Fayth and Vinnie Ribeiro have lived in a lot of places. But six-degrees-of-Naval-Academy-separation brought them back to Annapolis to raise their family and launch a business.
Vinnie spent much of his childhood in Brazil, surrounded by a family of women and developing a passion for nature, soccer, and surfing. When he returned to the U.S. to attend high school, he knew he wanted to pursue his love of flying. Luckily, he had a cousin who was becoming a pilot at the U.S. Naval Academy. Vinnie visited Annapolis and fixed his sights on attending the academy.
Despite his application being denied, he eventually got a phone call from the Naval Academy Foundation telling him they could offer potential students a small allotment of positions. But once he had completed his service year at the New Mexico Military Institute, and entered the Academy, his eyesight had deteriorated to a point where becoming a pilot was no longer an option.
He took a year off, studied abroad and made his way to the University of Miami. After graduation, he spent the next decade working in finance, opening his own company, developing offices, and building strategic partnerships.
While Vinnie was finding his path, Fayth grew up in a military family in Phoenix, Arizona. “My grandfather was in the Marines, and my dad was Navy,” she says. “I knew I wanted to travel, and I wanted a way to pay for college. Dad suggested USNA, so I did a summer seminar there and fell in love with the idea. I applied and was offered a spot at NAPS (Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island).”
Fayth left after plebe year at USNA, deciding it wasn’t the path for her, and returned to Arizona. She married a fellow midshipman and had a daughter. The couple spent the next several years in Athens, Georgia; Pensacola, Fla.; Guam and Hawaii. When the couple divorced, Fayth once again returned to Arizona.
It was the Florida wedding of John and Marjorie Merchant—Fayth’s USNA roommate and best friend— that brought her and Vinnie together. The bride was Vinnie’s sister and Fayth was her maid of honor. Fayth had known Vinnie through Marjorie for over 10 years, “There was always some chemistry but it was never good timing,” Fayth recalls. But after the wedding, the relationship took off, and a year later, she moved to Miami. Fayth and Vinnie got married, had two children, and lived in Florida for 15 years.
Fayth was able to pursue her love of photography in Florida. She spent a decade doing commercial marketing photography. “Photography is something I love doing and am passionate about. Vinnie really pushed me to do it fulltime, but I was hesitant to make it a career.”
She worked at The Ocean Reef Club, a luxury resort in the Florida Keys, and eventually took the helm of the local chamber of commerce there and found a way to blend her business know-how with her passion for photography. Her commercial photography business took off, and she spent 8 years as a team photographer for the Miami Heat NBA professional basketball team. But she was still looking for more.
“In my business, I found myself gravitating towards working with personal branding for women. I want to help women focus on their strengths, what they have to offer. I loved seeing women coming into the spotlight and learning how to be comfortable with that.”
The couple had been visiting the Merchant family in Ulmstead Estates in Arnold for years, always enjoying the trips. “Every time we visited, we would get sentimental,” Fayth says. “We thought, ‘it’s such a nice place to raise kids. It’s safe, there’s less traffic (than in Miami).’”
The family’s love for the water and the outdoors helped seal the deal. “We love being outside, hiking, exploring trails, and visiting waterfalls. Plus, we wanted ‘real’ seasons,” adds Vinnie.
“Miami’s glamour and glitz is fun when you are young and single,” he said. “But we really wanted a home in a city that felt more family-friendly.”
The couple moved to Maryland in 2021. Vinnie was working remotely and decided it was time for him to sell the company and try something new. Fayth added an MBA to her resume.
“We had talked about opening a franchise for a while,” he says. “I knew that my wife wanted to switch gears professionally so we knew it was a good time to take a leap and open our own business.”
In July 2023, they opened The Lash Lounge on West Street in Annapolis, offering semi-permanent eyelash extensions, lash fills, lash lifts, eyebrow threading, and tinting services.
The Ribeiros took the franchise route because it was appealing to them. They wouldn’t need to worry about starting from scratch or brand recognition. And The Lash Lounge has seen success across the nation. While we were there, a client who had been a Lash Lounge member in Texas came in to restart her membership.
“Everything that we do here, it’s proven, it’s been through the hiccups as a startup,” says Vinnie. “We don’t want to reinvent something in order to reap benefits in ten years but much sooner than that. We were in a position to invest in a franchise and we have the resources so that we weren’t starting from zero.”
The Ribeiros worked with a franchise consultant, a business matchmaker, exploring territories, seeing what was available and what kind of business they wanted to invest in. “I knew I wanted it to be a service to the community and to women specifically,” adds Fayth.
They had encountered Lash Lounge before, in Miami, and were learning about the eyelash extension industry. “One of my high school friends was involved in an eyelash extension business in Houston, so we knew it was a growing industry. And the more we got to know the women involved in Lash Lounge we saw this female-centric empowering kind of business and everyone is just amazing.”
“People are looking for a way to simplify their beauty routine,” Fayth explains. “Women are going to wake up the next morning after getting their lashes, feeling more confident about leaving the house with no or minimal makeup, saving themselves time in their morning routine.”
At home, the Ribeiros have embraced being a part of the Naval Academy community again. Their sons play Green Hornet soccer, and Vinnie coaches. While they admit they miss some aspects of the close-knit Latino community and the culture they left behind in Miami, the family is learning to love Maryland life.
And they love the chance to give women a relaxing experience and much-needed me-time. “You can just lay back and relax at The Lash Lounge. Pop in your earbuds, listen to that podcast you love or just take a little nap,” says Fayth. “This is a way for women to invest in themselves. You deserve it.”
Remember how Vinnie grew up in a family of women? “I think that Brazilian culture really prepared me for this,” he says.
By Kathy Knotts
Author: Kathy Knotts
Kathy Knotts is the editor of Annapolis Moms Media. She has over 20 years experience writing for local and regional media organizations. She is a native of Louisiana and loves good books, good coffee, good wine and good food.
A Family Favorite! Maryland State Fair