A luxurious haven, hidden a stone’s throw from Coogee beach, Ashleigh Sharman discovered the recently opened beauty offering at Brown Sugar Hair & Beauty.
Entering through the successful Brown Sugar hair salon there is a natural transition afoot as you ascend the stairs to a secluded beauty haven awaiting on the first floor — elegance and attention to detail evident in every space. “We’ve tried to keep it simple but comfortable,” says Kate Barker, beauty salon manager of the recently opened space.
With its two treatment rooms, delicately designed for massage, facial and waxing services; cosmetic room, purposing injectables, laser treatments and acting as a spray tan area; nail bar wing and focus room, the energy hub of the salon; this is a space that has been carefully designed to maximise experience and treatment possibilities.
“The treatment menu is a combination of all the places I have worked and what I liked the most, from five-star spas to high-street salons; having a place you can get everything done by people who want to be the best at what they do. I’m very much about attention to detail and have worked in spas for a number of years abroad. Because of that I love the feel good aspect so even if we’re doing a wax I want to make it as relaxing as possible. It’s about teaming relaxation and results driven treatments in the one place,” Barker says who tirelessly researched the brands the salon would partner with.
From Dermalogica, the first brand Barker even trained with 12 years ago; to Jane Iredale, a brand she used working in a medical spa in London; and Ultraceuticals, a local success story, Barker has also chosen St. Tropez, OPI and Artistic Nail Design.
“For me, Dermalogica has such an international brand following, is supported by great education and has a product offering for everyone — a brand people will use for the rest of their lives. When it came to picking a cosmeceutical brand, I did a lot of research but I loved that Ultraceuticals was Australian and developed for local skin. It’s based in Sydney and I have access to Dr Heber and his team of scientists. Looking at makeup, I needed a brand that would be complimentary to the skincare treatments on offer. Something that would work both for the hairdressers, for professional shoots and bridal work, but wouldn’t interfere with the skin’s balance,” Barker explains.
Building on the back of the success of their hair offering, the anticipation has been building at Brown Sugar. Regular clients have begun venturing upstairs and there is a strong focus on building local clientele who have been offered a 15 per cent discount throughout the salon’s first four weeks with further promotions, packages, events and a loyalty program to come.
“I’m basing our target market on what we have in the hair salon, which is predominantly local clientele. People living in the area of Coogee and surrounding suburbs like Maroubra and Clovelly. You get a sense of community here and an understanding of just how important word of mouth is,” says Barker who is carefully watching for client trends in everything from treatment choices to desired opening hours but whose key focus is building loyalty and return clients.
“I want to bring the old school salon back and pair it with modern treatments. It’s about creating a space where the client can relax and talk to their therapist, build rapport and continue coming to us for years but still achieving great results through the advanced technologies of the treatments and products we are using. We’ve had a lot of interest in our medical treatments; it’s an exciting time to be in beauty.”
For more information contact Brown Sugar Hair & Beauty, 246 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee NSW, (02) 9665 5669 or visit www.brownsugarhair.com.au