"Queen of New York": Exclusive interview with Danuta Mieloch for Viva! magazine
With twenty dollars in her pocket, she went to America. Today, she is the most sought-after beautician in New York, called the Beyoncé of cosmetology or the Helena Rubinstein of our time. Celebrities and the New York elite come to her SPA. Agnieszka Dajbor investigates who Danuta Mieloch is and how she managed to achieve such great success in the world metropolis.
Danuta Mieloch today has a true cosmetic empire, consisting of two huge luxury Rescue SPA salons in Philadelphia and New York, as well as her own cosmetic line, DANUCERA. In the beautiful interiors, clients can choose from dozens of cosmetic products. They can have any treatment they need – from manicures to modern therapies that restore skin health and good looks. Danuta Mieloch specializes in facial care. Today, she rarely performs treatments herself; having a session with her is a real treat. More often, she teaches others; her salons employ 150 staff trained by her.
Among her clients are great stars – Emma Stone, Naomi Campbell, Rosie Huntington, and Colin Farrell. Influencers, models, TV presenters, and athletes come. Girls preparing for weddings order treatments. And grand dames who want to shine with good looks at lavish dinners. Word-of-mouth opinions say that Dana, as Americans call her, can truly transform facial skin. That her masks are magic, and the touch of her hands is extraordinary. Danuta Mieloch herself claims that she "sees skin" and knows how to change and improve it.
Polish beauticians have wonderful traditions. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Helena – actually Chaja Rubinstein – left Podgórze near Krakow for overseas. In her hand, she clutched a cream recipe given to her by her mother. It was her only possession. She worked as a nanny, a waitress, and the cream from her mother, later named Valaze, became the foundation of her incredible career. Danuta Mieloch left Poland over a hundred years later; she also had cream recipes in her handbag, but she only knew New York from movies and stories.
Today, she is called the Beyoncé of cosmetology, or – for a change – the Confucius of skin care, sharing her opinions in prestigious magazines such as "W", "New York Times", and "Vogue". "My skin has never looked or felt so good," wrote an editor of the popular "Into The Gloss" website. We meet in Warsaw, in Danuta's beautiful apartment on Hoża Street, in the city center.
Is it true that you went to America with a few dollars in your pocket and without knowing English?
I left in the autumn of 1989, shortly after the June elections that changed the system in Poland. But the Berlin Wall was still standing... My sister lived in the States; she had received political asylum in America. She sent me an invitation. I had 20 dollars in my pocket and a lot of hope.
Did your sister take you under her wing?
Yes, but she didn't spoil me. Soon after I arrived, she told me I had to go to work. She took me to a Polish restaurant in New York's East Village and said that until I learned English, I could either work there or clean houses. I chose to be a waitress. Those were tough years; I didn't know the language, and I was paid very little. But I had contact with people, which was important to me because I could talk and learn the language. Americans were kind; when I served them pierogi, they tried to teach me English.
And you supposedly learned it in six months!
I dedicated every moment to it. I traveled to work from Queens to Lower Manhattan, a 45-minute subway ride. I took a book, learned verb conjugations, vocabulary, read linguistically simple magazines, and watched soap operas. There's an American saying: "Go big or go home." I went big; I knew I wanted to stay in America; I found my place there.
"I was scared," you said in a feature about yourself in a New York magazine. The journalist was surprised because you rarely talk about difficulties.
That's true. I'm an optimist; I adapt quickly; I see positives rather than obstacles. I don't complain about having one lemon; I think about how to make lemonade from it. But those years were tough; I was studying and knee-deep in making coffee. I also had to go back to beauty school to get a diploma in America and work in my dream profession.
As a little girl in Białystok, you used to make various concoctions. Did you allegedly cure your sister's acne?
I made her a mask from brewer's yeast, chamomile, oatmeal, and egg whites. It helped. When other children were playing in the yard, I loved mixing creams the most; it was my passion since childhood. My mother took great care of her own skin and ours. She told me that if I didn't wash my face at night, I would wake up seven days older every day. As a young girl, I thought I would create an elixir of youth that would prevent anyone from aging, seriously!
How do you know what to add to what, is it a secret knowledge, like from a potions class?
I was simply blessed with such a gift. I have talent, not just for making creams or masks. I see facial skin, I know what treatments have been done and what treatments were missed. I can tell what needs to be improved, how to touch the skin to activate the right muscles. I can also evaluate creams. I have over ten thousand treatments performed, a lot of experience. When I opened my first Rescue Spa in Philadelphia in 2004, I worked tirelessly ten, twelve hours a day. I did all the treatments myself because I knew I had to rely on myself and my intuition. I didn't even feel tired; I'm a workaholic, but with passion, which makes work a joy. Every step forward, every development gave me a lot of happiness. It strengthened my self-worth. Surely every woman likes that feeling. By the end of the 90s, I had already come a long way; I worked at the very good New York salon Paul Labrecque, I already had my clients there. I went to Paris, where I collaborated with Dr. Yvan Allouch and Madame Josette, the founders of the famous Biologique Recherche brand. They focused on microcurrents and gentle skin exfoliation. They became my mentors, they gave me a lot. And Paris itself, like New York, always stays in your heart.
