Tarentum woman, 19, becoming 3rd owner of Merle Norman Cosmetics studio

Mary Lee Naccarato first learned of Olivia Grace Fertig from a newspaper story. She was so impressed by the young woman that Naccarato offered her a job at her New Kensington Merle Norman Cosmetics studio.

Just over a year later, Nac­carato, 73, of Washington Township is retiring, and Fertig, 19, is taking over her business and moving it to Tarentum.

Helped by her mother, Suzi Fertig, Olivia Grace Fertig has scheduled a grand opening for her cosmetics studio at 300 Corbet St. on Sept. 12.

The storefront had been an Isaly’s from the 1950s to 1983. Fertig’s grandmother, Beverly Tadrzak, worked there as a cook in the 1970s before going on to work for Allegheny Ludlum. Fertig and her mother plan to restore a peeling Isaly’s sign that’s still on the building.

Tarentum was the only place they wanted their business to be.

“I live in Tarentum. I always have. Tarentum is trying to get more business here. I want to be a part of that,” said the younger Fertig, a 2019 Highlands graduate. “I love Tarentum. I want to bring what I like here.”

The Fertigs hope the studio will benefit from foot traffic in the borough.

“This is an up-and-coming town now,” Suzi Fertig said. “It’s starting to come back.”

The younger Fertig was a Highlands senior when she was featured in a February 2019 report in the Tribune-Review’s Valley News Dispatch edition about CVS choosing her to participate in and promote the company’s “Sans Retouching” campaign, which railed against the practice of retouching pictures to make them look better or remove imperfections.

Naccarato noted that she was planning to attend cosmetology school and wanted to be an aesthetician.

“She just seemed like she would be the type of person I would like to work here,” Naccarato said in her studio, a former bank in Riverview Plaza. “She’s done a great job.”

Fertig said she fell in love with the Merle Norman brand and with her mother decided to buy the business, which would have closed otherwise.

“I didn’t know the brand until she contacted me. I started using the makeup and that’s all I use now,” she said. “I want to introduce people to it. No one around here knows about it.”

Naccarato is the second owner of the studio. She took it over from Gloria Massarelli, who had operated it for about 50 years, starting in downtown New Kensington before moving to the plaza along Tarentum Bridge Road. After owning it for the past six years, Naccarato said she was looking for someone to buy it, and mentioned it to the younger Fertig.

Naccarato said she is passing on everything she has to her: clientele, equipment, product and knowledge.

“I want to make sure she has a good grasp of the business,” she said. “She knows what she’s talking about. She’s very knowledgeable about the product.”

One of the things Fertig did for Naccarato was take over the social media accounts. She’s been active on social media since she was 12, with her mom’s guidance, and has followers from around the world.

“Olivia is very knowledgeable about the social media, which I have no clue,” Naccarato said.

Fertig said she will use social media to reach younger customers.

“I hope she can attract some younger clientele,” Naccarato said. “They’d be very surprised how good our makeup is.”

With her focus now on the studio, Fertig said she plans to go to North Hills Beauty Academy in a year or so.

On making the transition from employee to owner, she said, “I’m really excited. I love working. I’m sure I’ll be stressed out.

“I’m going to try to work every single day at first.”

Naccarato is encouraging her clients to stay with Fertig.

“They’re going to get the same great service they always got from me and the previous owner,” she said. “I want to see her succeed. I really do.”