Claudia Soare, better known as Norvina, is the president of Anastasia Beverly Hills and the daughter of the brand's founder, Anastasia Soare. She's also one of the most beloved makeup moguls in the beauty business thanks to how open she is with Anastasia Beverly Hills fans and how hands-on she is with everything concerning the brand.
But just how well do you know Norvina? Ahead, you'll find a few cool facts about her ranging from the small to the large details about her life.
Claudia Soare is her birth name but there is a pretty cute backstory about why she goes by Norvina.
Claudia Soare, born in Romania, is the name that is officially on her birth certificate, according to an explanation on YouTube given by Norvina herself. Anastasia initially wanted to name her Norvina because it is a variation of her paternal grandfather's name.
Unfortunately, Anastasia was banned from doing so by Romanian officials since Norvina is technically not a Romanian name. Anastasia went with "Claudia" on Norvina's birth certificate because it's what a mother around her had just named her own daughter. Everyone in Norvina's family still calls her Norvina!
Her Instagram handle is @Norvina because Claudia, the more common name of the two, was already taken when she first set up her account. Norvina isn't offended by people calling her either name.
Norvina actually agrees with the people who say that she and Jaclyn Hill look just alike.
“I think we do look alike a lot. It’s scary. Even more so in person, we look a lot alike," she shared in a YouTube video.
True story: She's never seen the sitcom Friends.
If you're shocked by this revelation, then you're not alone. Her doppelgänger Jaclyn Hill couldn't believe it either.
"I'm throwing away my Norvina palette as we speak," Hill joked on Twitter when Norvina revealed it.
Norvina is a natural blonde.
Bold hair colors are part of Norvina's signature look and she's had lavender, pink, and even blue hair for so long that it's easy to forget what her natural hair color is. Norvina revealed that she's actually a blonde on YouTube, but she isn't the platinum blondie we've seen her transform into on Instagram.
"My natural hair is a dark ash blonde," she revealed in a YouTube hair video.
There are two beauty products Norvina feels she cannot live without and neither of them are brows!
Although her mom, Anastasia Soare, is the eyebrow queen and may not approve — eyebrow products aren't one of Norvina's beauty bag must-haves. Per her YouTube reveal, she can't live without false eyelashes and liquid lipstick. This definitely leads me to wonder why Norvina she hasn't yet released Anastasia Beverly Hills eyelashes.
Norvina was a grade school theatre kid.
"Acting was my whole entire world," Norvina shared on YouTube. "I was in a play every single year of my life from Kindergarten all the way until I graduated from high school."
That SO explains why she loves to create dramatic photo and video shoots every time she releases new heat from the Anastasia Beverly Hills brand.
The first Anastasia Beverly Hills video shoot she directed was for the 2016 launch of the Strawberry Liquid Lipstick ($20, Anastasia Beverly Hills).
"My first time directing a video," she captioned the video post on Instagram. "Photos are usually my comfort zone but I'm officially in love. I hope you enjoy it. Could not have done it without the ABH STUDIO family."
She has terrible allergies.
She's especially allergic to different foods according to her talks with fans on Twitter. That ENTIRELY sucks since Norvina is a foodie.
Of course, she still has her food favorites: Nutella and French fries.
The last we heard, her favorite foods are Nutella and French fries. "I could live on them for the rest of my life,” she said on YouTube. Norvina did not specify whether or not she prefers to eat them together or separately but we're down with either way.
She has specified via Twitter that she loves her fries "with nothing on them."
Her best friend is Amra Olević who is also known as Amrezy.
The pair have been best friends for years and even collaborated on the limited edition Amrezy Highlighter Palette and the Amrezy iPhone Case ($15, Anastasia Beverly Hills).
Norvina even lets her bestie try out all of the Anastasia Beverly Hills products months before they get announced to us.
"Shout out to my bff @amrezy who sees everything I make months before anyone else, helps me with cute name ideas, gives me her input on packaging, and always keeps it 100% secret. I always value your opinion. Love you sis," Norvina wrote to Olević.