When you opened your first Spa in Philadelphia in 2004, you were divorced. Was this bold step meant to give you a sense of regaining control over your life, making your own decisions?
It was primarily a business. I couldn't afford New York at the time. I was also thinking about opening a SPA in Warsaw. I came here, looked at apartments in the city center on Wilcza Street, but I was already too deeply rooted in America and too involved in investments there. And I divorced my husband after thirteen years of marriage. He couldn't live in the States any longer, so he returned to Poland. Our paths diverged.
Are you alone?
I'm in a relationship now, but it's not easy with me, because my life is my business and I don't separate my professional and private life. I love to travel, I relax during such trips, but even on vacation I look for various professional inspirations. You asked me about the cost of success, referring to family life... I am one of four siblings; I have one sister who still lives in America and another in Białystok. My brother lives in the States, and my mother also lives in Białystok. I have four nieces and nephews, whom I love very much; they are important to me. You can't have everything. I admire women who combine career and motherhood; it's not a simple matter. If I had a family, I wouldn't spend dozens of hours in the salon, because I'd be worried about the children. But I'm proud to be surrounded by women; I have 140 female employees, some of whom started working as very young girls. Now they have homes and children. My right hand, who is the head of marketing, used to be a manicurist. These are my "professional children."
Was opening a salon in New York a big risk?
It was another step in development, but I had to mature into it. I remember sitting at a coffee shop at ABC Cocina, waiting for the legendary Deepak Chopra, a healthy lifestyle guru, and suddenly I saw a "Building for Rent" sign. I knew I shouldn't take the risk, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. And I rented that building, we completely renovated it, and after many months, I opened a SPA in it. At first, it wasn't easy; not many clients came. However, I decided to wait patiently, ensuring the highest quality of services. In business, nothing happens on command; you need perseverance and consistency.
And what was the key to success? Your talent, hard work, fame?
I think it was everything together. I opened a two-story Rescue SPA near famous restaurants, in the Flatiron district, whose icon is the famous building known as the Flatiron Building. It's easy to get here from any corner of Manhattan. There's no comparable place in New York where you can get so many treatments and buy the best cosmetic products under one roof. I also have an online store, which helped me a lot during the big crisis of the lockdown. Women from Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles wrote to me, encouraging me to open branches in their cities. But I don't want to spread myself too thin; I prefer two places, but with a very high reputation.
How does your life look today? I know you have a farm in Pennsylvania.
My farm is located between New York and Philadelphia, as I often travel between these cities. I have a house there where I live with two dogs and a sixteen-year-old cat, my loyal friend. It's not a large farm, but I've planted sixty fruit trees in the garden; my sister even brought me blackcurrants from my mother's garden. I have my own vegetables. I like natural things, in cosmetics and in food. I like to know where products come from. On the farm, I can watch the vegetables grow, I know that what I cultivate is organic, real. I need to relax in nature, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. When I was little, I said I would live in an apartment building and "do nothing." And now I love working on the farm; it came to me with age. And even though I have help, I prefer to do everything myself.
How does your day look?
I wake up in the morning, feed my animals, always drink a glass of water with ginger and lemon. I practice yoga, drink coffee. I enjoy small pleasures like a cup of coffee... I do my makeup and go to work. Today, I mainly focus on sharing my knowledge with others. I really appreciate this; it's important to me that women learn about skincare and develop their knowledge on the subject.
What advice would you, as the queen of cosmetology, give to women?
First and foremost, let's remember that even the best treatment won't help if we don't take daily care of our skin. It should be cleansed twice and moisturized with a good toner. You should never wash your face with soap. Don't apply too many cosmetic products in layers; such a "buffet" on your face can irritate the skin. I have just launched my DANUCERA line of cosmetics in Poland: Cerabalm, Tonic D22, named after my name and birthday – July 22nd. Megaserum, Iconic Eye Cream, and Supreme cream for the face, as well as the Master Mask face mask. All cosmetics are now available for purchase on the DANUCERA website. They contain ingredients suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. My passion is to share unique knowledge with women on how to use these cosmetics.
Do you differ much today from that twenty-year-old from Białystok who dreamed of the big world?
Years have passed, and today I am grateful to fate for what has happened to me, because I am lucky. I have experiences, I have developed my spiritual life. I have been practicing yoga daily for 15 years. I meditate. I am a perfectionist, but I know not to overdo it, because perfectionism can be paralyzing. At some point, you have to move forward, go out to people. And I did just that.
Interview by Agnieszka Dajbor
Photos by Marlena Bielińska
Written by Zuzanna Federowicz
