Formulating the Future of High-End Beauty
Vince Spinnato '97 (left) hired Julieta Bursztyn '25 for his high-end beauty company, Turnkey Beauty LLC. "She has the right skills for the job. She can do it all!" he says. Photo by Matt Getty.
Dickinson provides winning formula for ‘cosmetic chemists to the stars’
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Julieta Bursztyn ’25 was a double major in biochemistry & molecular biology and dance, considering a career in cosmetics chemistry. Vince Spinnato ’97 was a cosmetics chemist and entrepreneur in the high-end beauty industry. They met through Dickinson and soon discovered just how well the college prepared them to become cosmetics chemists to the stars.
‘It’s never boring’
Bursztyn came to Dickinson from Argentina with plans to become a doctor. "I always loved skin care and cosmetics, so I originally wanted to be a dermatologist," she remembers, "but as I went through my classes, I realized that what I really loved was working in the lab." Bursztyn told her pre-health advisor she wanted to learn about careers in cosmetics chemistry, and soon she was emailing Spinnato to schedule a Zoom chat.
Spinnato is a triple threat—a cosmetics and personal-care chemist and a perfumer—who studied chemistry at Dickinson before learning the ropes in cosmetics in Paris, at Chanel. As founding president and CEO of a high-end beauty company, Turnkey, Spinnato formulates products in his Southern California lab and oversees every aspect of his company's business, marketing, manufacturing and distribution operations. He's developed products in partnership with major celebrities, including Michael Jordan and Jennifer Lopez, and in 2022 he created a fragrance honoring screen legend Judy Garland, which was commissioned by Garland’s family.
It's been challenging to find a junior chemist who could keep up with him—one with the ability to learn quickly and understand how lab work, business and marketing intersect.
“There are a lot of black-tie events, and there’s also a lot of science and business—it's never boring,” says Spinnato. “After 30 years in this business, I’m still learning.” The right candidate must also possess superior communication skills and the confidence it takes to go from the lab to the meeting room to the red carpet.
Past interns were disappointing, but after chatting with Bursztyn over Zoom, Spinnato decided to see what a fellow Dickinsonian could do.
Vince Spinnato in Bologna, during the in-country anniversary celebrations of the Dickinson-in-Italy study-abroad program. Photo by Joe O'Neill.
The lip-gloss challenge
With assistance through the Chris and Emily Cocores Family Internship Fund, Bursztyn traveled to California to complete a two-month summer internship at Turnkey. Spinnato worked with her in the lab and took her to industry events and to his manufacturing plant in Arizona.
She was surprised when Spinnato encouraged her to test the products on her skin during formulation. “It’s very different from the lab work I did at Dickinson—it’s an immersive, tactile experience," she explains. "By week two, I knew I was all in."
When Spinnato challenged Bursztyn to create lip gloss from scratch, she stepped up to the plate. It involved many ingredients and a temperature-sensitive hot-pour process. And she nailed it. Bursztyn began working with Spinnato immediately after her Dickinson graduation. He says she's the first chemist he's hired in 30 years.
“She learned very quickly in the lab, because she has a solid science background,” says Spinnato, “but she’s also able to understand the business and marketing sides. She can do it all."
Future possibilities
Spinnato plans to hire a second Dickinson intern. And on Nov. 18, he traveled with Bursztyn to campus to speak about the beauty-industry opportunities available to versatile liberal-arts students studying the sciences, law, technology and other fields.
“Dickinson is preparing students so well—they’re able to step into my kind of career path pretty easily," Spinnato says.
During the campus visit, Bursztyn demonstrated how to create lip gloss, during a hands-on session recorded by Keti Arveladze ’27 (psychology). Bursztyn also offered tips on how others might make fruitful connections that could help them launch dream careers.
“I’ve been telling all of my friends about the Dickinson network—there’s such a close community, and everyone wants to give back,” she says. “Sometimes all it takes is an email to someone you’ve never talked to before.”
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published November 25, 2025