Maria Romero and her best friend, Corey Colello, turned their love of cosmetics into a successful business, the Therapy Beauty Bar on Thayer Street. The owners hand-pick and test all the products.
COMPANY PROFILE
Therapy Beauty Bar
Owners: Maria Romero and
Corey Colello
Type of Business: Apothecary, nail bar, skin care
Location: 297 Thayer St., Providence
Employees: five
Year founded: 2004
Annual Sales: WND
Best friends, business partners open boutique featuring high-end cosmetics
At the Therapy Beauty Bar, colorful bottles of perfume invade the senses; artfully arranged designer cosmetic displays catch the eye. A shiny silver disco ball hangs from the ceiling, reflecting the black-and-white pattern of the floor. Female voices float down from an upstairs loft area where clients are ushered for an afternoon of pampering and relaxation.
Best friends and owners Maria Romero and Corey Colello dreamed of owning a place like this for years, but only recently put their beauty savvy to work.
“We’ve both always had a huge interest in beauty,” Romero said.
Before they opened the boutique, both women held sales positions: Romero sold advertising and Colello sold tech equipment. Then a beauty editor, whom Romero worked with, introduced her to high-end product lines, sending her home with bags of free items to try.
Because Romero and Colello were roommates at the time, Colello started using high-end products as well. “Once you start, you never go back to CVS brands, or picking up body lotion at the grocery store,” Romero said.
One day, the two took their sales experience and decided to try their hand at what they loved. They looked around and found Rhode Island didn’t have a Neiman Marcus, a Barney’s, a Saks Fifth Avenue – typical venues for exotic, high-end cosmetics.
The idea for their business, Romero said, was “to take some aspect of those hard-to-find product lines that you can usually find in those stores and bring them to Main Street.”
“Main Street for us was Thayer Street,” she added. “It’s so eclectic.”
To supplement their knowledge of cosmetics, Romero said, both women worked hard to educate themselves about different product lines and ingredients in order to come up with the right product mix.
“You try a lot of things,” she said, “and you see what works and doesn’t.”
Colello and Romero financed the venture with their own savings, so they had to choose their wares carefully to fit the budget. They came up with six initial product lines: fragrance, bath and body, makeup, beauty tools, accessories and candles.
They offered skin care and manicure services, and right away, Romero hired for those positions. Much of their business plan anticipated growth and return on investment.
“We didn’t know if it would work,” Romero said. “We had to make some good decisions, and I think we made the right ones.” From year one to year two, the company grew 50 percent.
Indeed, the boutique has gotten much publicity locally and nationally. In its first week, a local newspaper reported that actress Goldie Hawn had seen the Therapy Beauty Bar from the street and stopped in to buy candles.
“It was just absolutely thrilling for us,” Romero said.
Word-of-mouth built up much of their clientele – combined with features such as their after-work “beauty hours,” events where women could enjoy the pampering of a makeup artist, wine and cheese, and network with other customers.
The event has since morphed into individually hosted parties where women reserve the boutique with six or more friends, have their makeup done, then meander down Thayer Street, shop and have dinner at one of the many restaurants.
The location, close to the Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design campuses, has given them a sophisticated, international clientele, Romero said. They also get many women in their 40s looking to start taking care of their skin.
The boutique offers manicures, pedicures, facials and waxings, as well as makeup – which they offer on- and off-site for weddings. The product line is always changing, with everything hand-picked and tested by the owners.
Romero and Colello couldn’t be happier with their success, but they keep looking ahead.
Next in their plans is to introduce e-commerce through their Web site.
Asked what she likes most about owning a beauty boutique, Romero replied: “Between looking into and finding new products, researching what’s hot and what’s not – and working with my best friend – you can’t beat it.”
