Meet Karen DeVincent of the beauty cafe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen DeVincent.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Karen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started my career in the cosmetic industry working at the Lancome cosmetic counter at the age of 17 and instantly fell in love with the business. I was promoted through various positions and accepted a job as the Chanel regional Make-up artist for Filene’s, Saks, Neimans, Bloomingdales and the Chanel boutique on Newbury Street building my clientele and cementing my reputation as a respected professional makeup artist in the industry.

After traveling to various locations in the New England area, I decided to focus her attention to one store and accepted the position as a resident makeup artist for Chanel at Bloomingdales, Chestnut Hill where I built a very loyal following. At 26, I had my first child, a baby girl, Devin, and decided to freelance as a makeup artist.

This enabled me more control and flexibility in my schedule to be a hands-on mom. I continued to work with Chanel and now had the opportunity to work with other prestige brands such as Trish McEvoy Nars, YSL, and Shu Uemura, adding additional high-end stores like Louis of Boston and Henri Bendel to my list. As a result, it opened additional opportunities for me to explore other interests in my industry such as bridal makeup and photo shoots.

After this run of success with my latest endeavors, there were more life changes to come for me. With the birth of my twin girls, Brooke and Reese, and combined with an offer of a position as a resident makeup artist for Shu Uemura at Barneys in Chestnut Hill which I accepted. I enjoyed a successful 5 years enhancing my reputation which allowed my creative makeup artistry to shine. During my tenure at Chestnut Hill, I participated in the opening of Shu Uemura at the new Barneys in Boston’s Prudential Center. That would be my final position before I decided to go for my dream and open up my own beauty boutique called… the beauty cafe.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a small business owner has lots of obvious challenges in itself. The number one challenge for me is the fact that I being a beauty boutique, cannot begin to compete with the big stores like the Sephora and the Ultras of the world. At the same time, I know that the personal service that I give my clients as well as my years of experience in the beauty industry, alongside with my extremely experienced, warm, talented professional staff is definitely the way that I have been able to overcome such competitors.

Another big one is internet shopping. Being in business for almost 10 years now I have seen a definite increase people that shop online. Watching this number go up, made me realize that I needed to increase the amount of services that I offer giving it again a more personal connection for my clients. Yes, you can buy a lipstick or a face cream online, but you cant get your makeup done professionally online, and you cant get a brow shaping online or an oxygen facial. So this was yet another way put a positive spin on my business.

I guess I would have to say another one for me, being in a town like Melrose, you tend to get the same neighborhood people as your regular clients that continually come into your shop. It really is so amazing how much the Melrose residents really support their downtown. At the same time, the challenge for me is to keep it fresh and new so that it’s always an exciting shopping experience for them. So bringing in NEW products, offering NEW services, hosting fun events, offering NEW specials and fun ways to save money, Being in line with the current makeup and fashion trends as well as making some noise on social media …Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with consistent posts that entertain as well as inform your audience.

the beauty cafe – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
the beauty cafe was inspired by my background in makeup artistry and love for all beauty products! I wanted to create a relaxed, fun, hip, sophisticated vibe that had zero pretenses. I wanted women to walk through the doors and instantly feel welcome and at ease. As if they were coming over to my home to shop. I feel that I have achieved that and more. Not only do my clients feel comfortable with me, they also have that same comfort and trust with my entire team. They see us all interact with a family and I really think it creates an extremely warm and fun shopping experience.

the beauty cafe sells high-end beauty brands such as Bare Minerals, Stila, Smashbox, Lipstick Queen, Luzern skincare, GLAM GLOW, Tocca fragrance, Jack Black men’s grooming products, to name a few. We also have adorable trendy accessories… jewelry, handbags, and scarves

The services we offer are amazing! Everything from our award-winning brow shapings (as well as other waxing services) to our exclusive Luzern oxygen facials….relax with a Swedish essential oil massage, stepping out for a night on the town, we offer a professional makeup application that is flawless and an organic spray tan to give you that sexy glow. Wanna be a pro and do your own makeup, we also offer makeup lessons. We just added in a brow and lash bar where you can just stop in and get quick services done like brow shaping, brow tinting, an eye treatment, false lashes applied along with a very popular service this past spring, lash lift and tint and clients are loving it. And if you’re getting married wedding makeup is definitely our specialty, at our place or yours.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I had just left a restaurant in downtown Melrose one evening and was walking back to my car when I saw 5 ladies all crowded around looking through the windows at my store. I can’t lie, yes I was eavesdropping a little and could overhear the conversation from a distance. I saw them but they didn’t see me.They were all raving about the store and how much they loved it. They were telling another girlfriend all about it that clearly had never been to the beauty cafe. I know it sounds so simple, but I was honestly having a bit of an out of body experience, like, hey, they’re talking about MY store and they LOVE it … talk about a proud moment. I don’t know if it was my proudest moment, but it sure did feel amazing hearing women who didn’t even know I was there, recommending my store. Your reputation as a small business is everything. It’s what sets you aside from the big guys, and to hear such great things being said about the beauty cafe, well…I felt extremely proud.

Contact Info:

• Address: 515 Main Street
  Melrose MA 02176
• Phone: 781.665.6650
• Email: info@thebeautycafemelrose.com

Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.