NAIL BITES

Backstage at the Brits

Samantha Birkett-Leigh and Jemma Smith tended to the nails of celebs at the biggest event in British music. The talented techs led the CND backstage team at the Brits Spa, attended by a plethora of stars wanting perfect talons for the event.

Jade Thirlwall from Little Mix opted for CND Shellac in Beau with Denim Geode Additive lightly sprinkled on top, while Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing went for a statement red pinky fingernail. Co-star Louise Thompson chose a natural look created by CND Unmasked, while Love Island’s Montana Brown wore barely there Romantique.

The “risqué” treatment menu captured the attention of the VIPs, with services bearing names such as The Quickie (a super-fast Shellac file and polish), Ménage a Trois (Shellac file and polish with a sprinkling of nail art) and The Full Monty (Shellac file and polish with relaxing hand massage). Birkett-Leigh also designed an extensive selection of nail art inspired by the Brits performers.

PROJECT RUNWAY

Yorkshire-based nail and beauty brand, Q61, which has deluxe salons in Leeds and Harrogate, has created an in-salon “colour runway”.

Installed at the Harrogate premises, the “runway”, which is almost two metres long, is a bespoke-design nail station featuring more than 150 seasonal nail shades, chosen to reflect catwalk colour trends. It comprises 72 gels, 72 nail lacquers, 29 glitter polishes and eight trend-inspired colours that will change seasonally and in line with fashion week trends.

Helena Linsky, who co-directs the salon with partner Michael Linsky, comments: “The colour runway hints at Q61’s fashionable DNA and demonstrates to our clients that we’re a trend-led salon with a modern approach to beauty and an unwavering commitment to style.”

MAVALA’S DIAMOND CELEBRATIONS

Natural nail brand Mavala has announced a series of fun events to mark its 60th birthday.

The brand is launching a John Lewis roadshow in April offering complimentary manis, during which a competition will be held to find the “hands of Mavala”, with selfie stations set up so that customers can capture their fresh manis and share on social media with the hashtag #diamondnails. One winner will receive a collection of 60 Mavala shades.

The brand has also launched a limitededition Polka Dot Cosmetics Bag packed full of its most popular products.

SALON SPOTLIGHT

JoJo’s Nails, Newton Abbot

Opened: February 2013; relocated to current premises in April 2018

Techs: Three

Brands: Light Elegance for hard gel services and CND Shellac for gel-polish treatments.

Design vibe: “The aim for the space was to make it as light and bright as possible, keeping the look clean and modern. We predominantly used white with touches of grey to keep the main colour palette completely neutral. The plants and prints on the walls help to add character to a blank canvas and keep the feel fresh.”

USP: “We specialise in hard gel services while protecting and caring for the natural nail throughout. Our aim is to provide high-quality services in a friendly, relaxed environment, where the client is our main focus.”

Booking: “We take a lot of our bookings when clients are actually in the salon. We always encourage rebooking before they leave and most clients do prefer to do that. The majority of our new clients make appointments via our online booking, we use Ovatu, which we’ve had since opening in 2013. Clients tell us they love the convenience of being able to book anytime online. We do also take bookings over the phone.”

Typical client: “We have a wide range of clients aged from 18 to 78, which means the nails we create can very greatly. The majority of our clients like something a little different on their nails, particularly colour and glitter combinations, Swarovski designs and simple nail art.”

Most popular service: “Hard gel extensions and overlays.”

Most popular colour: “With such a diverse clientele and more than 300 colours and glitters to choose from, we use a wide variety of shades. Nudes and neutrals are definitely a firm favourite with a lot of our clients at any time of year and if I had to pick one colour it would be Your Churn from Light Elegance. It’s one of those colours that suits anyone, no matter their age or skin tone.”

Future plans: “We hope to expand our team over the next 12–18 months to offer more appointments to meet client demand. We are firm believers in ongoing training so always have plans for building skills and learning new techniques.”

Jo Wickens is owner of JoJo’s Nails in Newton Abbot and was a finalist for Nail Professional of the Year in the Professional Beauty Awards 2019