Nadine Dilong When Rose Bolam and her daughter Chantelle opened their salon Artfully Polished Beauty in Newcastle, NSW, in 2003 they offered all the traditional treatments such as facials, waxing, and the rest of the standard salon menu.
“Our business grew steadily by word of mouth recommendation, lots of hard work and offering high quality, reliable service – no gimmicks,” Rose, director of Jessica Cosmetics Australia, recalls. “Because of the industry shift over the years from salons offering a range of general services towards a more specialised approach, we realised we needed a point of difference that would make our salon stand out from the rest. “Being in the centre of the city, there is no shortage of salons competing for the available trade so we knew we had to change to remain competitive and be truly successful.
“Mother and daughter took a trip to Los Angeles in May 2012 and studied with the guru of the natural nail, Jessica Vartoughian, founder of Jessica Cosmetics, at her Natural Nail Clinic on Sunset Boulevard. “We felt that her knowledge and reputation would be an inspiration and also provide us with a huge boost to our skills in natural nail care,” says Rose.
“The Jessica philosophy is simple: Treat nails like we treat our skin and no nails are alike. “The Jessica System Master Class was run over a week of intensive training and included the theory of natural nail care along with plenty of practise to ensure our application was faultless. Jessica was constantly assessing our skills and offering her guidance when needed.
“Jessica is regarded around the world as a luxury brand because it is high quality and unique colour palette, colours influenced by the fashion house/trends of Europe, all our polishes work alongside Jessica exceptional treatment system, the polishes are ecofriendly and 7free as well as cruelty free, and have elegant packaging.
“It is a boutique brand as it is not mass produced, and is sold to high-end beauty spas/resorts and selected salons.” Bringing their wealth of knowledge home from LA, Rose and Chantelle started to educate their existing clients on the benefits of using the Jessica brand.
“Jessica is a complete system that cultivates natural nails, bringing them back to health so they will grow long and strong. That means there is no need to resort to damaging acrylics. This is where our story really began and we have never looked back.” JESSICACOSMETICS.COM.AU
