Meet beauty industry powerhouse, Maria Enna-Cocciolone: brand founder, game changer and passionate creator.
When teenage Maria Enna-Cocciolone was in her last year of high school, law and medicine were top of her career path list – much to the delight of her Italian parents. However, after a work experience stint in a law firm failed to spark joy, she found herself at a career market, standing in front of a beauty therapy booth.
“At first I didn’t really know what being a beauty therapist entailed, but after looking through the curriculum and speaking to the principal of the school, I was hooked,” says Maria. “The course involved studying a combination of chemistry, physiology, psychology and anatomy… by the time I left that day I knew it was what I had to do.”
Now celebrating 40 years in the industry, the enigmatic businesswoman says of her journey to founder and CEO of three highly respected cosmedical skincare brands: “It’s still so surreal. I remember thinking on the day of my graduation, ‘I wonder if I’ll still be doing this is in 20 years?’ That it’s now forty blows my mind.”
Eventually moving from working in clinic to corporate roles, she spent years traveling the world, but the pull to be hands-on treating clients remained.
“I would fly home and on spare evenings and weekends welcome people in, because working with skin still just brought me so much joy.”
She says that this combination allowed her to be continuously learning and “see firsthand how much skin conditions impacted people’s lives and compromised their confidence”.
I wanted to explore how I could personally make a difference, and that led to the development of my own brands.
“I wanted to explore how I could personally make a difference, and that led to the development of my own brands.”
These professional-only brands – O COSMEDICS, GINGER&ME and INSKIN.CO – have gone on to help change lives, but, I wonder, does she have one particular ‘wow’ moment along the journey that sticks out more than others?
“There are many moments, beginning with the launch of O COSMEDICS. When I took it to skin experts and said ‘Hey, this is my baby, would you like to try it in clinic and see what results you can achieve?’ And these people, business owners that understand skin, were willing to give my brand a try.”
The next biggest moment? The re-order, “that’s when I really stopped and thought wow, I’ve done it!”
Her brands were founded on science, and using ingredients in functional doses is key. A functional dose is the percentage of the active recommended by scientists to make a skin change.
“Active ingredients must be at a functional dose and delivery systems must work to deliver those actives precisely where they’re needed in the skin,” says Marie, and every single product was created for a reason.
“Each new baby is dear to me,” she laughs, “and every one of them has its place.”
She still only uses professional skin clinics as the main avenue for selling her brands, with good reason.
“My products are dedicated to skin transformation, and a functional dose can come with an initial reaction that needs to be explained and handled correctly before it brings about real change.
“A skin expert is vital to guide clients every step of the way, delivering the ultimate customised experience.”
Find out more at probeauty.co.nz/trilogy-of-brands, the official NZ distributor of Maria’s brands.
WORDS — HÉLÈNE RAVLICH
