From books to beauty treatments, Krista Falardo has had quite a career shift.

" I was a schoolteacher for 17 years in the South Bronx, and when we moved up here…I took a leave," she said. "So, I said, 'What am I [going to] do for the rest of my life that would be so fun?'"

Her solution? Opening up her shop, The Lovesol Experience, and originally offering one of her favorite beauty treatments: Spray tans.

" I custom mix your color based on your skin's undertone for that off the beach, never orange glow...I call it liquid confidence...it just does something to you inside and out. It makes you feel better. It makes you look better in your makeup, your clothes, everything. It's just a confidence boost."

From there, Falardo continued sharing her love of beauty by expanding her shop, soon offering more custom, handmade products. One of those products are body scrubs, an idea that stemmed from her love of spray tans.

"When you [get a] spray tan, you have to prep your skin," she explained. "So, you have to exfoliate [and] shave. You have to do all this prep to your skin before a spray tan so it's flawless."

Another product Falardo started selling is her lip gloss, which has become one of her most popular products.

"I just absolutely love lip gloss and lip products," she said "I started toying with formulations and I started making lip gloss. Then, I started just giving out samples to people, and [they] absolutely loved it."

The difference between Falardo's spray tan experience and lip gloss experience, however, is that customers can get the chance to make their perfect lip gloss themselves. It has become a popular activity among customers of all ages.

"You come to the bar, and we look at all the colors I have," she explained. "We apply some lip liners, and we look at the colors of the glosses and the textures...I have some that I infuse with hyaluronic acid; I have some that [are] ultra hydrating. I [then] hand-whip my lip gloss for at least 20 to 30 minutes to get the consistency and my signature smooch lip gloss."

Falardo has also launched some lip glosses that are specifically designed to be used for post-lip injection care.

"It's called 'Bruise Bully,' and I formulated it specially for med spas," she said. "It reduces and minimizes bruising and swelling within three to four days if applied three to four times a day...I sell it to med spas across all 50 states in wholesale and private label.

As the years go by, Falardo continues to see immense growth from customers. Since Black Friday alone, she has seen the number of clients double, and hopes she can continue spreading her mission of self-love and confidence to even more customers as the year goes on.

"I just love interacting and meeting new people, and my clients are so good to me," she said. "They definitely refer me anytime they can. So, I'm really grateful and humbled by all of it...Every woman needs to know that we are incredible humans and that…you have to appreciate and be kind to yourself more. So, I want them to feel that when they come here and…I try my best to make them feel as best as they possibly can."

The Lovesol Experience is located on the first floor of the Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown.