Tell us how you set up your own company?
I never planned on starting a company, that reality took place very organically over the years. I started on my own as a sole trader working from home. At that time I still had a full-time job at GM Holden.
Brow shaping was something I did on the side! It was more of a hobby, I never thought it could become a career. As my clientele started to grow, I left my corporate job and pursued brows full time. It was very scary and exciting signing my first lease! It was the right decision at the time with the rapid rate the business was growing. It was then that my company was born.
What’s the secret behind your success?
My team is the only reason the company is successful, we all work very hard and take pride in what we do. I am very careful with who I hire because my name is my brand – my staff have my reputation in their hands.
They are amazing and we all work very well together as a team. Our client base kept growing organically through word-of- mouth, exposure from having our shopfront and most importantly Instagram! We outgrew a few spaces quickly and here we are now operating across two states in Sydney and Melbourne.
What is it you love most about the industry?
‘If you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.’ I had a very wise person say that to me long ago and it drove me to find my passion ever since.
There’s never a moment where I wake up dreading to go to work now. Rather, time away from the tools, I’m usually itching to get back on them. I love making people feel beautiful and confident! By increasing their confidence, you can change their outlook on life too.
Can you share with us your top career highlight?
There really are two moments in my career that I have had to stop and pinch myself. The first time I travelled to Los Angeles,
to train with Kelley Baker (Brow Queen of Hollywood). To be able to spend one on one time with her was career changing for me. I learnt a lot from Kelley, not just her incredible technique of shaping brows with such a natural finish, but also her work ethic and who she is as a person, inspires me.
Kelley works with A-list celebrities on a daily basis and she is so extremely successful, however she is so down to earth, authentic and humble… I really admire that in anyone!
The next moment in my career was my International Master Class in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for 50 students who travelled in from around the globe. I had never trained a group of that size before!
This Masterclass took a tonne of work to prepare for behind the scenes. The day finally arrived and as I stood on that platform looking at everyone who had made such a huge effort to travel there to learn my technique, it was truly a humbling and surreal moment.
You travel the world hosting workshops on eyebrows – how important is it to educate the next generation?
It is so important to train and educate the next generation because when we started there was hardly any training available in Australia, we had to travel internationally! The rest we learnt through trial and error.
There is now so much more available to the next generation which prevents them from making the same mistakes we did. Cosmetic Tattooing has boomed over the last few years and people without a background in beauty therapy, or knowledge in skin are taking two-day courses.
We offer tattoo removal at our salon, so we see a lot of ‘botched brows’ come through the door from artists that have used the wrong colour or have gone far too deep. Also, if they have no background knowledge in brow shaping, often the shapes are terrible. Invest into yourself, invest into your education and never settle to be mediocre, always strive to be the best in your industry.
What is the biggest mistake you see with brows?
The biggest mistake I see with clients is that they forget to book in their next appointment, then they get desperate when they can’t get in last minute and pluck their own brows.
They always pluck too much and destroy their natural shape… It is so hard for us to fix, it can take up to 6 months! Leave it to the experts and just remember to book in your next appointment before you need it. Another common mistake I see is people using brow pencils that are far too dark, always go a shade lighter and build the colour.
Tell us the biggest lesson you have learnt?
The biggest lesson I have learned over the years is to maintain a work/life balance. It was hard for me because I am a workaholic… I absolutely love my job and what I do so it is very easy for me to get carried away and work 24/7.
I believe in manifestation and the spaces we are in now are exactly what I envisioned. Toorak Village is great, it is a close- knit community. William Street in Paddington for our Sydney location is very similar and fits our brand perfectly too.
Eyebrows are such big news – what sets you apart from the competition?
Comparison is the theft of joy so my main focus and goal is to never look left and right, just look down and work as hard as I can. I don’t compare myself with anybody, I only compare myself with who I was yesterday, and I try to beat that person. I’m only ever in competition with myself, I think this is the healthiest person to be in competition with, in all aspects of life.
The three words that sum you up?
Straightforward, driven and committed would be the three words that I hope someone would use to sum me up as a person and businesswoman.
If you weren’t doing eyebrows what would you be doing?
Something creative. If I wasn’t doing eyebrows, I would probably be doing make up for the TV and film industry. You will never catch me in an office doing paperwork, ever again. The beauty industry has my heart.
Can you let us in on any trends for the future in eyebrows?
Trends come and go; I can’t predict the future but one thing I know for sure is that we will never go back to thin eyebrows. Always stick to your natural shape, that is your safest option. Thick wispy natural symmetrical soft brows will always be in, and never be something you regret when you look back on photos.
This article first appeared in the September/October issue of Professional Beauty magazine. Download the issue here.
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