Meet Marina - Aesthetician & Founder of Oridel

BEAUTY GURU MARINA

Ages old Russian beauty secrets are now accessible to American women thanks to New York aesthetician Marina. Known by her first name only, Marina, is the CEO of the Spring Beauty Spa in Huntington, Long Island, New York, and CEO of her own skincare line, Oridel. With a dedicated clientele – sometimes several generations of the same family – Marina offers skin rejuvenation methods that often rely on ancient potions such as sea buckthorn oil. Above all else, Marina recognizes what her clients need. Among the services she performs are peels, non-surgical face lifts, photo rejuvenating treatments, collagen induction therapy and lifestyle advice. Read on to learn more about her path to beauty and her advice for staying beautiful.
 

You were educated as a speech pathologist and you were trained as a nurse, how did you wind up as a beauty guru?

I grew up surrounded by the artistic and musical elite of St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia. My grandfather was a respected professor of violin at the Leningrad Conservatory, my father a successful performing violinist and my mother an accomplished pianist. They were always surrounded by musicians, singers, lyricists and other performing artists. Beautiful women, handsome men – all of them tremendously concerned with their looks and appearance as it was an important part of their stage image. With an almost total absence of decent skincare products in Russian stores, women were constantly looking for, and sharing, herbal/kitchen recipes for beauty. I was always a part of the search with my mom and her friends.

Years ago, at the age of 26, I was sitting with my girlfriend and we were talking about noticing our first wrinkles under our eyes, and how unfair aging was for women, especially beautiful women vs. men who seem to get better with age like wine. Women, as they enter a room where they used to turn heads were now becoming invisible due to the aging process. Seeing the first signs of aging on myself and my girlfriends profoundly affected me.  At that point, I decided to dedicate myself to fighting aging (or rather the appearance of it). I started thinking about going into skincare. I was in the field of Speech Pathology and Special Ed. I was very good at helping people. What also helped me transition into skincare, was my exposure to medicine: in addition to our regular education in college we were also obligated to obtain training to be a military nurse. Knowledge of anatomy and physiology came in handy when I was learning about skincare a few years later in Boston.

When I started my own business and after we moved to Long Island, New York in 1985, I was very young and so were many of my first clients. They asked my advice on everything – even child care tips! And I was only too happy to help.


What was the key epiphany that led you to know you could make a difference in the way women look and age?

There are two clocks in life – one impacts your age and the other impacts your appearance as you age. I founded my company on the powerful epiphany that I can help women (and men) delay the appearance of aging, and essentially create their own aging clock—by giving them the tools to delay the signs of aging.

Back in my country (Russia), I saw the ingenuity women possessed to maintain their beauty. I thought that my education, my teaching experience, my medical knowledge of how the body functions, my earlier exposure to old world remedies (like Sea Buckthorn oil) and my passionate desire to bring all this knowledge to people set me apart from young aestheticians that have nothing but skincare school as their training.

When you work with your clients, which of their comments is most rewarding professionally to you?

The following is always gratifying to hear:

That my clients have received complements on their skin by strangers and other people want to know who helped them to achieve that glowing complexion.

That my friends went to a school reunion and felt like they were the only ones shining in the room, without that aged look.

That salespeople in cosmetic sections at the mall have a very hard time finding flaws on my clients’ faces – and all they can sell them is makeup!

How do you keep yourself up to date on new and improved ways of slowing the aging clock?

I always stay on top of what my competitors do, try new formulas, sort through new trends and products and discard “hot” new gimmicks that do not work. I constantly read medical and aesthetics literature, and talk to dermatologists and plastic surgeons. I am often invited to try new procedures that may be of interest to my clients. For instance, I just tried the new procedure Ultherapy performed by a very prominent dermatologist who values my feedback very much. I regularly attend seminars and exhibits.

I also read Russian beauty magazines and publications – there is still a huge interest in all natural, out-of-the-fridge beauty remedies and shared knowledge.

Based on your professional experience, is there a difference between what women tell you they want and what they really want?

What we all want is what we most of the time cannot have: a perfect porcelain, pore-less, spotless, glowing, line-free complexion after 40. And we want it now, with as little effort as possible. But with some effort, time and yes, money, my clients can, with my help, come pretty close to fulfilling their desire to look and feel younger. Unlike a dream of a full head of hair, the goal of making skin better is achievable at any age.

What’s the most important thing you do to keep yourself looking young and beautiful?

I am aggressive in treating my skin – weekly AHA exfoliations, nightly Retinol and twice a week Dermaroller. And this is just scratching the surface. I also practice what I preach: work on delaying aging every day as I get out of bed – it’s my diet, my exercise, my beauty routine and my frame of mind – hoping for the best way to spend my day, enjoying every day as it comes, enjoying what I do, work, gardening, reading, etc.

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