Daily Inspiration: Meet Yvette Mendoza

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvette Mendoza. 

Yvette, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Never had I imagined putting myself through Paul Mitchells Esthetic program in 2006 would lead me to where I am today. But I quickly realized my love for all things skin as well as a passion for lashes and brows. After working for others for a few years, I decided to take the plunge and open my own brick-in-mortar in 2012. I very quickly was able to bring on other professionals to work besides me and by 2016 I had a dedicated classroom for education. We grew a little more in 2018 with the opening of our second location in the city of Long Beach, unfortunately, 2020 had other plans, and sadly had to close our doors. These days you will still catch me taking clients throughout the week alongside my team of professionals and a couple weekends out the month I professionally teach others the art of lashes and brows. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Salon ownership definitely has brought many challenges, and after 10 years you would thing you get used to then, but really you just become very good at adapting. I look back and realize that I needed those hard times in order to help me grow, as well as the salon, Mistakes that I once viewed with distain are now viewed as my stepping stones. It has been such an amazing yet terrifying journey. One that I am so very grateful for. One very struggle that stands out to me the most is back in early 2019, our salon was riding high. The prior year we had opened our second location, my education sector/ distribution was doing amazing, and I had a really amazing team of professionals. So, of course, the universe was going to throw us a curve ball. I got word that our building had just been sold and had just gained new landlords. By the fall we were notified that our lease was up and although we did not need to move, our rent would ultimately be more than doubled. This was beyond devastating as we had just turned 7 and ultimately had never had another home, Costa Mesa was our HQ, we had made roots and would now have to look else ware in a very big hurry. What I viewed back then as a complete travesty would soon show me and my team that it was actually the best thing that could have ever happened to our little salon. I searched high and low for 3 weeks before signing our new lease. Nov 1st, we broke ground, and by Dec 1st we were in our new space. It didn’t take long for my team as well as myself to realize we had hit gold with our new space. It was everything we never knew we wanted. 3 months later, the world shut down. And we had just dodged the biggest bullet leaving that center. We lost our second location in May of 2020 but gained a new classroom and treatment room in 2022. we just keep fighting and building and rebuilding. It’s really part of the journey. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I personally specialize in the art of Lashes and Brows. Our main client base is after enhancing their natural beauty, so naturally services such as lash lifts and brow design soared. I personally became a Master Educator for Elleebana USA back in 2017, educating other professionals across California and the United States. I am the first and only Orange County distributor for Elleebana USA and have been proudly working with HQ Australia for almost 7 years. 

My love for clean beauty steamed from my husband’s cancer diagnosis back in 2015, which made me pivot when deciding what to carry within the salon. Skin being the largest organ on the body everything that was placed on it needed to be vegan as well as clean and holistic. We were the first to bring in holistic skin care to Orange County with Botnia Skin Care and Wonder Valley Skin to name a few. We are also known for our Master Estheticians that preform the best facials in Orange County. 

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
The best advice I would give out to those that are just starting out is… 

If your heart is in the right place, you will always succeed, 

Never stop learning, keep your skills fresh by investing in yourself. 

Take a business class or two; keeping up with your books is very important as well as your taxes 

Always be ready for change; the sooner you become comfortable with the uncomfortable the sooner you learn how to adapt… 

Make friends with other artists, it’s a small world out there you never want to burn bridges, you want to be known for your work, not the drama. 

And lastly, treat every client as family, you will find your books growing even when times are slow. Remember word of mouth will always reign. 

Contact Info:

• Website: popsociety.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pop.society/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/poplash
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pop-society-costa-mesa

Image Credits
Kaysha Weiner
Yvette Mendoza