cosmetics and skincare.  I displayed it in the salon, and just as it started generating interest, Strike 3 -the economy hit and we closed.

Yet another blessing in disguise, I knew it was a sign that it was my time to make a move.  I stumbled upon a beautiful storefont that has turned out to be everything I never knew I always wanted.  With a new location, I chose a new, more unisex name, face to fase, where I can offer both of my areas of expertise – flawless artistry, skin esthetics (fase) by Vanity 101.

I was fortunate to realize what I love to do at a young age, but to anyone, at any age I’d say “Everything happens for a reason,” – even if you consider it a mishap.  If not for losing my job, I would have never found my career; if not for my teacher, I’d never have found the basis of my own company; if not for my marketing class, I would not have gotten the fundamentals in business, and if not for staying in school and completing my license, I would never be able to be a Spa owner as I am today.

Now, my work has been published on magazine covers, in countless Bridal albums, in professional model’s portfolios, in music videos and in commercial logo design and packaging.  I am the exclusive Makeup Artist of Liz Jeressi of 94.3 The Point, who is featured with my makeup on multiple Billboards; I’m the celebrity Makeup Artist to the guests of “Let’s Talk” with Gary Gellman; and as a member of the Gala Committee of the NJ Hall of Fame, I was privileged to provide makeup services for the event; meet and present my products to Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Jack Nicholson, Joe Piscopo, Vivica Fox and so many others at this year’s Induction Ceremony.

Face to fase – Facial Spa & Cosmetic Studio by Vanity 101 has the distinction of being the sole business in the ”Fashion and Beauty” category in the March/April 2010 edition of The Ocean County Woman. Look for our profile on page 48, AND our work on the cover .