hello everyone
Are you struggling to focus too ??
Do you have a million GREAT business ideas but can't pin one down ?
Do you feel like you are going round in circles ??
Well guess what. Me too !!
I feel like at the moment I have a million great ideas floating around in my brain but as I try to grab one another one passes right on by.
Focus evades me a lot of the time which is making me so frustrated that I can't move anything forward. Then I did the most logical thing and asked google.
I don't know why I though that was a good idea because there is so much info out there that my mind is even more boggled after a good google session. I think the best bit of advice I got was create a vision board or book, in it you want to write your goals, visions and ideas for life and business. I think seeing this visually can help give focus. For me I have three main focus points within my business which each have more goals within them. Hey, if you don't start you can't move forward.
Is setting time frames a good idea ? Well maybe within certain areas but long term maybe not. I guess you have to do what suits you but beware of spreading yourself to thin it has been causing me more stress because I'm too tired to think of a schedule that I can stick to.
A bit of a ramble today but it's more to let you all know that we all feel like it is all too much sometimes and there is so much free information out there that works if you use it. Tomorrow I'm off to WH Smith to buy a posh book for my vision book.
I WILL HAVE FOCUS AGAIN
Lots of Love
Mrs G xx
Monday, 27 April 2015
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Building a website for my business
Hello everyone
I relly hope that at least 1 person is loving my ramlings about the big bad world of beauty.
Today I want to address the scary prospect of building a website.
It seems that in the world as it is today we all need to be on top of the digital world, there's facebook, twitter, instagram, snap chat, pinterest good lord the list is endless. I have a fairly good grip of face book now and am in the process of getting my tiny brain around the intstagram thing, but the main thing to conquer is the dreaded website. I mean this thing has to sell you as well as your business, people buy people after all.
I kind of know how I want it to look and exactly what to write. I know that it has to have photo's and videos, tips and a link to my blog, an online booking system, place to leave reviews and to sign up to a mailing list, side note... create mailing list. Did anyone else get told the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes?? no me neither.
I am so excited to see it finished that it makes me nervous to start, how silly is that !! I know where I want to start and have the skeleton of it layed out on litle cards across my floor so why does it seem so difficult ?!? I know exactly why, 1 I see people getting it wrong all of the time and dont want to be one of those, 2 I'm scared of failure. This is the most ridiculous as it is failure in itself to not do something for fear of failing.
I made the decision right now that as soon as I finish this very blog I will make the start. There is nothing to stop me, kids are at thier Dad's house, husband is working nights and all the leg work is already done.
What stops you from making a start on your website ??
I started by researching where I can build a website for free, you can pay of course and I may need to pay for help with it eventually but for now I could do without the extra out lay. I did the same for all the add ons such as booking systems, blog, adding videos, email sign up. I'm not going to tell you which one to use because we all work differently but I would definately check out the websites themselves and see if you like how they navigate and feel to you. I wrote all the descriptions for all of the treatments I offer and have some stock photos ready but ideally you want 1 per treatment plus extra for background and before and afters. Make the photos and videos your own work, like I said people buy people. I cant think of anything else to say other than you can do it. Make your business work for you and be the best you can be.
What are you waiting for, get going and start doing.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxxx
I relly hope that at least 1 person is loving my ramlings about the big bad world of beauty.
Today I want to address the scary prospect of building a website.
It seems that in the world as it is today we all need to be on top of the digital world, there's facebook, twitter, instagram, snap chat, pinterest good lord the list is endless. I have a fairly good grip of face book now and am in the process of getting my tiny brain around the intstagram thing, but the main thing to conquer is the dreaded website. I mean this thing has to sell you as well as your business, people buy people after all.
I kind of know how I want it to look and exactly what to write. I know that it has to have photo's and videos, tips and a link to my blog, an online booking system, place to leave reviews and to sign up to a mailing list, side note... create mailing list. Did anyone else get told the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes?? no me neither.
I am so excited to see it finished that it makes me nervous to start, how silly is that !! I know where I want to start and have the skeleton of it layed out on litle cards across my floor so why does it seem so difficult ?!? I know exactly why, 1 I see people getting it wrong all of the time and dont want to be one of those, 2 I'm scared of failure. This is the most ridiculous as it is failure in itself to not do something for fear of failing.
I made the decision right now that as soon as I finish this very blog I will make the start. There is nothing to stop me, kids are at thier Dad's house, husband is working nights and all the leg work is already done.
What stops you from making a start on your website ??
I started by researching where I can build a website for free, you can pay of course and I may need to pay for help with it eventually but for now I could do without the extra out lay. I did the same for all the add ons such as booking systems, blog, adding videos, email sign up. I'm not going to tell you which one to use because we all work differently but I would definately check out the websites themselves and see if you like how they navigate and feel to you. I wrote all the descriptions for all of the treatments I offer and have some stock photos ready but ideally you want 1 per treatment plus extra for background and before and afters. Make the photos and videos your own work, like I said people buy people. I cant think of anything else to say other than you can do it. Make your business work for you and be the best you can be.
What are you waiting for, get going and start doing.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxxx
Monday, 20 April 2015
Katherine Daniels pro skincare first impressions.
Hi everyone
So it will be no shock to you that I am hard to please when it comes to customer service. I feel that just because you are a mobile therapist doesn't mean you should get second rate customer service. Who knows where each individual will be in 10 years, That mobile professional might have grown to be the owner of a multi million pound chain of spa's, bet you'd wished you had of given that little bit extra in the customer service department.
Ok now its time to name and shame a little bit. I currently use Monu as my pro skincare line. I love the products, they look smell and feel professional and luxurious. The lady that visited me was lovely and convinced me I was going to be looked after. I was kind of duped into buying the whole line, and promised training that I never recieved. The only communication I now recieve is to try and sell me something, not even a courtesy call to see if there is any help I need.
I FEEL LEFT IN THE DARK ON MY OWN.
I started the search for a more results driven line that has much better customer skills. I contacted a lot of those only a few returned enquiries, calls, emails. Katherine Daniels were the ones that shone to me. I saw the add in pro beauty magazine, it was clean, fresh, simple, well everything I love about a pro product.
I contacted them and within a day I had a call from them asking if I needed more information, the next day I recieved an information pack This contained enough information for me to know that I wanted to meet with thier rep. She called me to arrange a meeting.
Of course when I met with her I was prepared for all the spiel I felt like after my previous experience I knew what I was not going to buy into. This line is much simpler, The packaging is sleek and simple yet professional, The smell is not so overpowering that it would put people off but strong enough to smell like a spa type of product. The texture of everything is amazing, light yet powerful. I already have 2 1/2 days training booked into the diary to learn how to use thier techniques. They say that they like to keep in contact with all of thier clients no matter how small every 8 weeks or so.
Too good to be true?? all that was left to do was to try the products for myself because I believe you cannot recommend anything to your clients that you wouldn't use on yourself. OMG the micellar eye make up remover is the best micellar I've ever used, I knew I loved it from the first use. It removed all of my mascara in less than a minute, the toner is refreshing and non drying (I left it a long time before applying cream) and as it was night time I applyed the rich cream for dry skin, 1 word, delicious.
So far thumbs up for Katherine Daniels. Customer service is fab, products are fab and can't wait to see what results I will get after more uses, it's just ticking all the boxes so far loving it and very excited about having it as my main skincare product in my business.
The business relaunch is shaping up to be a very explosive one.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxxx
So it will be no shock to you that I am hard to please when it comes to customer service. I feel that just because you are a mobile therapist doesn't mean you should get second rate customer service. Who knows where each individual will be in 10 years, That mobile professional might have grown to be the owner of a multi million pound chain of spa's, bet you'd wished you had of given that little bit extra in the customer service department.
Ok now its time to name and shame a little bit. I currently use Monu as my pro skincare line. I love the products, they look smell and feel professional and luxurious. The lady that visited me was lovely and convinced me I was going to be looked after. I was kind of duped into buying the whole line, and promised training that I never recieved. The only communication I now recieve is to try and sell me something, not even a courtesy call to see if there is any help I need.
I FEEL LEFT IN THE DARK ON MY OWN.
I started the search for a more results driven line that has much better customer skills. I contacted a lot of those only a few returned enquiries, calls, emails. Katherine Daniels were the ones that shone to me. I saw the add in pro beauty magazine, it was clean, fresh, simple, well everything I love about a pro product.
I contacted them and within a day I had a call from them asking if I needed more information, the next day I recieved an information pack This contained enough information for me to know that I wanted to meet with thier rep. She called me to arrange a meeting.
Of course when I met with her I was prepared for all the spiel I felt like after my previous experience I knew what I was not going to buy into. This line is much simpler, The packaging is sleek and simple yet professional, The smell is not so overpowering that it would put people off but strong enough to smell like a spa type of product. The texture of everything is amazing, light yet powerful. I already have 2 1/2 days training booked into the diary to learn how to use thier techniques. They say that they like to keep in contact with all of thier clients no matter how small every 8 weeks or so.
Too good to be true?? all that was left to do was to try the products for myself because I believe you cannot recommend anything to your clients that you wouldn't use on yourself. OMG the micellar eye make up remover is the best micellar I've ever used, I knew I loved it from the first use. It removed all of my mascara in less than a minute, the toner is refreshing and non drying (I left it a long time before applying cream) and as it was night time I applyed the rich cream for dry skin, 1 word, delicious.
So far thumbs up for Katherine Daniels. Customer service is fab, products are fab and can't wait to see what results I will get after more uses, it's just ticking all the boxes so far loving it and very excited about having it as my main skincare product in my business.
The business relaunch is shaping up to be a very explosive one.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxxx
Friday, 17 April 2015
How do I price mobile treatments ???
Hello everyone
The sun is shinning here in the garden of England and it must of had a positive affect on my thought process because, as the kids are running round the garden soaking each other with water I found inspiration to write a blog post. Whatever works I guess.
Pricing my treatments has been a really hard process because you have to take into account all of the surrounding factors.
The first thing for me is that I am fairly newly qualified, Updateing my repertoire monthy almost.
The second is that mobile therapists are 10 a penny in this area so I need to be at least competitive, however I offer an entirely different service to the majoritiy of them. Having completed full courses as apposed to the short day courses that are available put me a little ahead on the knowlage front also. You get what you pay for after all.
I am not a salon but I also offer ant 'at home' service where I am working from my converted dining room, I'd say at least 60% of the time. This itself incurs over head costs in the form of, electricity, water and the constant redecorating to keep everything look professional and fresh. I want my clients to return happily.
I stalked the local competition looking at thier websites, flyers and shop windows. I realise that is unreasonable to expect people to pay the same sort of prices that they would in a salon as it is just not the same, on the other hand how any of these mobile therapists make any sort of a living is beyond me as they are all too busy playing the pricing war game that it is imposible to earn a wage.
I had to set a price point that was fair yet reflects the fact that when you come to me you get more than just a file and paint. In fact that is a service I just dont offer, if you want a cheap service you go to a cheap therapist in my opinion. I work out all of my costs down to the last penny per treatment, I double the cost price then add how much I want my hourly rate to be, it's that simple. If you earn £10 per hour as a cleaner why would you charge £3 per hour to give someone the benifit of your expertise when treating them to a luxury facial, it makes no sense. I have found that this puts me at a real prime spot in the market, I undercut salons, because I dont have the added costs of running a salon but I am slightly more expensive than a lot of the other mobile therapists.
This really works for me and keeps my passion for the job alive as I have worked hard to get to the standard I am at now, I do not want it to be de-valued by being cheap. The service I offer means that every client that walks through my doors rebooks because they get what they pay for. Salon service at home.
Don't cheapen yourselves. If you are knowlageable, skillfull and you take care of each and every client they will return to you and tell all thier friends how good you are. All you need now is some excellent marketing and some positivity and you will be running a successful business in no time. TRUST ME.
I hope this has given you some inspiration.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxxx
The sun is shinning here in the garden of England and it must of had a positive affect on my thought process because, as the kids are running round the garden soaking each other with water I found inspiration to write a blog post. Whatever works I guess.
Pricing my treatments has been a really hard process because you have to take into account all of the surrounding factors.
The first thing for me is that I am fairly newly qualified, Updateing my repertoire monthy almost.
The second is that mobile therapists are 10 a penny in this area so I need to be at least competitive, however I offer an entirely different service to the majoritiy of them. Having completed full courses as apposed to the short day courses that are available put me a little ahead on the knowlage front also. You get what you pay for after all.
I am not a salon but I also offer ant 'at home' service where I am working from my converted dining room, I'd say at least 60% of the time. This itself incurs over head costs in the form of, electricity, water and the constant redecorating to keep everything look professional and fresh. I want my clients to return happily.
I stalked the local competition looking at thier websites, flyers and shop windows. I realise that is unreasonable to expect people to pay the same sort of prices that they would in a salon as it is just not the same, on the other hand how any of these mobile therapists make any sort of a living is beyond me as they are all too busy playing the pricing war game that it is imposible to earn a wage.
I had to set a price point that was fair yet reflects the fact that when you come to me you get more than just a file and paint. In fact that is a service I just dont offer, if you want a cheap service you go to a cheap therapist in my opinion. I work out all of my costs down to the last penny per treatment, I double the cost price then add how much I want my hourly rate to be, it's that simple. If you earn £10 per hour as a cleaner why would you charge £3 per hour to give someone the benifit of your expertise when treating them to a luxury facial, it makes no sense. I have found that this puts me at a real prime spot in the market, I undercut salons, because I dont have the added costs of running a salon but I am slightly more expensive than a lot of the other mobile therapists.
This really works for me and keeps my passion for the job alive as I have worked hard to get to the standard I am at now, I do not want it to be de-valued by being cheap. The service I offer means that every client that walks through my doors rebooks because they get what they pay for. Salon service at home.
Don't cheapen yourselves. If you are knowlageable, skillfull and you take care of each and every client they will return to you and tell all thier friends how good you are. All you need now is some excellent marketing and some positivity and you will be running a successful business in no time. TRUST ME.
I hope this has given you some inspiration.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxxx
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Rockerbilly style makeup (using Actiderm makeup)
Hello everyone
I did a rockerbilly make up look at the weekend for a friends 30th birthday and thought I would take you through the steps of how I achieved the look. But first here's the before.
As you can see from the photo I have quite a lot of pigmentation. I think I have mentioned before that it is partly hormonal from being on the contraceptive pill and partly due to the hypothyriod conditon I have. It is called melasma and I hate having it but its just how it is. Foundation doesn't ever cover it properly so I learned to make my peace with it.
Let me first say that everything on my face was Actiderm makeup apart from the mascara, lipstick and eyeliner, all of the makeup is paraben free, talc free and anti allergen, the HD foundation is great for an oily skin although I'm fairly normal and it was fine on me. I have OCC lip tar on my lips, elf liquid eyeliner and a maybeline mascara.
First off I made sure that my face cream had fully absorbed before I applied my foundation, I personally find my foundation doesn't sit right if I don't wait. I used a buffing brush to buff this in and then used a tapping motion to build it up in areas that need more coverage.
I mix my concealer with a little bit of my foundation as I want it to be a little bit more seemless, I do use a brightening concealer but for this look I wanted to keep it as classic as possible so used a full coverage concealer. I used this under my eyes and for my blemishes.
While this was settling into my skin I moved onto my eyes. First I primed my lids, Then I set it with a face powder, I then layered the base colour down which was a little darker than a cream, now,because I have hooded eyes I put the darker colour Just above my crease and in a strait line across to the outer edge of my eye, I then blend this backwards and forwards and slightly up to give the illusion af a crease, if I were to put the colour in my actual crease it wouldnt be seen as the upper part of my lid comes down over the mobile lid. I didn't join this up to the lower lash line as I put liner there so I didn't need to join it up.
This is a little liner trick that really works for hooded eyes if you want to achieve that real 50's flick. look ahead into a mirror and using your liner draw a line from the lower lashes up to where you want the flick to end, it will look weird to start with as you need to go back and fill in the gaps, I then did the rest of the liner at the lash line and just got it to as thick as I wanted as you kind of have to do 2 different parts to the liner for this to work. I then looked downward to fill the gaps in the first line, looking strait ahead again I drew across from the tip of the flick a line to where the upper lid meets the lower lid, again looking down I almost coloured in the outer triangle of the flick. If you want this to be as neat as possible then you need to carry it on to meet the liner on the lid, I like to be quirky so just left it as it was, it looked pretty cool when my eyes were closed.
