New City Beauty Salon Owner is Living the American Dream

A Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight

By Rick Pezzullo

Liz Rayraliz Fuentes is living proof that faith, hard work and determination can lead to success and, more importantly, personal fulfillment.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Fuentes immigrated to the United States at eight years old not knowing English. She lived in Miami before relocating to New York at 16, when she had the first of her three children.

To support her family, Fuentes, who once aspired to be an architect, dabbled in many jobs—waitress, cashier, cake decorator, pharmacy technician—before trying the beauty business. She commuted to New York City four hours a day for a while before renting a suite in Rockland where she worked on perfecting her craft.

There, a client, who was a realtor, told Fuentes about a building on Second Street in New City that would be ideal for the type of business she wanted to open on her own.

“God put that girl right on my table,” Fuentes said. “When I first started it was a lot of faith. For the first three months, I was very discouraged. It was very scary, but I felt like it had to work. I had to keep going. I felt like God was guiding me the whole time to keep going. In the beginning there were a lot of free lashes.”

Specializing in permanent makeup and eyelash extensions, Fuentes said slowly but surely Liz’s Beauty developed a steady flow of customers, and five years later, advanced appointments are a must. Her clients range in age from 18 to 76 and live as far away as Texas.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is a real thing,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t going to happen right away. Once the word spread more of my clients learned of my place and they stayed with me.”

Fuentes attributed the success of her business to her connection with her clients.

“I feel like I treat every client like a friend,” she said. “Some businesses treat people like a ticket. I want to know the person. I feel like I connect with them. Girls just want to feel pretty. I want to make sure they leave satisfied.”

Fuentes is also very proud of her children. Her oldest daughter, Abby, is a registered nurse. Her son, Jacob, is a practicing chiropractor. Her youngest daughter, Josie, recently graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a degree in communications. Her husband, who is also from the Dominican Republic, is part owner of Manhattan Fruit Exchange.

“The beauty industry is in high demand. There’s enough for everybody,” she said. “My job is to make sure I do it better.”

Liz’s Beauty, which also offers advanced beauty treatments designed to enhance natural beauty, is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, call 845-520-3008.