 By Sarah Thompson Minna Murphy, owner of Zeni Beauty®, has been helping people through the art of makeup for more than two decades and has a heart for helping everyone look and feel like the best versions of themselves. Zeni Beauty® truly is the brand for the everyday woman. In the early 2000s, Murphy started working as a freelance makeup artist for a film and video production company. “I started custom blending onset because as every makeup artist knows, trying to carry over 20 shades of foundation in your kit is heavy and expensive,” said Murphy. “The production company repeatedly hired me for almost a decade because I could match anyone’s skin tone—from the lightest to the darkest person. My beauty business was born from the requests I received from the actors and actresses asking how they could get a bottle of the color I just created, because they couldn’t find a better match at the cosmetic counters.”  In 2005, Murphy launched her first business—Makeup Mixology, Inc.—focused on custom blending for women of color, with the hopes of making custom blended foundation readily available to women like her who struggled to find the right shade of foundation. “Historically, Black women have not had as many color options available as other ethnicities,” she said. After years of working with people of every skin tone on set and private clients she refocused her business model to be more inclusive. “While working in the film and media industry, I met people of all cultures and ethnicities. I realized that despite our perceived difference we all want the same thing and that is to be happy and look fabulous,” she shared. Murphy combined her years of knowledge, education, and expertise and in February 2019, she launched Zeni Beauty®. Zeni is the shortened form of the word Zarazeni, which is the Czech word for inclusion. She created Zeni Beauty® because her business was growing, and she needed to separate the cosmetic brand from her cosmetic manufacturing business now known as The Makeup Mix Cosmetic Co.
“While working in the film and media industry, I met people of all cultures and ethnicities. I realized that despite our perceived difference we all want the same thing and that is to be happy and look fabulous.”  Murphy took hundreds of custom foundation formulas and created a normalized array of colors that represents the global range of skin tones. Her products are now accessible to an even wider range people. “There’s a person behind every foundation color in the Zeni Beauty® Cosmetics line,” said Murphy. “Today, most cosmetic companies offer various shades of brown foundation,” she added. “Custom foundation is different, understanding how to match an individual’s unique undertones is a science. While there are other companies that offer ‘custom blending,’ I understand how to adjust the formula to compensate for the way your skin will react to environmental factors. I have combined my experience as a makeup artist with my training as a cosmetic formulator and created a line of made-to-order products that can be personalized to your skins needs. This is what sets my products apart from other brands.”
All Zeni Beauty® products are environmentally conscious and free from parabens, mineral oil and talc. “Your skin is an organ, it breathes and absorbs,” she explained,” the ingredients in the products you use matter!” While foundation is her passion and the first product she started making, Murphy’s manufacturing company produces a full line of cosmetic products including foundation powders, concealers, eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks and lip glosses, all of which can be purchased on her website, zenibeauty.com. One of Murphy’s future goals is to work with up-and-coming beauty businesses, helping them validate and scale their product formulas. She wants to help others pursue their passions—a beauty entrepreneur helping other entrepreneurs!  “My manufacturing company is preparing to offer small scale production runs for indie beauty businesses,” she said. She believes that beauty is much more than physical appearance. It’s a reflection of all that is good about people at their core. “This business is an expression of who I am. I was born to do this,” said Murphy. “I’m finally living my dream.” Find Zeni Beauty® on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube or visit www.zenibeauty.com. Zeni Beauty® offers virtual consultations and in-person services by appointment at The Alms House Salon, 53 Warwick Street, Middletown, Connecticut.
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 Pictured: Owner of Crab Shack King - A Touch of Soul, Reginald White. (Photo: Brenda De Los Santos Photography) By Brenda De Los Santos For Reginald White, opening his Middletown, CT-based food trailer, The Crab Shack King - A Touch of Soul, was the culmination of years of hard work and determination. Crab Shack King, which officially opened as a food trailer in March, offers seafood with a touch of soul. Some fan favorites on the menu are the deep fried lobster, crab cakes, poboys and his signature “King Sauce.” You can get your seafood fix at 840-900 Washington Street from 11:00am-5:30pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11:00am-7:00pm Fridays and 2:00-9:00pm on Saturdays. Occasionally, White will have a pop-up location in Meriden as well. Previously a truck driver, White was on vacation with his wife when he got the call that the company he worked for was filing for bankruptcy. Instead of being defeated by it, White, who has a certificate in catering, attended Lincoln Culinary Institute for a time, and has a family who all love to cook, took it as a sign that he had “finally gotten the green light to move forward with cooking.” With previous entrepreneurial experience as the former owner of Knockerball CT, starting his own business serving food “the way he likes to be served” was a natural next step.
 “When I get up in the morning knowing that people love our food, it drives me to never go back [to the streets].” Searching for nine months to find the perfect trailer for his business, White finally met two Black women who owned a marketing firm and were looking to sell their trailer. White says, “they felt his passion,” for creating delicious food and their trailer became Crab Shack King’s new home. White’s expertise in the culinary arts is paying off—his popular menu of mouth-watering seafood often sells out, and his “King Sauce,” which is dairy-based and features all natural herbs and spices, is on the verge of being sold in local stores. He has experimented with creating a dairy-free version and has also played around with recipes for a vegan “crab” cake. He is continually expanding his knowledge, noting that he also learns from an employee who has been in the business for 30 years. A self described “military brat” growing up, as a teen the streets called him, and White left home at 15 years of age. A former gang member and drug dealer, he spent time in both state and federal prison. It took determination and help from others for White to turn things around. In 2014, he founded Total Man Inc., which is geared towards providing alternatives for at-risk youth who are subject to the difficulties of gang membership, incarceration and much more. He said that his passion for mentoring comes from his desire to reach young men and women to help prevent them from making the same mistakes he did. 
Crab Shack King is more than just a business for him, too. “When I get up in the morning knowing that people love our food,” says White, “it drives me to never go back [to the streets].” He takes pride in serving great food and providing excellent customer service. He likes to engage with his customers, getting them to laugh and feel comfortable. And for him, serving quality food is of the utmost importance; Crab Shack King’s seafood is always fresh, and every bite bursts with flavor as he marinates everything—right down to the crab that goes into the crab cakes.  browse the shopblackct directory:
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