I then took a face tissue pulled it apart and blotted my face just to make sure there weren't any oils resting on top of the foundation, this breaks it down over time and can cause oxidisation. I then set my base.
Curled lashes and added 2 coats of mascara.
A dark tinted brow wax on an angled brush following the natural growth of the hairs, don't worry if it looks a little strong, just brush them through.
No bronzer, I am naturally very fair skined so it really worked for this look in particular, I put a lovely plum pink blush on the cheek bone and blended back to the hair line and a little way forward but not all the way to the apple of the cheek, I find this does not suit my face shape so I stick to the cheek bone .
High light on the very top of the cheek bone and cupid's bow.
Two layers of red lip tar applied with a lip brush blotted in between coats.
And voila the end result. I was so happy with the end result. I don't think I could ever get bored of playing with make up.
Hope you enjoyed reading about how I got this look. You never know I may even do videos one day.
Lots of love
I did a rockerbilly make up look at the weekend for a friends 30th birthday and thought I would take you through the steps of how I achieved the look. But first here's the before.
Let me first say that everything on my face was Actiderm makeup apart from the mascara, lipstick and eyeliner, all of the makeup is paraben free, talc free and anti allergen, the HD foundation is great for an oily skin although I'm fairly normal and it was fine on me. I have OCC lip tar on my lips, elf liquid eyeliner and a maybeline mascara.
First off I made sure that my face cream had fully absorbed before I applied my foundation, I personally find my foundation doesn't sit right if I don't wait. I used a buffing brush to buff this in and then used a tapping motion to build it up in areas that need more coverage.
I mix my concealer with a little bit of my foundation as I want it to be a little bit more seemless, I do use a brightening concealer but for this look I wanted to keep it as classic as possible so used a full coverage concealer. I used this under my eyes and for my blemishes.
While this was settling into my skin I moved onto my eyes. First I primed my lids, Then I set it with a face powder, I then layered the base colour down which was a little darker than a cream, now,because I have hooded eyes I put the darker colour Just above my crease and in a strait line across to the outer edge of my eye, I then blend this backwards and forwards and slightly up to give the illusion af a crease, if I were to put the colour in my actual crease it wouldnt be seen as the upper part of my lid comes down over the mobile lid. I didn't join this up to the lower lash line as I put liner there so I didn't need to join it up.
This is a little liner trick that really works for hooded eyes if you want to achieve that real 50's flick. look ahead into a mirror and using your liner draw a line from the lower lashes up to where you want the flick to end, it will look weird to start with as you need to go back and fill in the gaps, I then did the rest of the liner at the lash line and just got it to as thick as I wanted as you kind of have to do 2 different parts to the liner for this to work. I then looked downward to fill the gaps in the first line, looking strait ahead again I drew across from the tip of the flick a line to where the upper lid meets the lower lid, again looking down I almost coloured in the outer triangle of the flick. If you want this to be as neat as possible then you need to carry it on to meet the liner on the lid, I like to be quirky so just left it as it was, it looked pretty cool when my eyes were closed.
I then took a face tissue pulled it apart and blotted my face just to make sure there weren't any oils resting on top of the foundation, this breaks it down over time and can cause oxidisation. I then set my base.
Curled lashes and added 2 coats of mascara.
A dark tinted brow wax on an angled brush following the natural growth of the hairs, don't worry if it looks a little strong, just brush them through.
No bronzer, I am naturally very fair skined so it really worked for this look in particular, I put a lovely plum pink blush on the cheek bone and blended back to the hair line and a little way forward but not all the way to the apple of the cheek, I find this does not suit my face shape so I stick to the cheek bone .
High light on the very top of the cheek bone and cupid's bow.
Two layers of red lip tar applied with a lip brush blotted in between coats.
And voila the end result. I was so happy with the end result. I don't think I could ever get bored of playing with make up.
Hope you enjoyed reading about how I got this look. You never know I may even do videos one day.
Lots of love
Monday, 13 April 2015
How things have changed in such a short time
Hi everyone
I have been out for a long walk over the woods with the kids today. It was nice to get away from work for a while but it led to a little reflection whilst sitting watching the kids playing in the stream, don't panic yourselves it was a stream not Niagara Falls and I was sitting right there, I started to think of whe I first started to blog. I had read a lot of beauty blogs, you tubers and such, I suppose I thought I would model my own on that type of thing as it clearly works for them so why not?!? Well it doesnt work for me, not because I don't enjoy reviewing products, I really do, but how much make up do I really use and need on a day to day basis. The truth is I try a lot of stuff but I always go back to the same stuff I love. I refuse to waste my hard earned money on crap I dont need for the sake of a review.
That all being said I will still do reviews but only if I happen to find something that I've not tried before that replaces on of my firm favourites. I also try a lot of samples of professional products for my beauty business. In an industry that grows this fast its really not good to be left behind so I continually have samples sent out to me. Then I kind of relish the review process because I could never find very much that related to the moblie section of the industry and I am a bit, ok a lot fussy when it comes to using companies. Customer service wins me over big time, we get such a ruff deal in the customer service department and with no good reason, Im afraid you use poor sevice you loose my custom, end of. I will pass on all the info I gather from each company so it helps narrow down the possibilities for others, hopefully.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I found blogging so hard before and I couldn't understand why, all of these top bloggers and youtubers are so in love with what they do and I was convinced I loved that too so why wasn't I finding it that easy, I shifted my focus and found that every waking moment of the day I am either working in a job I adore or working on my job, my business, my baby, so why not blog about that. I love beauty fact finding, new ingredients, packaging, tans, skincare, nail specialists and when I first started I had no clue so if this gives just one new mobile therapist a little nudge of encouragement and steer into the right direction then I will be one happy lady. I may be a bit rambley at times but hey thats how I do it, if the inspiration strikes me then I pick up the Ipad and start tapping away at the keys, this gives me so much pleasure now.
