10 Minutes with Maria Enna-Cocciolone

By Louise May

Maria Enna-Cocciolone is the thread that links INSKIN and its portfolio brands. Having graduated with her Diploma of Health Science in 1985, Maria worked for a range of leading skincare brands in diverse roles and positions until 2007, when she founded INSKIN COSMEDICS.

Today, with over 35 years of industry experience, Maria is one of Australia’s most reputable skin gurus and the only Australian industry icon to have created two professional skincare brands from scratch.

Beauty Biz Editor Louise May spends 10 minutes with Maria chatting about life and business...

What got you into the beauty industry and inspired your approach to Cosmedical skincare?

A careers market, an acne skin and a multifaceted curriculum lured me in, it was love at first sight! Cosmedical is a term I coined in 2007 when I named INSKIN COSMEDICS, it was in that moment that I made a commitment to only endorsing skincare using clinical actives in their functional dose.

What do you believe sets INSKIN COSMEDICS apart from other skincare companies?

First and foremost, our vertically integrated setup, most of what we do is created by us, from R&D, formulating, manufacturing, brand creation and distribution, over and above we only distribute world-leading, gold standard brands like DermapenWorld, innovative and clinically proven lines like OPTY.NC and finally our culture, we love people, put people first and treat them all like one big Italian family.

With the very exciting announcement of the recent ABGF funding, what’s on the horizon for INSKIN? Can you tell us where to next? Any exciting new products or plans for your brands coming up?

For O Cosmedics, NeuroCosmedics and Ginger&ME our goal “is one skin, one country at a time”; we have just entered into Ireland and The Netherlands with our sights on the UK next. Our final brand in our trilogy of brands will launch in July 2024, it is marked to fill in a gap in the Professional Beauty Industry that no one is filling at the moment, big things are coming.

Your family are all in the business, what roles does each play in the business?

Mario my husband is the CFO, his always looked after the numbers even when he worked at Myers and Dick Smith, he now works in the business full-time and oversees Finance, Operations and Logistics, leaving me to do the fun and creative stuff! Cassandra my daughter is the Marketing Manager, I sacked her the first time she came to work at INSKIN so that when she returned, she had a deeper appreciation for Mum’s work, goals, and dreams.

She now runs an incredible Department of Gems and brings those dreams and goals to life. Alexander my son, has worked his way through the business, started in the Warehouse (as did Cass and I, Mario was not allowed, he made too many mistakes), moved to Customer Experience, then Managed the Warehouse and now holds the role of Production and Procurement Manager.

He also fell in love with Laura our beautiful and talented Customer Experience & Project Manager, who he will marry later this year.

Juggling work and personal life can be tough. How do you keep that balance?

It’s a discipline. Even though we work together every day, we focus on work between business hours and everything but in our personal time. We have Family Dinner every Tuesday night, INSKIN talk is banned and for the most, we balance it well. In September of last year, the five of us took a three-week holiday to Italy (where Alex proposed), and whilst we were five key managers out of the business, we enjoyed a relatively work-free break and the team at home not only held the fort but did so to perfection.

What are your thoughts on all these social media trends when it comes to beauty? Do you try to keep up or stay in your own lane?

The criteria is simple, it’s got to make good skin sense. We move in the professional circle, with skin experts that are not easily lured into fads and innovations that don’t sit well with their education and neither are we. If a movement comes along that gains traction, we only consider it, if, we can give it a cosmedical spin, with a skin health edge.

Can you share a special moment from your career?

“A” special moment? One? No … impossible to choose. My special moment started when I stepped into Beauty Therapy and is still going. Blessed beyond belief!

With recent changes with TGA and the Beauty Industry, what are some ways that clinic owners and cosmetic injectors can navigate these new rules?

My heart breaks for this segment, they have hardly stepped out of a Pandemic only to be hit with these crazy, intense, new laws. I mean how do you recruit new patients if you can’t promote what you do?

My advice is to reinvent your offer, identify a couple of modalities that you can promote (micro-needling, chemical peels, mesotherapy, microdermabrasion, cryo) and support it with a 7Cosmedical skin care offer (not readily available online) so you have lots to talk about and reasons for customers to come to you.

Once you have them in your door then you can present your entire offer. Promote skin youth, skin health and customised treatment plans that you can create during a thorough age management consultation.

After a busy day, how do you like to relax and unwind?

With wine! For optimum relaxation a wine in a magnesium bath before bed or wine with friends. Red, of course.

What are your 3 must-have skincare products in your overnight bag and why?

Generally, a combination of O Cosmedics and NeuroCosmedics cleansers; it goes without saying cleansing is the base of good skincare and a step I don’t compromise on, ever.

Our new O Cosmedics Smart Serum with 12 clinical actives, used in their functional dose, that treats a number of skin concerns in one application.

O Cosmedics Mineral Pro 50 tinted, the perfect protection and primer.

What does your ideal Sunday look like?

A sleep-in, brunch, a remedial massage and maybe depending on how lazy this Sunday is, dinner with family and friends.

If you could have a dinner party with three famous people, who would they be and why?

Define famous? My adored Dad, doesn’t get more famous for me, April will be 7 years since he left us, and I miss him like crazy. Mr Vincent De Lorenzo, my most influential mentor. And Prince William to get the final word on Catherine and what surgery she really had lol.

Favourite Holiday Destination?

Italy, Italy, and Italy!!!

Favourite Meal & Drink?

Italian food in Italy and a Classical Negroni (or two!)

@mariaennacocciolone @inskincosmedics