Greetings Gorgeous!

I'm your guide to Venus of the Mind

Oct 21, 2025

Step onto the Path of Venus

Venus of the Mind is a beauty and culture newsletter designed for those who like to look good and think deep. At the nexus of all things beauty and beyond, this publication explores the world through aesthetic philosophy, (a)esthetics as a profession and aestheticism as a way of life.

About Me, Ivana.

I am a licensed and working master esthetician. At Ivana Martínez Studio - located just outside of Washington D.C. - I apply over a decade of experience from within and outside of the beauty industry. Below are exhibits A, B, and C of my license to glow.

No filter. 99% makeup free, 1% NYX Eyebrow Glue in "Clear." Skincare and favorable lighting✨

The Brain Behind the Writing

My writer’s brain has had quite the journey. I first worked as an assistant at a casting company before going to beauty school and training in esthetics. After passing state board exams I went into luxury spa settings and later enrolled at Hollins University. From Hollins, I graduated with a B.A. in Spanish (honors included), a minor in film, a certificate in leadership studies from the Batten Leadership Institute, and came away with an Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.

I then found myself in a Masters to PhD pipeline inside the Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese department at the University of Virginia. At UVA I explored life as a humanities researcher; thinking critically through Caribbean literature, art, and culture with a special interest in the early-modern period.

Despite wanting to drink the institutional kool-aid, I quickly realized that while I loved learning, researching, traveling, making connections, and sharing that knowledge, I did not enjoy doing all that as a career within the structure of academia.

After becoming a PhD drop-out, I managed to spin my background into a solid pitch for a job in public relations. I spent some time in the world of strategic communications at a socially-minded firm before goldilocks-ing my way out of that.

Pivoting Back into Beauty

One night, under a new moon in Sagittarius I asked myself, “What do I want most out of the labor that I choose to do within capitalism?”

I wanted four things from my labor:

1) Work that was simultaneously cerebral and embodied.

2) A career where I could celebrate my own light and the light within others.

3) Alignment with my values while clocked-in and alignment with my varied interests while clocked-out.

4) A system of production that required me to take care of myself outside of it so that I could offer excellence of service within it. Too many jobs reward self-abandonment. I was interested in creating a positive feedback loop between my personal and professional life, one that necessitated self-presence.

I looked at my list and realized that if I paired my license in esthetics with lessons from the life I’d lived beyond esthetics, I could achieve all of the above from inside the treatment room as an esthetician and from far beyond the treatment room as a proud aesthete. So everything came full circle!

Recent client reviews that were printed and pasted onto the wall at work :)

Because I am good at what I do, many of my clients ask me if I am passionate about my work as a facialist. My true passion is living and I genuinely believe that the cultivation of a beautiful life is a worthwhile endeavor even with the world on fire.

My Gaze

In my practice as an esthetician I see in real time how beauty culture shapes the ongoing refashioning of the self from birth to grave.

As a reader, writer, and forever student of the world, I see beauty culture itself as mutable. Beauty culture is subject to time, geography, politics, collective survival, and competing visions of the world we all share.

What holds our attention as “beautiful” reflects back to us our beliefs, our history, our conscious aspirations, and unconscious desires.

Somethings I find beautiful are words, words, and more words.

For Those Who Like to Look Good and Think Deep

Every newsletter is crafted with intention. I work with written language as a medium unto itself. I invest in ongoing education and mentorship with established professionals from across disciplines as part of my writing process. I read widely and research carefully. The same care and attention I bring to the faces of others is the approach I bring to my words. Nothing is ever slapdash when contemplating Venus.

To explore Venus of the Mind at your own pace, bookmark the index below. It is updated after each new publication; housing all curated culture round-ups, exclusive beauty insights, travelogues, musings, essays, and more. All in one place for easy access.