I finally love what I blog.
Lots of Love to you all
Mrs G xxx
I have been out for a long walk over the woods with the kids today. It was nice to get away from work for a while but it led to a little reflection whilst sitting watching the kids playing in the stream, don't panic yourselves it was a stream not Niagara Falls and I was sitting right there, I started to think of whe I first started to blog. I had read a lot of beauty blogs, you tubers and such, I suppose I thought I would model my own on that type of thing as it clearly works for them so why not?!? Well it doesnt work for me, not because I don't enjoy reviewing products, I really do, but how much make up do I really use and need on a day to day basis. The truth is I try a lot of stuff but I always go back to the same stuff I love. I refuse to waste my hard earned money on crap I dont need for the sake of a review.
That all being said I will still do reviews but only if I happen to find something that I've not tried before that replaces on of my firm favourites. I also try a lot of samples of professional products for my beauty business. In an industry that grows this fast its really not good to be left behind so I continually have samples sent out to me. Then I kind of relish the review process because I could never find very much that related to the moblie section of the industry and I am a bit, ok a lot fussy when it comes to using companies. Customer service wins me over big time, we get such a ruff deal in the customer service department and with no good reason, Im afraid you use poor sevice you loose my custom, end of. I will pass on all the info I gather from each company so it helps narrow down the possibilities for others, hopefully.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I found blogging so hard before and I couldn't understand why, all of these top bloggers and youtubers are so in love with what they do and I was convinced I loved that too so why wasn't I finding it that easy, I shifted my focus and found that every waking moment of the day I am either working in a job I adore or working on my job, my business, my baby, so why not blog about that. I love beauty fact finding, new ingredients, packaging, tans, skincare, nail specialists and when I first started I had no clue so if this gives just one new mobile therapist a little nudge of encouragement and steer into the right direction then I will be one happy lady. I may be a bit rambley at times but hey thats how I do it, if the inspiration strikes me then I pick up the Ipad and start tapping away at the keys, this gives me so much pleasure now.
I finally love what I blog.
Lots of Love to you all
Mrs G xxx
Friday, 10 April 2015
Caribbean indulgence 7.5 % review
Hi everyone
Tanning again. I'm a little obsessed with this one. I had patch tested a few people with this and they said to me that the colour was fab but it washed off really quickly. I was a little bemused because in theory it shouldn't have a lesser wear time because it's the same brand as the others I use so I thought what the heck I will give it a go myself.
Don't get me wrong I try every brand on myself before I try them on any clients as I personally feel I can't sell anything unless I can give an honest review of the product. I have tried the fresh indulgence at 9% and loved it as I am pale as milk therefor go 'orange' very easily, I've also tried the 8 % nouvatan and love that too. With that said I know the caribbean is a very true brown colour and I was very frightened as to how it would look but I need to try it for wear time, If it came to it I would have soaked in a bath of lemon for a week to fade it.
I got my husband behind the tanning gun, filled it up and off we went. First off the guide colour is excellent on this so great if you are just starting out as you can see where you are spraying, also good for the non spray tech in your life, the fresh indulgence or original doesn't have a very dark guide colour making it hard to see so I'd stay away from it until you are more experienced or get some and practice on family and friends until you get the hang of it. Anywho the smell of the tan itself is so fruity and fresh whilst it is being sprayed, this does turn into the biscuit smell when developed but that is the DHA, you can't escape it so lets just get over it.
In the morning the guide colour appeared no darker than when applied, to me anyway, it is a lovely true brown very natural tan looking, I rinsed as I would have anyother tan only using soap on my bits and underarms. It rinsed off well and quickly, I applied oil free moisuriser and off I went about my business. I showered everyday just as usual using the soft side of the sponge and my soap and glory shower gel. It was 5 days before I needed to do a light exfoliation to even things up then another 3 before real wear was showing. Altogether it was about 12 days several showers, long soaks in the bath and a few rounds of exfoliation before the tan had completely gone. Love Love Love it. 1 negative, wear around my bra line. This happens to me no matter what tan I've had, it really irritates me that where your bra moves about it rubs the tan away. Haven't discovered any top tips to stop this but rest assured I will write about them when I do.
I'm still not sure as to why this rubs away when patch tested but it wears just as well if not better than other tans I have tried. It must be the skin nourishing fruit oils. This company have a paraben free, organic DHA tan packed full of nourishing ingriedients that help prevent your skin from drying out, Thier customer service is beyond any I've encountered where nothing is too much trouble. The website is a breeze to navigate which is a must for me. I am very proud to stock them and as my business expands I will be stocking much more of thier retail products too. What else can I say. Well done Fresh Indulgence, you got me another booking in the diary just from wearing the tan, the lady thought I'd been away, I couldn't love the products any more.
Lots of love
Mrs G xx
Tanning again. I'm a little obsessed with this one. I had patch tested a few people with this and they said to me that the colour was fab but it washed off really quickly. I was a little bemused because in theory it shouldn't have a lesser wear time because it's the same brand as the others I use so I thought what the heck I will give it a go myself.
Don't get me wrong I try every brand on myself before I try them on any clients as I personally feel I can't sell anything unless I can give an honest review of the product. I have tried the fresh indulgence at 9% and loved it as I am pale as milk therefor go 'orange' very easily, I've also tried the 8 % nouvatan and love that too. With that said I know the caribbean is a very true brown colour and I was very frightened as to how it would look but I need to try it for wear time, If it came to it I would have soaked in a bath of lemon for a week to fade it.