"It kills me sometimes to use the products and not show them off but you’ve taught me patience especially with products," Olević wrote back. "Honored I get to experience the magic before it releases. I love you!"
Norvina loves the 1986 film Labyrinth so much that she named an eye shadow after it.
Norvina reveals that Labyrinth is one of her favorite movies in a YouTube video of the 2015 Anastasia Beverly Hills summer collection. The Labyrinth Eye Shadow Single ($12, Ulta) is a smoldering deep orchid hue with a metallic finish.
She's OBSESSED with sunglasses.
"I have an obsession for shades," she wrote on Instagram. This pair is by Gucc and were borrowed from a friend but one scroll through her Instagram shows she owns a boatload of sunglasses.
Although you'll catch Norvina wearing a ton of gorgeous heels (often with ripped skinny jeans), she's also a low-key sneakerhead and has been for years.
I've spotted her wearing a number of different Air Jordan sneakers. She probably owns them in every colorway possible.
When Norvina does Halloween, she goes ALL OUT.
She hosted this mermaid-themed Halloween party and dressed up as the ultimate sea witch goddess. Sigh. We just wish we got the invite.
In fact, Norvina throws an Anastasia Beverly Hills Halloween party every year.
Nearly everyone who's anyone in the beauty industry shows up for the yearly soiree! They also dress up in the most elaborate costumes.
Norvina even has an entire Instagram account dedicated to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Halloween party.
Yes, people. You'll want to follow this account to get the first looks at Halloween 2019. I have a feeling it's going to be the grandest shindig Norvina has ever thrown.
Norvina created a palette dedicated to her mother, Anastasia Soare.
"I made this palette for my mom @anastasiabeverlyhills," she wrote on Instagram. "She is a neutrals [queen] and likes what she likes. I’ve been staring at the same hues of shadows in her makeup drawers since I was little. In truth it’s not just for her, it’s for everyone that loves this color story & wants shadows that melt on your skin and are packed with pigment. "
Then, she created a palette dedicated to herself!
If there were ever two people who needed a palette dedicated to their signature looks, it's definitely the Soare ladies. Do you agree?
The makeup expert has a love-hate relationship with setting powder.
She loves the Ben Nye Neutral Set Colorless Powder ($7, Camera Ready Cosmetics) but she's ultimately decided that she hates the way any setting powder looks on her face.
"’I'm so over setting powder," she wrote on Twitter in July 2018. "It makes my pores look so big. Rather be greasy tbh."
But those feelings about setting powder could be changing in the near future with an Anastasia Beverly Hills release.
Don't see we didn't put you on! Norvina has already been asking for feedback about setting powders on Twitter. Pro-tip: If you ever want to know what Norvina is in the lab working on for us next, all you have to do is check her Twitter account. She's very big on getting feedback before and after her products become available.
Norvina also spends hours in cosmetics labs because she's super hands-on when it comes to the development process for Anastasia Beverly Hills products.
If you follow Norvina, then you know she's beyond hands-on actually. She spends hours in the office and in labs personally trying out products and planning rollouts. She often documents the process for her fans on Twitter. Anastasia Beverly Hills is one of the few brands that you can count on to have products that were personally tried and approved by the face of the brand from start to finish.
When Norvina first joined the family business, she initially felt out of place with the corporate side of the beauty industry.
"There’s a really conservative side on the business end and it’s like, 'I don’t really connect with you guys,' and I had a really hard time," she shared on YouTube. "Like, how am I going to dress? I felt like everybody would judge me. I [felt] like 'No one wants me around' and I [felt] like everybody’s judging me.' I can’t morph and be somebody else. To this day, there are certain corporate makeup events that I will never go to.”
From the looks of her soare-ing business (hehe corny pun intended), I'd say the Anastasia Beverly Hills president has totally found her stride.
