Cornelia Zicu

C. Zicu, LLC

New York, New York

 

vocation: Owner

age: 46

years in the industry: 20

specialty: Skin care

 

favorite product: Spa products from Cornelia Essentials, and products from Comfort Zone and the June Jacob line.


favorite spa service: A body treatment with my Royal Romanian Mud. I also enjoy an outdoor thermal body massage, which I had at a spa in Iceland, and a specialized cellulite massage I received in Romania.

advice for new owners: This industry focuses on anti-aging. Keep the business beautiful and young, keep updating, and offer your clients some surprises.


favorite way to unwind: Sitting down and enjoying a cup of tea while talking to my son is the most relaxing and peaceful time for me. Also, soaking in a tub surrounded by candles, enjoying beautiful music and a good book. I do this once a week religiously.

 

q. How did you get your start in the beauty industry?

a. My passion for it started when I was growing up in Romania. When I came to the U.S., I got my diploma and I have been very lucky to have made my passion my career.

 

q. Have you had any mentors help you in your career?

a. My grandmother and my mom were my first mentors. They inspired me at an early age. Great inspiration has also come from two Romanian scientists I have had the pleasure of working with, Ovidu Bojor, a herbology scientist and Ionescu Calinesti, a scientist of balneotherapy [treatments involving therapeutic baths]. Also, I idolize Coco Chanel and Elizabeth Arden, who was the first lady of beauty in America.

 

q. How did you build up your clientele?

a. In every single treatment I have ever given, I always strive to give an amazing experience and results. I deliver value for their money and time, and clients realize this and appreciate it, and they will wait on a list just to have a treatment done by me. I dedicate every second of my life to study and grow in my career in order to accomplish all this. Treating skin is my focus in life.

 

q. What makes your product line unique?

a. All of the products I have created deliver results and value. I have traveled the world to put together a team of professional scientists, including chemists and herbology scientists, in order to achieve the best formulas to treat the skin. It’s a combination of time, research, science and technology. I recall all that I have learned in the past and I incorporate it into the present with the research we do, and together, it creates a good product for tomorrow.

 

q. What is an average day like for you?

a. I wake up and work out for an hour. I come back, shower and get ready for breakfast. If I do not have meetings, I will pick up my books and study. Between my family—as I try to be the perfect mother and wife—my day starts at 6 a.m. and ends, if I’m lucky, at midnight. I dedicate my time to my business, spending the day making my business successful and staying on top of everything. When time allows, I socialize, but sometimes it is not as often as I’d like.

 

q. What’s the best part about your job?

a. When I see my clients happy. Everything I do is in order to make them happy, so when I see them this way it is the best gift. It is what keeps me going and I’ll never tire of that. Another great thing is getting to travel and discover new things that I can offer to my clients in order to keep giving them good service.

 

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