By Sally Deering      Photos by Sally Deering
 
Reality TV star Drita D’Avanzo of Mob Wives VH1 sometimes talks like a thug on camera but when it comes to cosmetics she’s a a girlie-girl.
 On Thursday, August 2nd,  D’Avanzo greeted fans and took to the stage at the Staten Island Mall to unveil her new line of make-up, “Just Me.†A former fashion model, D’Avanzo isn’t just lending her celebrity to sell lipstick to the masses. She actually went to school to study skincare and make-up and starting her own cosmetics line has been a dream ever since she was a tomboy growing up in the Projects. For those of you unfamiliar with Mob Wives (VH1, Sunday nights at 8) the show’s title tells all. D’Avanzo and her co-stars married men who aren’t 9-to-5ers, but rather, wiseguys with connections to crime families. For D’Avanzo, she was still a newlywed when police arrested her husband, Lee, and sent him to prison for five years. Like other women who have had to pick up the pieces after a life-changing event, D’Avanzo went to school to study cosmetology. When a friend suggested the idea for a Reality TV show, D’Avanzo signed on.  Â
At the Staten Island Mall, customers lined up to buy lipsticks and lip plumpers and with just an hour to go before premiering her products, D’Avanzo took a few minutes to talk with the Riverview Observer about her new life as a Reality TV star and cosmetics designer.
 RVO: Hi Drita, can you share with our readers how “Just Me†came about?
DD: I used to model and watch how the make-up artists did my makeup and I was amazed at how they made me look. When Lee went to jail, I took a job in a high-end department store. I worked all the counters. I loved selling and dealing with everyone’s makeup. I knew I wanted to make high-end products affordable.
 RVO: What makes your cosmetics different or better?
DD: I am big on scent and I hate sticky. What makes it different? A lot of cosmetics are created by professional make-up artists. Nobody was behind the counter like I was. For seven years, I listened to a lot of women and what they wanted. All these things give me a lot of leverage.
 RVO: Will you be working your new cosmetics into the show?
DD: Yes. The makeup artist for the show uses my lipsticks. Big Ang (another Mob Wife on the show) loves my lipsticks and Carla (also a Mob Wife on the show) loves my lip plumper. My main goal is to have a beautiful, cool store with a DJ, and a place for girls to get their make-up done and hair styled.