I got my husband behind the tanning gun, filled it up and off we went. First off the guide colour is excellent on this so great if you are just starting out as you can see where you are spraying, also good for the non spray tech in your life, the fresh indulgence or original doesn't have a very dark guide colour making it hard to see so I'd stay away from it until you are more experienced or get some and practice on family and friends until you get the hang of it. Anywho the smell of the tan itself is so fruity and fresh whilst it is being sprayed, this does turn into the biscuit smell when developed but that is the DHA, you can't escape it so lets just get over it.
In the morning the guide colour appeared no darker than when applied, to me anyway, it is a lovely true brown very natural tan looking, I rinsed as I would have anyother tan only using soap on my bits and underarms. It rinsed off well and quickly, I applied oil free moisuriser and off I went about my business. I showered everyday just as usual using the soft side of the sponge and my soap and glory shower gel. It was 5 days before I needed to do a light exfoliation to even things up then another 3 before real wear was showing. Altogether it was about 12 days several showers, long soaks in the bath and a few rounds of exfoliation before the tan had completely gone. Love Love Love it. 1 negative, wear around my bra line. This happens to me no matter what tan I've had, it really irritates me that where your bra moves about it rubs the tan away. Haven't discovered any top tips to stop this but rest assured I will write about them when I do.
I'm still not sure as to why this rubs away when patch tested but it wears just as well if not better than other tans I have tried. It must be the skin nourishing fruit oils. This company have a paraben free, organic DHA tan packed full of nourishing ingriedients that help prevent your skin from drying out, Thier customer service is beyond any I've encountered where nothing is too much trouble. The website is a breeze to navigate which is a must for me. I am very proud to stock them and as my business expands I will be stocking much more of thier retail products too. What else can I say. Well done Fresh Indulgence, you got me another booking in the diary just from wearing the tan, the lady thought I'd been away, I couldn't love the products any more.
Lots of love
Mrs G xx
Wednesday, 8 April 2015
Why do mobile beauty professionals get less customer service that salons!!!
Hello everybody
I hope this post finds you all well after the easter weekend.
I am sure I'm not the only moblie therapist in the country that is constantly trying new products am I ?!? You see I adore the skincare range currently In my kit. It feels, looks and smells luxurious. the results are good, not blow me away fantastic but good, I had great service from them when I was looking to take on a brand, they checked out whom they were selling to near to me and they assured me that the nearest was over 20 miles away. The thing for me was offering something different, because whats the point in offering the same as every other Tom, Dick or Harry. During the first few months they contacted me and assured I would have on site brand training. I of course was so excited because I felt like I'd been accepted as a professional in a very competitive industry.
Here I am 1 1/2 years later with no extra training (other than what I recived with my kit) thier website that is so hard no navigate that by the time I have compiled my order they experience some type of technical difficulty and I loose my entire order, and to top it off a lady that has a room in a spa less than 3 miles from me uses the same brand. She has done for years.
I feel so disheartened with the whole experience because I know how hard it is to find a reputable brand that will supply to a mobile therapist. I refuse to reorder anything with them because I want to be looked after as they would a salon owner. Now I get it yes they wont get as much trade from me right now but month by month my business is growing, My clients want me to sell to them but I dont feel confident in the brand itself now, I pride myself in excellent client care and I can't say with 100% confidence that these people are going to treat my clients with same care that I do. Also who knows what the future holds, a salon, a spa, who knows think of the potential buainess they have now lost. Thier loss yes! But that does not help me now does it.
Not only have I got to try products out I have to restock my whole kit. I'm not overly worried about the spend as if the brand is excellent it's worth every penny to me and my clients but it's a huge risk that the same customer service issues may arise again. Trying new stuff is good fun, not only do I do it anyway I do it for a job, how fab is that but good, no scrap that great products are nothing if you don't take care of the customer. I have emailed 3 companies this week and only heard back from 1 so far. Doesn't look good does it !!!
So why is it mobile therapists are getting such a raw deal ?? I mean I know why 'bigger' brands are reluctant to sell to us on the grand scale of things its just not worth thier while, but these smaller companies really need to think about whom they shun because they are not going to gain in the long run, conscientious small business owners or entrepreneurs if you will, will bin them before they allow themselves to be cast aside to fend for themselves.
Maybe I'm the strange one, maybe I want to much, but you've got to have standards otherwise whats the point. So with this in mind when you are looking at skincare companies to stock, sell and use in your business look at every independent review that you can get your hands on, if you were in the industry already you will know that I suppose but if like me you are new to it be careful about where you spend your cash, you want to make money not throw it down the toilet. Don't fall for the sales pitch untill you have heard from all the possibilities, read all the reviews and tried out all the samples. Find out when and where the 'Brand" training will take place, what manuals and marketing material they supply. Be frugal, make the right choice for you and your business.
With that I'm off to read through all of my old professional beauty and guild magazines to see who will kindly speak to me and send me samples.
Speak to you soon
Mrs G xx
I hope this post finds you all well after the easter weekend.
I am sure I'm not the only moblie therapist in the country that is constantly trying new products am I ?!? You see I adore the skincare range currently In my kit. It feels, looks and smells luxurious. the results are good, not blow me away fantastic but good, I had great service from them when I was looking to take on a brand, they checked out whom they were selling to near to me and they assured me that the nearest was over 20 miles away. The thing for me was offering something different, because whats the point in offering the same as every other Tom, Dick or Harry. During the first few months they contacted me and assured I would have on site brand training. I of course was so excited because I felt like I'd been accepted as a professional in a very competitive industry.
