From Corporate Skin Sales Representative to Industry Innovator

Before opening her signature studio, Lash & Groom, Goodew spent years inside two of beauty’s most influential distribution companies: Cosmoprof and Salon Services.

The Cosmoprof Chapter: Learning Hair in Real Time

Shortly after relocating to Portland from Bend, Oregon after closing her beauty shop due to high commercial rent with landscaping fees and consistent construction. Goodew began as a Cosmoprof hair representative, stepping into a highly technical role without a professional hair background. She spent her days educating stylists, selling across competitive lines, and absorbing the complexities of hair chemistry, retail strategy, and salon operations at an accelerated pace.

This period sharpened her communication skills, adaptability, and product expertise foundations that would later support her work as a sensory and experience designer. Meeting incredible salon owners really opened my eyes to the other facets of the beauty industry. I quickly realized I was in over my head not knowing how developer worked the clients I was servicin as a rep liked my service but didn’t appreciate my lack of actual hair knowledge.

The Salon Services Era: Finding Her Zone as a Skin Expert

Her transition to Salon Services placed her where she truly belonged: at the intersection of skincare, education, and esthetics. As the skin representative, she quickly became known for her immersive trainings, ingredient breakdowns, and ability to help estheticians elevate their service offerings.

She rapidly climbed to the top of her company’s goal rankings and grew her territory with precision and impact. But behind that success was a taxing reality. Even hosting and speaking on behalf of the CEO to host a cohort of Aesthetics School Owners and High Yielding Business Owners in Los Angeles at the Dermalogica Headquarters to immerse them in a VIP event for a few days to show them to value and benefits of joining Salon Services in their success.

“My relationship with Dermalogica has always held a deep emotional weight for me, far beyond product knowledge or sales numbers. My first major meeting with their team became unforgettable after a staff member confided in me about their desire to end their life, a devastating moment that unfolded late at night after an open-bar Topgolf event and one that permanently imprinted the human fragility behind our industry roles. Shortly after, the CEO of Salon Services gifted me a restorative spa experience at the Oregon Coast’s famed Salishan Spa, where the quiet shoreline and warm treatment rooms brought back profound memories of my sister’s untimely passing.

That experience created an unexpected but powerful emotional thread between grief, healing, and the brand itself. Dermalogica became tied to some of the most vulnerable chapters of my life, making it more than just a line I represented it was a connection woven through personal loss, compassion, and resilience. It remains unfortunate that my professional journey with the brand didn’t continue, but the emotional imprint of those moments will always remain with me.

What truly set Dermalogica apart for me was the caliber of the people behind the scenes individuals who cared deeply about education, integrity, and the estheticians they supported. Their team carried a rare blend of professionalism and passion, creating an environment where real conversations, shared expertise, and meaningful collaboration could thrive. Even in the midst of long sales days or high-pressure launches, their educators and staff showed up with authenticity and an eagerness to pour into others.

Engaging with them at that level wasn’t just inspiring; it reminded me of what this industry looks like when humanity and expertise coexist. Every meeting felt like an exchange of ideas rather than a transaction, and that left a lasting impression on how I view partnership and brand alignment. My time with Dermalogica showed me exactly what it feels like when a company invests in people first and it’s something I’ll always deeply respect.” - Valerie Goodew

The Cost of Hustle: A Career Built on Giving

Most days required visiting 10 spas, pitching multiple skincare lines, and pouring high-level expertise into businesses that weren’t her own.

When the company relocated her from Oregon to Seattle, her cost of living doubled overnight. Between gas, tolls, rent, and Washington’s higher tax environment, she found herself giving away massive amounts of knowledge simply to stay afloat.

“I was growing everyone else’s business but my own,” Goodew says.

This realization ultimately pushed her to return to hands-on esthetics but with a completely transformed sense of purpose.

Reclaiming Her Craft: Becoming an Experience Architect

Stepping away from corporate beauty became an act of self-return. Instead of offering traditional services, Goodew focused on designing emotional, sensory, atmosphere-based experiences.

