NAIL BITES

Nail News

CHARITABLE EFFORT

Breast cancer charity Future Dreams is revamping its annual Nail Breast Cancer initiative, which runs throughout October to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The campaign encourages salons and techs to ask clients to add £1 to all treatments, which is then donated to Future Dreams.

Pro nail brands including Bio Sculpture and LCN have partnered with the campaign, as well as distributors Louella Belle, Sweet Squared and Gerrard International.

This year, Bio Sculpture will be sponsoring money boxes which will be distributed to all nail techs, salons and spas taking part in the campaign. Aside from using treatments to fundraise, Nail Breast Cancer is encouraging participants to hold events such as nail art competitions, fashion shows, coffee mornings and bake-off events, and to use the hashtags #NailBreastCancer and #FutureDreams to promote events online.

The charity’s goal is to open the UK’s largest breast cancer support centre to help anyone affected by the disease feel empowered to live a healthier, happier and more positive life.

Paint it pink

Celebrity nail tech Jessica Thompson used Gelish’s Prim-Rose and Proper on performing artist P!nk when she was in the UK recently.

5 minutes with session tech and owner of mobile business SW19 Nails

I’ve been specialising in nails for four years. I returned to the industry after nearly 10 years on maternity leave. Prior that I worked as a TV make-up artist.

I made the leap to set up my own mobile business SW19 Nails after realising I prefer to work privately with clients and on events and shoots rather than in salon.

To break into session work you really need to be interested in all aspects of fashion and the whole process that goes into putting on a catwalk show, rather then just doing the nails like you’re providing a service.

The only negative thing about mobile work is the amount of time you spend travelling. You have to plan a lot of extra time into getting from one job to another to stop delays impacting timekeeping.

There’s no elevator to success; you just have to go through all the steps to get to where you want to be. To be successful in this business you need to be passionate, patient and goal oriented.

SALON SPOTLIGHT

Pastille Beauty Bar, Leeds

Opened: August 2013

Nail techs: Four

Product houses: Gelish, CND, LeChat, Gel Bottle, Bio Sculpture, OPI, Morgan Taylor, Nails Inc and Butter London

Salon vibe: “Pastille is all about the pastels (hence the name!) but in particular we are known for our mint green obsession. We wanted to create a clean, modern space that didn’t have the clinical vibe that many city centre salons go for.”

Bookings: “We get an even mix of phone, email and online bookings through our Salon Iris software. We don’t take any appointments through social media as we find this harder to manage and hate to miss anything. Introducing online booking last year has been amazing for us and certainly taken some of the pressure off emails.”

Most popular service: “Our Spa Pedicure is really popular. It’s a bit more indulgent and includes a foot soak, exfoliation and hard skin removal, heated mask, massage, cuticle care, filing and polish application.”

USP: “Our most specialist area is gel polish. We are constantly researching new brands to ensure we have the best out there – at the moment we have nearly 200 colours from various brands and every colour of glitter you can imagine! We offer a seven-day chip-free guarantee because there’s nothing worse than spending your hard earned money just for your manicure to peel off after a few days. We’re well known for our nail art too. Clients come far and wide to get fun things painted.”

Getting social: “Instagram is massive for us because we do a lot of nail art. It’s the perfect platform to show it off and inspire clients to go for something a little different. We regularly get clients visiting us because they’ve seen us on Instagram.”

Business boost: “We try to support local businesses as much as possible. We have an in-house Partnership Working Scheme, which provides opportunities to collaborate for free with local businesswomen, independent businesses and organisations. This can be anything from showcasing their work in salon to running competitions on our social media or offering business support and advice. PB

Abra Wynn is co-owner of Pastille

@pastillebeauty

@PastilleBeautyBar

@PastilleLeeds