Talking to…SARAH BROWN

The renowned luxury facialist discusses her global career, the power of presence and intuitive touch and finding her way back to Fortnum & Mason

Sarah Brown has had a long and enviable career that’s still reaching new heights. After working in some of the world’s most prestigious venues and creating bespoke facials for some of the biggest brands, she is going it alone and starting a business under her own name. At just 25, Brown helped set up and run Beauty A La Carte at Fortnum & Mason before its closure eight years later. Now at the age of 41, she is back at Fortnum’s building back the beauty rooms.

If you have been lucky enough to experience a facial with Brown, then you will be aware of her incredibly calming presence and powerful touch. Somehow, Brown is able to measure the mood and state of her clients as they walk in and provide them with a truly transformative treatment; one that not only smooths the skin but soothes the soul.

“A lot of people say you’ve either got it or you haven’t when it comes that ‘power of touch’,” says Brown. “But I have been in the industry for a long time – since I was 17 – and I think working in spa environments overseas, and in such idyllic settings, it creates an ambiance.”

It all started for Brown when she joined the Marriott hotel in Newcastle, her hometown, while studying beauty therapy in college. Inheriting the travel bug from her father, she joined an international agency and ended up in Mallorca working at luxury hotels like La Residencia.

“I worked in the mountains and some of my treatments were performed later at night so I’d have the shutters open and clients would be able to look out onto the mountains while the moon was shining down,” she says. “I think when you have experiences like that, you suddenly have that connection between you and the client on the bed, and as a therapist you hunt for that feeling every time and wonder how you can create that in different settings.”

Brown with her team in Antigua in 2005

Brown working at City Retreat salon

An international education

Next stop for Brown was Antigua. “I was still only 22 and had to adapt to a new culture and a new role. The hotel was built within a local Antiguan village, unspoiled beaches and full of local culture. Many of the locals were very nervous and upset at the building of the new hotel. However, this was a huge opportunity for many of the locals to seek new employment and training for new roles.”

So, not only did Brown have to overcome a culture shock and adapt, she also had to prove her worth. “I had to show that I was there to help deliver a high calibre of treatments that an international audience would be happy to experience. In the end, being a very multicultural team, we all had something to bring and to learn from each other.”

Working in international luxury hotels with high-profile clients and celebrities, Brown says this is where she started to really hone her customer service skills. “In these establishments, what you give the customer has to exceed all expectations and, I think, having worked in these prestigious hotels, you learn how to talk and treat your guests to make the experience something that they will never forget. From the touch, to the pressure and the sensory elements – it’s all about the detail,” she says.

Fronting Fortnum’s

It was at iconic London luxury department store Fortnum & Mason that Brown really made a name for herself at the age of only 25. She had unknowingly given a facial to spa consultant Jean Oliver and a few days later she got a call from her agent about an interview at the store.

After spending time in far flung and beautiful locations, a job in the city wasn’t really what she was looking for but she was convinced by a £3 million refurbishment in one of the world’s most beautiful stores, involving the creation of new beauty rooms, which they wanted Brown to manage.

“I was there from the bricks-and-mortar stage,” recalls Brown. “I watched it be built, I watched it grow, and I celebrated the tercentenary year with Fortnum and Mason, where I met the late Queen. I had a beautiful team with me there and a very loyal client database of around 5,000 people.”

After eight happy years running Beauty a la Carte at the store, it was decided that the space would go in another direction and be used for retail. “Although it was a difficult time for me, it nudged me in the right direction to finally take the plunge to create my own business,” says Brown.

Change of direction

After the closure of Fortnum’s beauty rooms, Brown decided to go a different route and get some clinical experience under her belt. “I realised that this was where the industry was heading and I was becoming fascinated by skin rejuvenation,” she says.

“I had been working more within spa and wellness, where you’re not getting that cutting-edge level of skin change, but once I got introduced to more clinical skincare skincare it started to trigger thought processes around how key formulations can improve skin health. I started thinking more about which ingredients targeted which skin concerns and how to make significant changes to the skin. But now I think brands are getting on board with the fact that touch is an important part of that clinical protocol too.” Brown says that she got most of her experience in energy-based devices from her time working with plastic surgeon Sherina Ballaratnam.

Key Dates

2000
Brown joins the salon at Marriott hotel, Newcastle, aged 16, while at college learning Beauty Therapy

2003
Lands first overseas role at La Residencia Mallorca, treating many high-profile and celebrity clients

2005
Relocates to Antigua to work at the new Carlisle Bay hotel

2006
Moves home to work as manager at City Retreat in Newcastle 

2007
Fortnum & Mason approaches Brown to manage its new Beauty A La Carte concept

2015
Trains in medical-led treatments before working at Grace Belgravia then S-Thetics as an aesthetician 

2020
Joins London Transgender Clinic with surgeon Christopher Inglefield 

2024
Returns to Fortnum & Mason for a residency, while running her own business 

Brown at work in the current Fortnum & Mason beauty rooms

“It was from her that I also learned a lot about the client/patient experience. S-Thetics created a seamless patient journey, with customer care playing an integral part.”

Empathy in action

Brown’s next step helped develop her empathetic touch even further. She had no experience with transgender patients at the time, but surgeon Christopher Inglefield was willing to invest in the right person for his transgender clinic at London Transgender Clinic when she was recommended for a role there.

“Initially this was a challenging role as not only was I learning about new devices, patient safety and integrating my protocols with surgeries, I was also trying hard to build new relationships with clients after Covid19,” says Brown. “Up to this point, I hadn’t had a huge amount of experience treating transgender patients and there was a lot to learn and understand regarding their own personal journeys.

One of the current treatment rooms at Fortnum & Mason

“We’re only human and people make mistakes but it’s really important to get pronouns right, learn names and make the transgender community feel safe,” adds Brown, noting that there are not many safe spaces where trans clients can go and have life-changing non-surgical treatments that help affirm their gender.

At the clinic, as well as treatments like laser hair removal, Brown would also do a lot of skin peels, microneedling, radiofrequency and other energy-based treatments to address issues such as scarring. “I would work closely with Mr Inglefield on preand post-surgery cases, also focusing on patients who had been referred for advanced aesthetic treatments rather than surgery.”

Full circle

When Inglefield’s clinic closed down, Brown did her best to match her trans clients to therapists she thought could help, but without many people having her level of knowledge and experience with that group, it was challenging.

Pushed into finding a new path again, Brown realised she was missing something. “Whether I was conducting a facial treatment or not, everything I was doing was very device led,” she says. “I think that’s why I’m embracing being more hands-on again, because I’ve missed it so much and almost forgot myself a bit without it.”

This year, a dear friend and colleague got in touch with the news of the possibility of launching the beauty room again. “The beauty and fragrance buyer at Fortnum’s asked if my heart was ready to come back. Maybe it’s the universe doing its thing – so I’ve kind of gone full circle,” says Brown.

Now, back at the department store, she is building a new client base and her own name as one of the country’s most experienced luxury facialists, with residencies also at the prestigious The Door at W4 and Laura Kay London.

“I feel like I’m breathing again and I’ve found my sweet spot in terms of being hands-on and harnessing clinical ingredients and energy devices,” says Brown.