Valeria Roznovanu

I was born in the village of Ustia, in the district of Glodeni, into a beautiful family, where my parents did everything they could to give us everything — even though it was the '90s, a time when «everything» very often meant only love and sacrifice.

My childhood was marked by a separation. My parents, Ioan and Ludmila, chose to go abroad, and my brother Emil and I were left in our grandmother's care. In practice, I raised my brother myself. I took that weight on my shoulders as a child — and perhaps that is where the strength I still carry inside comes from.

In that suitcase I wasn't just carrying products — I was carrying a dream. The dream I'm living today.

In 2013 I moved to Milan, and the hardest years of my life began. I was alone, without friends, in a foreign country, without papers and without knowing the language. In 2016 Maria was born, my greatest joy, arriving at a time when I was slowly fading away.

Out of desperation, in 2018 I started working as a domestic helper. I cleaned houses, but I did it with decency and dedication, because I learnt it as a child: any job done with dignity keeps you standing. And in November 2018 I took the step that would change my life — my first keratin course.

I was working in three different places and, in my free time, I looked after a few clients. In 2019 I made the decision: I would dedicate myself to hair. I worked at home, in the kitchen, and every cent earned with my own hands was satisfaction and tears of happiness.

On 9 September 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I opened my first salon. Everyone told me I was mad. A space with three rooms, of which I used only one, because the money had only been enough for a mirror, a chair and the basic tools.

I've been one step away from failure many times, but every time I was reborn stronger, like the phoenix.

Not everything went smoothly. I lost businesses, I lost a house, more than once I was one step away from failure. But every loss taught me the same thing: I am a brand, and what I build with my name stays.

Today I have 16 people in my team, a business with three lines — the salon, distribution and the courses — and I am about to open a new salon in the centre of Milan, a stone's throw from the Duomo.

I believe happiness is a choice, just as suffering is a choice. And only you decide which way to go.

I chose.