Her Seattle studio is now recognized for:

    •    Mood Lashing™, her award-worthy lash design approach rooted in emotional expression

    •    Experience Architecture, a sensory design system that choreographs scent, temperature, sound, lighting, texture, and energy

    •    Cannabis Esthetics™, incorporating hemp, plant compounds, and terpene-forward aromatherapy (while navigating the evolving legal landscape)

    •    Ambiance Psychology, shaping environments that promote nervous system regulation and personal transformation

Goodew’s schedule quickly filled becoming booked out for months not because of virality alone, but because of the distinct, unmistakable feeling her work creates. Social traction simply amplified what she had already built.

A Designer Before an Esthetician

The roots of her creative eye reach back to her acceptance into FIDM in Los Angeles, the fashion institute known for shaping Juicy Couture.

The playful textures, plush Juicy-inspired blankets, and sense of whimsy throughout her studio nod to this early design influence blending fashion memory with modern luxury.

“When I got accepted to FIDM Senior Year my mom and I got invited to the “3 Days of Fashion”experience at FIDM’s Los Angeles campus, where you tried out the classes in your selected major and got to see the campus. Our group was given rare access to private showrooms inside the Fashion District, where designers like Tina Tarantino showcased their collections in The Market, usually only for Fashion Haus buyers and industry insiders. In the midst of this lavish behind-the-scenes market tour, a moment unfolded that would unintentionally alter the direction of my entire beauty career.

I found myself in a hallway waiting for the elevator where twenty to thirty girls had gathered around one woman whose lashes were so flawless, so captivating, that everyone immediately started asking what brand they were and where they could get them. We had all been combing through Korean beauty shops and small vendors for strip lashes all day, yet nothing compared to the seamless, lifted, impossibly perfect look she had.

When she revealed they were lash extensions not strips, it was the first time I realized there was something NEW and better than strip lashes?! Ask anyone that I grew up with, I would have a falsie applied at every practice at basketball and volleyball, acrylic nails too! From that day forward, I became determined to learn everything about lash extensions: how to master them, how to source them, and ultimately, how to recreate that same level of awe and magnetism.

When we went back to the school we were touring the halls where famous designers that went to school here are being honored by their own displays. As I was walking past the Juicy Couture window it felt like stepping into a dream I hadn’t realized I was living yet. The mannequins were perfectly poised, dressed in that signature velour sparkle that somehow felt effortless yet undeniably luxurious. The colors popped under the soft, curated lighting, and every detail from the playful logo placements to the little glittering accessories spoke of a story someone had carefully crafted to make a statement.

As I paused, I pictured myself going to school here and what I could be in that moment, I realized this was more than a display. It was a full-throttle invitation into the world I had always imagined: a world where creativity meets conversation, where imagination can literally shape what people wear, see, and desire. The craftsmanship wasn’t just in the clothing it was in the entire narrative the way these California girls knew their audience to create a brand that could exist as a tangible, sensory experience, the crystals and velour.. impeccable. Created by minds right in these very walls.

For a fleeting moment, the glass didn’t feel like a barrier. It felt like a portal, reminding me that the ideas sparking in my own brain my desire to create, to move, to disrupt could one day be exactly this: iconic, global, and impossible to ignore. It was awe, inspiration, and ambition condensed into a heartbeat, and I walked past it knowing I was on the same path just shortly before knowing I wouldn’t be able to afford the 70k tuition and another 100k to live in Los Angeles at 17 years old… I skipped a grade so I was a young graduate.” - Valerie Goodew

The Future: Consulting & Sensory Innovation

Now, Goodew is opening limited consulting partnerships in:

    •    Sensory experience design

    •    Signature service creation

    •    Terpene integration + cannabis esthetics™ strategy

    •    Spa and hospitality atmosphere development

    •    Brand identity rooted in emotional psychology

    •    Retail + dispensary experiential design

Her work equips estheticians, spas, and creative brands to evolve from practitioners to experience curators unlocking deeper client loyalty, stronger emotional resonance, and long-term revenue.

A New Standard for Luxury Beauty

Valerie Goodew’s story isn’t defined by a single viral moment. It’s defined by years of mastery, resilience, and self-investment and by a belief that beauty should be immersive, intentional, and deeply felt.

“I’ve poured my heart and expertise into hundreds of businesses. Now I’m pouring it back into myself and into the future of this industry.” - Valerie Goodew

MEDIA CONTACT

Press & Partnerships:

Valerie Goodew

Lash & Groom – Seattle, WA

10550 Lake City Way NE Suite D

Email: V@LashandGroom.com

Website: lashandgroom.com

Instagram: @lashandgroom