What’s Up With... The Aesthetic Journey Looks to Elevate, Enhance Natural Beauty

BY C. JAYDEN SMITH

On Wednesday, June 14, people seeking to enhance their look were able to step into the cosmetics business The Aesthetic Journey for the first time, marking the fulfillment of a longtime wish for three local nurse practitioners.

Maureen Garrett, Maggie Richard and Billie Jo Yost first decided to band together in the process of opening an aesthetic services business while on a staycation trip. Combined with the efforts of Portrait, a company that oversees all the business aspects of the practice, the three registered nurses (RN) were able to continue their careers in the cosmetic field.

“In our business, we provide services for women and men who are looking to either enhance the way that they look or (help them) appear on the outside how they feel on the inside,” Garrett said. “As we start to age, our body betrays us and our face betrays us, and people here in this community are active, vibrant people, so we work with them.”

The practice will provide neurotoxins such as Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, as well as fillers and other treatments that stimulate collagen production or enhance skin quality and texture.

Garrett is a 28-year resident of San Clemente, having raised two daughters in town; Richard has spent the past three years working in the city; and Yost is a five-year resident who’s looking forward to settling down long-term. All have worked as nurses for at least 20 years.

“My (Marine) husband’s retiring at the end of July, and this is our home, after moving every two years for almost the last 30 years,” said Yost. “This is amazing to call San Clemente home.”

Brittany Bureski, Portrait’s regional director for the West Coast, was also on-site in the runup to The Aesthetic Journey’s soft opening on Wednesday, alongside a team of assistants helping with the process. Bureski manages a vast roster of Portrait employees concerned with the day-to-day operations of aesthetics providers.

The company has a goal of highlighting the names of RNs who are respon- sible for the cosmetic results that drive clients and new patients through the door, according to Bureski, and simultaneously providing the same medical oversight that is essential to a functioning practice.

“While Portrait supports these injectors through clinical direction, oversight and collaboration, we also support them through an entire set of business operations and services, full-scale,” said Bureski. “(Providers) can focus on the artistry, treating their patients and doing what they do best while we focus on what we do best, which is a tech company with a medical background.”

The Aesthetic Journey will have an in-house patient care coordinator staffed by Portrait, as well as access to frequent communication with a medical director who can answer questions and provide guidance related to treatments.

Portrait also sets up collaborative training sessions, Garrett said, which help to create a “community of injectors.”

“I think it’s really important that we highlight, as working mothers of kids, for us to start our own business,” said Garrett. “This is a dream that all three of us have had separately, and for us to be able to make the dream a reality, we could not do it without Portrait.”

Richard said that one of the aspects she enjoys about working in aesthetics is being able to work with patients to come up with a plan that will achieve the patient’s desires.

Garrett echoed those sentiments, saying the reasoning behind the name of their business was the group cared about their patients and wanted to partner with them, to understand their goals, and have the freedom to structure their time how they wanted.

Yost said while she enjoys working as a nurse in an intensive care unit, she loves the part of aesthetics in which she can get to know patients in an intimate setting.

“Nursing is often very technical and medical, and this (combines it with) artistry,” Garrett added. “We all have that artistic side of us. But in typical nursing, you don’t often get the opportunity to showcase that or experience it, and that’s also very fulfilling as a provider.”

It can be easy to focus on the negative parts of the industry, according to Garrett, but the goal of their business isn’t to overdo the injection process. Rather, they want to provide treatments that look natural and elevate a person’s look to where others can’t immediately tell a client got work done.

The group said they were excited to do what they love in a community that they love.

“It still feels like a dream, but then when you see that patient on the schedule, you’re like, ‘This is really happening,’ ” said Richard of Wednesday’s soft opening.

The Aesthetic Journey is located at 647 Camino de los Mares, Suite 224, San Clemente.

Community Meetings

FRIDAY, JUNE 16

Beachside Chat

8-9 a.m. Join San Clemente residents and dignitaries for the weekly Beachside Chat, a spirited, town hall forum on community issues led by a slate of rotating hosts. The chats are held at Dorothy Visser Senior Center, located at 117 Avenida Victoria, San Clemente. All are welcome.

SATURDAY, JUNE 17

Challenging Cancer

10-11:30 a.m. The Challenging Cancer group is conducting weekly meetings through Zoom video conferences. The meetings are open to caregivers, people who have a compromised immune system, and people dealing with cancer. To join, email donnavigil2@gmail.com or linda_crdv@ yahoo.com. heritagesc.org.

TUESDAY, JUNE 20

San Clemente City Council

5 p.m. The San Clemente City Council will conduct its regularly scheduled meeting in person at the Council Chambers at City Hall, as well as virtually. The meeting will be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel. City Hall, 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente. 949.361.8200. san-clemente.org.

Because I Love You (BILY)

6:30-8:30 p.m. The organization Because I Love You (BILY), which helps parents navigate through whatever parenting challenges they may be facing (e.g., failure to launch, substance misuse, disrespect), conducts its weekly meetings on Tuesdays via Zoom video conference and in person/ Zoom the first Tuesday of each month at the Outlets at San Clemente’s Conference Room. For detailed instructions on how to participate, email bilysanclemente@gmail. com.

San Clemente Toastmasters

7-8:40 p.m. The Toastmasters Club invites people to lose their fear of public speaking and have fun at the same time. Join them in person on the first and third Tuesday of the month at the Baha’i Center, at 3316 Avenida del Presidente. Visitors welcomed. Call or text Laura Yang at 949.547.6558 with questions. 6463.toastmastersclubs.org.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21

VA Disabled Claims Clinic

2-4 p.m. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) 9934 will sponsor a Veterans Affairs Disability Claims Clinic at the Dana Point Community Center the first and third Wednesday of each month. Veterans can walk in and meet with a VFW Service Officer and receive information on how to file a claim for service-related medical issues. Dana Point Community Center, 34052 Del Obispo Street, Dana Point. Planning Commission

5-10 p.m. The city’s Planning Commission will conduct its regularly scheduled meeting at the Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting will be livestreamed through the city’s YouTube channel. City Hall, 910 Calle Negocio. 949.361.8200. san-clemente.org.