Jillian Wright was born in New Haven Connecticut, and remained there until she was 8 years old, and then relocated to Branford, CT which is 10 miles east of New Haven. She lived in Branford to the age of 18, then went on to Hampshire College in Amherst. Jillian transferred to the University of Arizona after that and received her degree in Fine Art.
During the 90’s... Jillian started an espresso café in Las Vegas called, Something’s Brewing. It was within a 6000 square foot salon and spa called Destinations. She fell in love with getting facials. Jillian shared her creative spark with us when she said, “Louis from Lois’s Micro Spa was my inspiration to get into skincare.” Once she moved to New York, she started an online shop called SpaCadet.com. Jillian was one of the first to have an online beauty store. Then, BeautyJungle.com, eBeauty and a slew of others opened and pushed her out. She wasn’t able to compete.
When asked, “When did you know that you wanted to have your Spa and what steps did you take to get started?” Jillian’s response was, “ I realized that e-commerce and the web wasn’t my thing. It wasn’t fun for me. But, I had a section on SpaCadet called “Ask Jill”. I figured I better become an expert in beauty if people are going to ask me questions about it. After I received my license in 1999, I opened Glow Skin Spa on 57th Street in a doctor’s office. They let me work out of a room they weren’t using for almost a year, rent free. This is how I saved money to move next to them, in a space that was only 400 square feet. I felt so accomplished. I contacted DailyCandy.com. They came in, received a facial, wrote about it three weeks later and my phone has never stopped ringing. I booked over 100 facial in 24 hours. “
We wanted to know how Jillian keeps her skin so radiantly beautiful, and here is what she had to say! “On a daily basis, I use my Gentle Peptide Cleanser day and night. I alternate using all my exfoliants (Poppyseed Buffing Grains, Double Surface Exfoliator and Skin Smoothie Enzyme Mask) 2x-3x a week. It really depends on what mood I’m in but I really look forward to it. I use my MitoEnergy Peptide Serum mixed with Complexion Perfection Brightening Booster Powder during the day and at night I bounce back and forth between my Dream Cream and Premium Reserve. I always use sunscreen. Elta MD is my favorite. As for my body, I moisturize every 12 hours. I also rarely go in the sun. I literally feel like I’m melting.”
Jillian's 10 Skin Health Commandmants
1. Don't pick your skin
2. Follow a regimen everyday and night
3. Get plenty of sleep
4. Drink lots of water
5. Eat the colors of the rainbow
6. Be your own skin health detective and/or keep a journal of how your skin functions
7. Exercise
8. Wear sunscreen everyday of the year
9. Make happiness and lower stress
10. Know your hormonal cycle
Jillian's 7 Sins of Bad Skin
Irresponsible habits that effect the functionality if your skin:
1. Picking/Touching your face
2. Sun exposure
3. Smoking
4. Bad eating habits
5. Stress
6. Excessive sugar, salt, caffeine and alcohol
7. Not exfoliating
How did you come up with the idea for your product line?
“I wasn’t ready to develop a product line until 10 years into my Aesthetic career. I was a skin health expert for Olay and under contract for two years. Once my contract was up for renewal, I told myself that if they didn’t renew, it was time for me to start researching my own collection. Well, we know how it ended/began! My 15 years of Aesthetic experience is wrapped up in my collection. Why is this important? I have had the pleasure of gaining the trust and loyalty of so many people with their faces. My line is a reflection of all that I learned and experienced with my clients. Their needs, goals and issues. It is stream lined and concise. It gives you a regimen that will put you on the path to healthy, well-functioning skin.”
Tell us about your Organic Apothecary Mask Bar...
My fantasy has always been to create an environment as if you are walking down a cobblestone side street in Paris and you stumble upon a little shop that sells unique soaps, lotions, skincare, etc…Even though I am not street level, I still wanted to share that feeling. That’s #1. Number #2 is that I wanted to have more control as to what I put on my clients face and creating an Apothecary Mask Bar does that. It gives us, the professional more control and flexibility with how we finish the facial. It gives the client more choices and total transparency as to what is going on their face. Combining these incredible ingredients gives my clients an elevated facial experience. Often times I have enough mask from the facial to give them to take home and use for a couple weeks after the treatment. Number #3 is that each facial is totally unique and caters to what your skin needs during that time.
The Bottom Line Is...
Less is more, but have a comprehensive program that feeds and nourishes your skin!
Find out more about Jillian Wright's Spa & Skincare line here!