Here I am 1 1/2 years later with no extra training (other than what I recived with my kit) thier website that is so hard no navigate that by the time I have compiled my order they experience some type of technical difficulty and I loose my entire order, and to top it off a lady that has a room in a spa less than 3 miles from me uses the same brand. She has done for years.
I feel so disheartened with the whole experience because I know how hard it is to find a reputable brand that will supply to a mobile therapist. I refuse to reorder anything with them because I want to be looked after as they would a salon owner. Now I get it yes they wont get as much trade from me right now but month by month my business is growing, My clients want me to sell to them but I dont feel confident in the brand itself now, I pride myself in excellent client care and I can't say with 100% confidence that these people are going to treat my clients with same care that I do. Also who knows what the future holds, a salon, a spa, who knows think of the potential buainess they have now lost. Thier loss yes! But that does not help me now does it.
Not only have I got to try products out I have to restock my whole kit. I'm not overly worried about the spend as if the brand is excellent it's worth every penny to me and my clients but it's a huge risk that the same customer service issues may arise again. Trying new stuff is good fun, not only do I do it anyway I do it for a job, how fab is that but good, no scrap that great products are nothing if you don't take care of the customer. I have emailed 3 companies this week and only heard back from 1 so far. Doesn't look good does it !!!
So why is it mobile therapists are getting such a raw deal ?? I mean I know why 'bigger' brands are reluctant to sell to us on the grand scale of things its just not worth thier while, but these smaller companies really need to think about whom they shun because they are not going to gain in the long run, conscientious small business owners or entrepreneurs if you will, will bin them before they allow themselves to be cast aside to fend for themselves.
Maybe I'm the strange one, maybe I want to much, but you've got to have standards otherwise whats the point. So with this in mind when you are looking at skincare companies to stock, sell and use in your business look at every independent review that you can get your hands on, if you were in the industry already you will know that I suppose but if like me you are new to it be careful about where you spend your cash, you want to make money not throw it down the toilet. Don't fall for the sales pitch untill you have heard from all the possibilities, read all the reviews and tried out all the samples. Find out when and where the 'Brand" training will take place, what manuals and marketing material they supply. Be frugal, make the right choice for you and your business.
With that I'm off to read through all of my old professional beauty and guild magazines to see who will kindly speak to me and send me samples.
Speak to you soon
Mrs G xx
Monday, 6 April 2015
How I carry my mobile equipment around.
Hello lovlies
When I first started I had absolutly no idea what I was going to carry my kit's around in. The possibilities are endless and it left me stumped. I started looking at all of the pro beauty suppliers I could get access to and all of the cases that would fit everything in were so expensive and looked pretty flimsy from what I could tell, I also heard horror stories from much more experienced professionals that they had gone on jobs with these and at the top of a long flight of stairs the whole case evaporated sending hundreds of pounds worth of equipment flying down the stairs. The thought of it makes me want to cry. You invest a lot of research, time, effort and money on all these products and cases to keep them in and I don't know about you but I want to keep mine safe and secure from my door to car and clients door and back again.
I wasn't originally going to work from home so didn't have much in the way of storage for my products and of course the more courses I did the more products were needed and practice hours were spent in my house but for now things were needing to be kept clean and tidy away in some form of mobile case. Amazon was my next port of call but again pro cases were still expensive, it wasn't until I visited a cake maker friend of mine that I saw a tool box as a possibility. You think about it and it makes perfect sense, they are sturdy enough for a tradesman to keep his heavy tools and they come in all different sizes with wheels and handles to pull along. So I visited B and Q. My husband was of course in his element being a mechanic, tool boxes galore there were, I chose a 2 tiered one that has a deeper bottom box and little compartments, a lift out tray it's fab very useful and I get a lot of mobile use out of it, never has it let me down and best of all it was about £25. what a bargain. Well done B and Q top job.
I now work from home 50% of the time and do mobile 50% of the time and my tool box is still used for mobile use and to store my consumables in at home. I have a lot of storage so am not so worried about having a lot of cases hanging around as I used to be, mine tucks away nicely so it doesn't look like a builder uses my beauty room as well, I do have a pull along large briefcase also that came with my main skincare brand package which is great for the odd one or two small jobs. So if you feel like you are stuck as to what to get all of you mobile beauty kit into and you're on a budget or if you want some extra storage, give a tool box a go, it's been a god send.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxx
When I first started I had absolutly no idea what I was going to carry my kit's around in. The possibilities are endless and it left me stumped. I started looking at all of the pro beauty suppliers I could get access to and all of the cases that would fit everything in were so expensive and looked pretty flimsy from what I could tell, I also heard horror stories from much more experienced professionals that they had gone on jobs with these and at the top of a long flight of stairs the whole case evaporated sending hundreds of pounds worth of equipment flying down the stairs. The thought of it makes me want to cry. You invest a lot of research, time, effort and money on all these products and cases to keep them in and I don't know about you but I want to keep mine safe and secure from my door to car and clients door and back again.
I wasn't originally going to work from home so didn't have much in the way of storage for my products and of course the more courses I did the more products were needed and practice hours were spent in my house but for now things were needing to be kept clean and tidy away in some form of mobile case. Amazon was my next port of call but again pro cases were still expensive, it wasn't until I visited a cake maker friend of mine that I saw a tool box as a possibility. You think about it and it makes perfect sense, they are sturdy enough for a tradesman to keep his heavy tools and they come in all different sizes with wheels and handles to pull along. So I visited B and Q. My husband was of course in his element being a mechanic, tool boxes galore there were, I chose a 2 tiered one that has a deeper bottom box and little compartments, a lift out tray it's fab very useful and I get a lot of mobile use out of it, never has it let me down and best of all it was about £25. what a bargain. Well done B and Q top job.
