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Business & Tech

Artists Follow a Dream in Birmingham's Newest Beauty Boutique

After years of working at local salons, two makeup and eyebrow shaping experts open MASQ Beauty.

When Summerita Ayar was a young girl growing up in West Bloomfield, she always took pride in her artistic skills.

“My mom still has a lot of my artwork,” Ayar said. “I even drew the image for one of my yearbook covers.”

Ayar’s eye for the artistic side of life and her passion for beauty lead her to Complections International Academy of Make-up Artistry in Toronto. Eventually, she worked for Dior at various stores in Oakland County and then took a job at in Birmingham. A few years later, the makeup artist opened her own space inside Birmingham's . 

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Still, the 29-year-old from Commerce Township pined for her own business in a location dedicated solely to makeup and eyebrow shaping.

“With two kids (ages 2 and 1), it was time to do something on my own and find a partner who does the same thing,” she said. Enter good friend and Novi resident Marisa Qarana, 25, also an eyebrow and makeup artist who worked at Todd’s Room. Five months ago, the two opened on North Old Woodward Avenue. The name comes from the women’s initials.

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At MASQ, clients select from a variety of services, from eyelash tinting and application to makeup application and brow shaping. MASQ’s private label line of skincare joins cosmetics by Senna, “an amazing line that’s always featured on Keeping Up with the Kardashians show,” Ayar said. Another popular line that MASQ carries is Anastasia, “considered a brow guru in L.A.” 

Ayar is especially known for her ability to shape brows.

“Everybody’s different,” she said after just putting the finishing touches on a client. Brandishing Italian-made tweezers (her favorite go-to tool and available for sale at the boutique for $22), Ayar said, “I never get bored; every face that comes in is a different 3-D palette. Some just need a cleanup, like the young girls, and some need a lot of time.” 

Ayar typically likes brows on “the fuller side,” she explained. “It’s less maintenance for the client, too.”

“There’s an unbelievable stream of women going in there,” said Emily Rosenberg, owner of , a maternity and children’s wear boutique steps away from MASQ. “There's lots of activity, especially as it gets closer to the weekend. They must be really good.”

Art director Kathy Moore knows first-hand the talents of Qarana, whom she has hired for numerous high-fashion photo shoots for the annual Somerset Collection Holiday publication.

“Marisa is genius with color,” said Moore, a Dexter resident. “She understands the layering that needs to be done for photo work, but doesn't apply too heavily, so her application is always fresh and clean.”

As for opening their own shop, Ayar has nothing but great things to say about the experience.

“Having our own business feels amazing and nice, Ayar said. “It was a dream of mine, being able to do it up yourself, get what you want.” She also said her location on North Old Woodward is convenient for customers because there is a lot of metered parking right out front. 

The women’s space features gleaming vanities, wood floors, a custom-made front desk, antique-looking chests and dainty chairs. A treasure trove of accessories are for sale as well, including hair adornments, bags, jewelry and more.

Clients who get to their appointment early can enjoy the sweet little reading area near the front windows. Here, they can browse through the pages of New York Times bestseller How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp and see Ayar’s name listed in the book as a highly recommended makeup artist.

To those people who fret about spending money on eyebrow maintenance, Ayar – ever the artist – suggests they think of their face and eyes as a painting.

“Your eyes are the focus of your face, so the frames are really your brows,” Ayar said. “If you don’t take care of your brows, it’s like a beautiful picture with a bad frame. And you know? Sometimes that’s all you look at is the frame around a painting because it’s so gorgeous.”  

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