Beauty Geek by Caroline King

Today I decided it was time I told you about my latest discovery. Even if  you are not from the beauty industry its not hard to see how eyes have become BIG news. Lashes and brows are big business at the moment. from strip lashes, clusters, to individual lashes. Brows have gone from shaping to threading to brow make up and powders. Then HD Brows bringing us more precise looking brows with definition and bold shapes. Brows have been flooded into the limelight thanks to high profile celebrities and fashion shows. But who really wants to sit day in, day out penciling in their brows or using stencils and brow powders? Semi-permanent make up really is being brought to the forefront, I believe is the way make up is now heading. For many years now I have wanted to take on semi-permanent tattooing. Thinking this would be wonderful to wake up with brows that have instant impact and eyeliner that never smudges or fades to leave you with the "panda" eye look. What put me off...

A subject that I am sure interests a lot of us, whether you are part of the beauty industry or not. There are so many "key words" thrown at us nowadays, its sometimes hard to know what is the right thing to use or not? Hypoallergenic....Organic.....Natural.....Paraben Free..... Cruelty Free.......Skin kind...... What exactly do these words mean? More to the point are they going to be good for my skin and perform how they say they are on the bottle? Alas, do not believe all you read on bottles is what it is. You would think that there are high standards that lotions and potions should be tested under to ensure they contain safe ingredients that are good for our skins. Sadly, there is more to this than meets the eye, as I discovered when I looked inside my own bathroom cabinet. I was shocked at what I was applying onto mine and my families skins. Did you know that you may be applying ingredients such as: Whale Poo Crushed parasitic Beetles Fish Scales Roadkill B...

I wanted to touch base (pardon the pun) on this subject because I think this is something that we all could do with a reality check on. Following such simple steps will help to keep those bugs and nasty germs at bay. With light of the recent Norovirus, Following basic hygiene is something that we should all be aware to follow on a daily basis. There are several common places were germs are more likely to grow and breed. One place that we probably don't think too much about is our make up bags...... Next time you dig out your favourite blusher or lippy, you may want to think twice. Hidden threats could be in your make up bag that can be hazardous to health and cause illnesses. Besides contamination from germs and daily grime, you should also think about potential allergens too. Whilst applying your fav lippy, not only are you getting your fav product, but it could come with a few bacteria and germ friends too! How often do you honestly throw old make up away? Onc...

One of your big investments once you have decided to add tanning to your treatment list, is your kit. If you search the market and look into the prices of these they vary from brand to brand and depending on where you source them from. My first BIG hint to you is cheapest, isn't always best. Remember if you are buying off the internet via companies such as Ebay or as a second hand item. Ask for a warranty to cover the machine. All brand new machines should come with a years parts and labour warranty. It is also worth mentioning that if buy solutions and products second hand, how can you tell how old they are? All I am saying is please be aware, and look into these things. Sometimes it best for you to buy new, and that way you are covered for everything and you can easily trace items back and get them replaced if they are faulty or damaged. Routine Machine cleaning: On a day to day use of your machine you should keep it clean and professional looking, after all, ...

Consultation is a subject  that i get asked a lot about during training. It is more than a piece of paper produced to the client as he or she walks into your salon or workplace. It is what you make it. Build on it, use and abuse it.  Its a confidential record of the clients medical history and personal details. These details need to be looked after and stored safely. But its also so much more valuable than that to you as a salon owner or therapist. This part of the treatment programme is a building block for you to listen to the clients needs. Let them talk to you about their wishes, hopes, outcomes. As they are talking through these write them down on the consultation in note form. We know of a consultation as a way of recording clients data and asking them to tell us about any allergies, medical history or previous experiences. It is so much more than this.... Whilst performing my initial treatment on my client, I am looking for a common talking ground, an inter...

Hello and welcome everyone, where has the time gone? Apologies for not writing for a while, its my New Years Resolution (one of many) to try and write more and I've also started to record a Podcast too. Today, I wanted to share my little bit of secret obsession, as I thought it was only fair to let you in on what has been taking up a considerable amount of my time between juggling, working in my salon and teaching for a few other companies as I have been for a while. The Little Pebble close to my heart.... Something that I have felt very passionate about now for sometime is training and education. From being an employer and an employee, I have seen both sides of the coin. Whats frustrating for me as a salon owner, is that when I took on staff that had qualifications on paper. They still needed more money spent on them to almost re-train them because they had not been trained properly in the beginning. I got the training bug back in 2007 when I was approached by a leadi...

The here and now..... So today, I am going to write about something that has taken the beauty industry by storm. Its looking unlikely its going to disappear in a hurry. In fact, quite the opposite, I personally believe it is seeing the nail polish market quickly fade away as more and more of us want quick, effective treatments that cost less and last longer. What is Soak off Gel? Gel is a tight chain of several thousand monomers which become polymerized when activated by UV or LED light. The catalyst for polymerization is the photo initiator, which interact with an amine to form free radicals and initiate polymerization known as "curing". Soak off basically means it can be removed safely with an acetone based remover to gently peel away the gel from the nail plate without damaging it. Removal is usually incorporated into the cost of a new set of gels or can be priced on its own for those that just want gels for that special occasion. Nazila Loves Glamour I have...