Anastasia Soare embodies many things—charm, class, precision—but what many of her fans don’t know is that there’s more to her than good brows and sophistication. She shares truth in a way that’s tender and makes you want to lean in. Her boldness never comes off as brash. You can almost sense the obstacles she’s encountered by peering into her eyes, and her face holds a story of its own–complemented by a pleasing palette of peach hues–that suggests beauty is more than makeup.
Soare, Founder & CEO of Anastasia Beverly Hills, moved to Los Angeles from Romania at the age of 31. Struggling to learn English, she managed to forge her beauty empire from the ground up. Now, 36 years later, the 67-year-old is sitting on a billion-dollar business crafted from highbrow hustle—elegance built on grit.
Her striking determination was a learned behavior from her childhood in Romania. Soare’s mother, a tailor and seamstress, not only assumed the role of sole provider for her daughter but also became her prime caregiver when Anastasia lost her father at the young age of 12. Additionally, her mother faced challenges and uncertainty as a small business owner in 1980s communist Romania. The single mom was in constant fear of losing the rights to her business that she ran all on her own.
Unbeknownst to her mother, Soare was secretly studying her every move. The young Soare quietly immersed herself in the tricks of the trade, absorbing her mother’s technique in hopes of carving out her own legacy one day. Soare watched her mother sew, interact with customers, and market herself. “My mother would wake up at 6:00am and work until midnight,” Soare said. “I couldn’t understand at that time why she worked so many hours, so I told myself…I don’t want to work like that,” Soare admitted. “But later on I came here and I realized…I became my mother.”
One of Soare’s most notable triumphs was uncovering the recipe for perfectly—shaped brows, recalling that no one paid attention to eyebrows in Hollywood in the 1990s, so it was an opportunity ripe for the picking—a niche that later became the brow queen’s bread and butter. “I saw the gap in the beauty industry, which was eyebrows,” Soare said, “and I realized that my eyebrows made me look surprised because of the shape.”
She recalled her former art teacher’s words that left an impression on her. He instructed her to draw eyebrows with varying curves and strokes if she wanted to change a portrait’s emotion, and so it became clear to her that this was the approach that was missing in modern-day makeup. “I realized that brow styling has to be the shape that works for everybody,” she remarked. “We all have different bone structures and eyebrow shapes, and I think it’s important to embrace that natural look.”
Soare made it her life’s mission to perfect her product. She spent years fine-tuning her signature brow method, The Golden Ratio, in an effort to create balance and symmetry for each unique face shape. After combing through research, she discovered that the brain sees beauty with balance. Using the principle of thirds, a formula that derives visually appealing intersection points to achieve composition, she applied this artistic strategy to the face. And in no time, she invented a brow method that paved the way to her face-framing fortune.
In her brand new book, Raising Brows, Soare chronicles her experience as a Romanian immigrant and so eloquently shares her voice in a way that feels refreshingly down-to-earth and relatable. You’d almost forget that English is her second language. Her unshakeable strength almost leaps off the page and serves as a beautiful tribute to what she’s built.
In Part One titled, Believe In Your Dreams. Don’t Give Up, Soare shares her heart’s desire for the impact she hopes to have upon her daughter: “If I could give my daughter three things, they would be the confidence to always know her self-worth, the ability to know how deeply she is loved, and the strength to chase her dreams,” Soare remarked fondly. And speaking kindly to her readers, she continued, “I wish that for all of you, too.”
Soare’s unwavering love for her daughter Claudia is deeply felt in the pages of her book and in real life. Known professionally as Norvina, Claudia is a successful internet personality and has been the president and creative director of Anastasia Beverly Hills since 2016. Her relationship to Soare is reminiscent of the bond Soare has with her own mother and is a subtle, or not-so-subtle, reminder of the legacy she’s made.
Photos courtesy of Studio ABH (Anastasia Beverly Hills)
When asked why she wanted to release her memoir now, Soare remarked with confidence, “I want to share my journey–the highs and the lows, the lessons that I learned, and the importance of resilience,” Soare confessed. “I was able to build this, and it wasn’t easy, so I hope my experiences will inspire other people to make fewer mistakes.” With a glimmer in her eye, one could sense a strength that was untouchable. It was bravery that got her here, but empathy that made her legendary—a kind of beauty that is rarely known.