Most 10-year-old boys spend afternoons riding bikes and playing sports. Me? I sat on the couch snuggled close to my grandmother and watched “The Young and the Restless,” a popular TV soap opera. I was obsessed with the fictional Abbott family’s cosmetic business and vowed that I would one day own my own company. I even picked a name, VS Vincenzo, my name and initials in Italian, which remains one of my product lines today. Then along came that over-the-top night-time saga, “Dynasty,” and the obsession to become rich and famous reached a whole new level.
At age 20, I moved to Hollywood and incorporated TurnKey Beauty Inc. where I began developing skincare products for celebrities like Michael Jordan, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, French Montana, The Housewives of Orange County and many more. But I’m still waiting for the “rich and famous” part!
In true Vinny Spinnato fashion, I bumbled my way to success despite the people who promised moon dust and delivered muck. There were also the funny/tragic events like the time I accidentally spilled red wine and linguini all over Lauren Bacall’s designer white suit while we were lunching. Another time, I got stuck in a water slide that required melted butter, the fire department and a large dose of public humiliation. Not to mention the time post 9/11 that I flew on a commercial jet accompanied by fighter planes prepared to shoot us down.
There were also some wonderful people who helped me along the way, and I like to pass it forward. I’ve established two annual college scholarships for talented seniors in the arts at my former high school in Vineland, NJ. and recently donated a well to Wells of Life, a provider of clean water in Uganda. Dogs have always been a part of my life and my beautiful therapy dog, Savannah, and I work with the Wounded Warrior Project.
As the result of my bizarre life–including a lifelong struggle with Trichotillomania, a largely unrecognized psychological condition involving obsessive-compulsive hair-pulling–I spent years on the proverbial therapist’s couch. When I couldn’t stand to listen to myself another minute, I took my shrink’s advice and wrote a memoir: “My Pursuit of Beauty: Cosmetic Chemist Reveals The Glitz, The Glam and the Batsh*t Crazy.”
I was thrilled when it was selected by Kathy L. Murphy as the 2021 February International Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guys Book of the Month, the largest meeting and discussing book club in the world with more than 800 U.S. chapters and 20 in foreign countries. Holy crap!
Comments from some of my favorite readers. You will recognize their names!
“Dynasty,” produced by my Dad, Aaron Spelling, sparked the imagination of my friend, Vince Spinnato, and inspired him to turn his dreams of developing luxury beauty products into a reality. His no-holds-barred memoir describing his struggles to the top is brutally honest, hilarious and heartbreaking. I couldn’t put the book down.”
–Tori Spelling, actress, producer and author of “sTori Telling,” “Mommywood” and more
“I met Vince through my makeup artist and best friend in London, Jo Sugar, who raved about not only his products, but his passion. Being a product junkie myself, I told her to give him my number which has led into a wonderful journey of his skin care lines. His honesty and his scientific talent about the skincare industry has made me love this book and his products. Growing up with the legendary iconic faces of MGM royalty like my mother, Judy Garland, I understand the trust you need to have in today’s confusing billion-dollar beauty industry. When you find the right “wizard” you are grateful and stay connected.”
–Lorna Luft, singer, actor, New York Times Bestselling Author of “A Star is Born: The Film That Got Away” and five-time Emmy award-winning producer of the mini-series “Judy Garland: Me and My Shadow”
“As a beauty professional and founder of the largest ‘meeting and discussing’ book club in the world, I knew from the first chapter that this was a book from the perspective of creating ‘beauty’ that I had not heard before in a world of reading. Vince Spinnato has a big and real story. I flew through the pages and oftentimes I was literally on the edge of my velvet covered seat. What a story! It gets Five Diamonds in the Pulpwood Queen Recommended Reading list. In fact, this dazzling gem of a book is now our Official 2021 February Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selection!”
–Kathy L. Murphy, artist/author/founder of the International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club Reading Nation and author of “The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life”
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My Pursuit of Beauty
At age 10, Vince Spinnato watched TV soaps with his grandmother and became enamored with the characters on “The Young and the Restless,” who owned a cosmetics firm. He vowed he would follow in their footsteps and chose a name—VS Vincenzo. In his unconventional memoir, Spinnato shares the inner workings of the multi-billion-dollar beauty industry with entertaining tales about creating beauty products and fine fragrances for celebrities including Michael Jordan, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, Gwen Stefani, Damone Roberts, “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” and many others.
Spinnato also shares some of his life’s most bizarre situations: the time he survived a tornado in Iowa while being tethered to a bridge; another when he became stuck inside a resort water slide that involved melted butter and a rescue by the fire department; an embarrassing meetup with film star Lauren Bacall; and his terrifying flight post 9/11 that was nearly shot down by fighter pilots,
Transforming himself into a well-known serial entrepreneur and beauty industry expert was no small feat.
Along the way, Spinnato dealt with incessant bullying, coming out, dyslexia, body dysmorphia, trichotillomania, and multiple betrayals. “A devastating breakup was the last straw,” he says. “At age 20, I got in my car, waved goodbye to New Jersey and headed to Hollywood, determined to launch my career.” His modus operandi was to breeze into famous salons and announce that he would return the next morning to begin his internship.
Once he had the expertise and the financial means, he founded TurnKey Beauty, Inc., to develop beauty and personal care products for celebrities, as well as major retailers including Costco, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Banana Republic (more than 300 products and counting). A contributor to “Vogue,” “Vanity Fair,” “Harper’s Bazaar,” “W,” “Esquire,” and “GQ,” the cosmetic chemist founded Aegean Skincare, LLC and Vincenzo Skincare, LLC., under which he recently launched his luxury skincare line, Caviar & Diamond.
In “My Pursuit of Beauty,” Spinnato not only reveals behind-the-scenes tales of working with the rich and famous, searing stories of loves lost, and his scramble to make it, but also his moving journey to self-acceptance.
You can find his book at Main Street Reads – the Official Online Independent Bookstore for the International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys – Click Here
*or wherever fine books are sold.
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