We recently connected with Cooper Cercy and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cooper, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

In the beauty industry, how you present yourself matters & in the skincare world, your face is your business. In this day and age, with social media and unrealistic beauty standards, the pressure is higher than ever to look or be a certain way. Add another layer with becoming a business owner + skincare professional and the stakes are even higher. With this comes great responsibility, and even greater mindfulness.

Long story short, dating back to Aesthetician school and cutting straight to the now, I’ve struggled with my own skin and health issues. It began with severe grade 3 acne (for reference the acne scale is 1-4) and eventually led to psorasis. Both of which, I’ve never struggled with a day in my life. Other symptoms were chronic fatigue, moodiness, abdominal pains bad enough to send me to the E.R. twice, and so on so forth. A mentally crippling time. It was becoming more evident that this all correlates and is an internal issue. To know your body is not responding well and working in overdrive can be completely disheartening and frankly, debilitating. The other angle was constantly putting myself down with thoughts like “how will people expect me to be good at my job if my skin isn’t crystal clear?” Sad, right? What I’m realizing is, it doesn’t have to be that way.

The thing is, no one’s journey through life is linear. There will be moments that knock you down and challenge you to get up again. Most situations, in my opinion, are too complex to just tell someone to get up again. The good news is, the one constant in life is change and you have the choice to either shame or love yourself through it. I choose love. And in doing so, that’s when the possibilities become endless.

At the end of the day, I want people to understand that we all have our own personal struggles therefore, we are never truly alone. It’s okay to be sad and hurt about whatever circumstances aren’t playing out in your favor. When it gets to the point of picking yourself apart, that’s when it becomes a problem and you have a choice to make. Choose love and I promise the right things, people, and opportunities will find you… and they will love you back.

Cooper, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Bridal specialist and licensed esthetician, at your service! Nearly 10 years ago (wow, an actual decade) I became a certified makeup artist and ventured into the bridal community. Helping someone feel confident, beautiful and at ease for any occasion but especially their wedding is so special to me. You see a light in people’s eyes like never before and it truly is magic. It wasn’t until I moved from Wyoming to Colorado that I learned I would need licensure to continue to do so and little did I know how essential skincare is not only for a flawless makeup application, but for overall confidence!

Shortly after school I came to a crossroads of working for someone else or starting my own business. It was not an easy decision to make but it felt right to continue the path that I started with makeup and doing things my own way. It’s important to me to abide by my values and hold integrity with each step.

Vivere is a holistic skin & beauty spa set on educating clients while truly helping them love and embrace the skin they are in. The holistic standpoint is very near and dear due to my own struggles, so it’s important to me to address the person as a whole; lifestyle, stress levels, diet, all of it! Add quality products and advanced treatments like microdermabrasion, dermaplane, oxygen infusion and you are absolutely set to feel your best. This quickly became a safe space for people (and myself) to go to relax, feel safe, heard and taken care of.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth and social media. Your best asset if your personality, baby! Let your light shine and give people the chance to get to know you/see what you have to offer.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Starting out, makeup was absolutely the side hustle. I still attempted college (a handful of times) while working weddings in Summer but nothing was clicking. With that being said, I think it’s important to listen to your frickin’ heart. These things don’t happen overnight (hello, 10 years later and we are just getting started!) and that’s the beauty of it all.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vivereskin.com
• Instagram: @cooperjcercy
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/vivereskin
• Other: Booking is available via website or text 303-531-0600

Image Credits
Mae Meadows Photography