I now work from home 50% of the time and do mobile 50% of the time and my tool box is still used for mobile use and to store my consumables in at home. I have a lot of storage so am not so worried about having a lot of cases hanging around as I used to be, mine tucks away nicely so it doesn't look like a builder uses my beauty room as well, I do have a pull along large briefcase also that came with my main skincare brand package which is great for the odd one or two small jobs. So if you feel like you are stuck as to what to get all of you mobile beauty kit into and you're on a budget or if you want some extra storage, give a tool box a go, it's been a god send.
Lots of love
Mrs G xxx
Saturday, 4 April 2015
Beauty business marketing.... Or is it!!!!!!
Hello fellow Beauties.
Recently I have been doing a lot research into marketing my business, I have been out there for a while now and with very little advertising I am recieving a fair amount of business. The trouble started when I noticed that everyone (bar a couple of exceptions) always wants 'a bargain' I think this is because in our area there are a few mobile therapists and they are all getting into pricing wars with each other. This is not me. I don't offer a cheap service therefore you will have to pay good money for what I offer. There lies additional problems when A, I dont "own" a salon and B, my self confidence needs work. I began thinking that there has to be a way to market my business so that I get regular FULL paying clients. This also means I have to learn to market myself, thats a scary thought to me well to anyone who shares the lack of self confidence. I know I'm good at what I do, my client care is second to none and that I offer something a bit differernt to mobile clientele, How do I convince potential clients of that.
Along came Hollie.
Now I don't know if there is a boom in the industry where by Beauty business marketing is "The thing" at the moment, Or if I found it because I was looking but there is information everywhere., especially regarding growing your business. Hollie Power wasn't the first one I had seen but her presence really struck me. Her honesty about struggling when she first got started, how she has grown her business and the fact that when I implemented small changes suggested into my business I saw a change straight away. This lady gave me such inspiration to change how I market myself because after all people are buying a piece of me when they buy thier treatments. Hollie offers membership into "The Beauty Project" and whilst this wasn't for me I wasnt going to let that stop me, She has shown me that I have knowlage that others don't, I dont mean other therapists I mean the people who use them, that is why they come to us, I need to shout it from the roof tops, and shout I shall.
I got inspired and have since been using the techniques in the videos and other forms of marketing I have come across and each day I see a change in myself and my business. I am scouring the internet to find out every marketing secret people will share with me and have some very exciting changes underway. I'm going for a big relaunch, it's time everyone knows how good I am at what I do. It's harder work than I thought but I love that I can do it myself breaking it down into manageable chunks makes it less over whelming. I am going to be using every free resource available to me and paying good money for the things that are important or that I don't have the skill for and I'm sure I will take you on the journey with me.
Step one for me was creating a logo. Now for those of you that have design skills you could do this yourself but I don't. I would prefe to use local business and wan't something that is mine that no one else can use. The wheels are already in motion for that and as soon as it is done it will make an appearance on my blog thats for certain.
That's all for now
Lots of love
Mrs G xxx
Recently I have been doing a lot research into marketing my business, I have been out there for a while now and with very little advertising I am recieving a fair amount of business. The trouble started when I noticed that everyone (bar a couple of exceptions) always wants 'a bargain' I think this is because in our area there are a few mobile therapists and they are all getting into pricing wars with each other. This is not me. I don't offer a cheap service therefore you will have to pay good money for what I offer. There lies additional problems when A, I dont "own" a salon and B, my self confidence needs work. I began thinking that there has to be a way to market my business so that I get regular FULL paying clients. This also means I have to learn to market myself, thats a scary thought to me well to anyone who shares the lack of self confidence. I know I'm good at what I do, my client care is second to none and that I offer something a bit differernt to mobile clientele, How do I convince potential clients of that.
Along came Hollie.
Now I don't know if there is a boom in the industry where by Beauty business marketing is "The thing" at the moment, Or if I found it because I was looking but there is information everywhere., especially regarding growing your business. Hollie Power wasn't the first one I had seen but her presence really struck me. Her honesty about struggling when she first got started, how she has grown her business and the fact that when I implemented small changes suggested into my business I saw a change straight away. This lady gave me such inspiration to change how I market myself because after all people are buying a piece of me when they buy thier treatments. Hollie offers membership into "The Beauty Project" and whilst this wasn't for me I wasnt going to let that stop me, She has shown me that I have knowlage that others don't, I dont mean other therapists I mean the people who use them, that is why they come to us, I need to shout it from the roof tops, and shout I shall.
I got inspired and have since been using the techniques in the videos and other forms of marketing I have come across and each day I see a change in myself and my business. I am scouring the internet to find out every marketing secret people will share with me and have some very exciting changes underway. I'm going for a big relaunch, it's time everyone knows how good I am at what I do. It's harder work than I thought but I love that I can do it myself breaking it down into manageable chunks makes it less over whelming. I am going to be using every free resource available to me and paying good money for the things that are important or that I don't have the skill for and I'm sure I will take you on the journey with me.
Step one for me was creating a logo. Now for those of you that have design skills you could do this yourself but I don't. I would prefe to use local business and wan't something that is mine that no one else can use. The wheels are already in motion for that and as soon as it is done it will make an appearance on my blog thats for certain.
That's all for now
Lots of love
Mrs G xxx
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