Woonsocket to New York to entrepreneur
WHS grad opens spa in city
WOONSOCKET— There was no way Lynn Palin could have stayed in New York – she had an infant nephew here to take care of and, eventually, adopt.
Exiting the Big Apple several years ago meant leaving behind a lucrative career as a hospitality consultant, but that’s where the upside to this story begins for the 2002 graduate of Woonsocket High School. She fell back on her schooling as an esthetician to open a new business – Face La Vie.
Located in Heritage Plaza, 719 Front St., Face La Vie is a “beauty and brow bar” that also offers “luxury skin care,” says Palin, a skin-care expert and makeup artist, specializing in eyebrows and lashes.
The spa, which opened on Columbus Day, offers a full range of facials, skin treatments, body waxing, lash extensions and brow beautifications, including an increasingly popular technique known as microblading.
Microblading is a fairly new procedure, according to Palin. It involves using ultrafine tools to manipulate the skin in order to create the illusion of eyebrow hair. Women trying to look their best and treat their bodies kindly are turning to microblading as a semi-permanent alternative to eyebrow tattoos, which are basically forever.
“You don’t want to do that,” says Palin, “You end up being the old lady with the jet black, Magic Marker eyebrows.”
Microblading services starts at $450 at Face La Vie – a competitive price for the service, according to Palin. It’s worth it, she says, because microblading is clearly a better, healthier alternative to indelible ink.
Facials start at $40 for “The Express,” but clients can go bigger if they want to with up to 75 minutes of head-to-toe bliss with a detoxifying body scrub, following by a silky massage with a blend of skinhydrating oils.
Facials aren’t just about pampering oneself – they’re good for you, says Palin.
“It’s like exercise for your skin,” she says.
Palin, who grew up in East Woonsocket, was educated in the ways of beauty at Rob Roy Academy and the International Dermal Institute in Burlington, Mass. She worked for a time at a salon in New York but more recently fell into the hospitality industry. She had been working as a hospitality consultant in the restaurant business, a job she describes as something of “a glorified critic.” Basically, it involved giving struggling restaurateurs some advice about what they could do better to save their businesses.
She returned home and got reacquainted with the beauty business several years ago when family troubles called her to fill in as a caregiver to her nephew, who’s now three years old.
For a time, it looked like she’d just be a frequent babysitter for the boy, but as things turned out, she’s going to legally adopt him next month. Her enthusiasm for the role of adoptive parent led a Family Court judge to invite her to take part in a group adoption on National Adoption Day – Nov. 19.
She’s been working for a while at Sacred Hand, an established spa – right next door to Face La Vie. She says the proprietor of Sacred Hand, Dwana Humbarger, is a longtime friend and mentor in the beauty business. Palin will continue doing facials there while she gets established in her own business.
“It’s been a kind of homecoming for me,” says Palin. “She mentored me and nurtured my career in the beauty business.”
Palin has high hopes for the startup and she’s working hard to promote it on social media. Eventually, she says, she’ll use Face La Vie as a launching pad for her own line of cosmetics, including eyeliners, lipsticks, eyelashes and eyeliners.
The salon is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10-4 p.m. for walk-ins, otherwise call for an appointment. Good phone numbers are 401-229-9126 and 401526-2999.