Wharfside Stories: Why Things Are Looking Fabulous for Beautique

A follower of the Wharfside’s social accounts contacted us with the message: ‘Beautique is absolutely buzzing. You’d better get down there.’

Always on the lookout for a good Wharfside story (and there are plenty of them these days), we followed this tip and contacted Chelsea Laity, co-owner of the one-stop shop for nails, brows, lashes and more.

Chelsea is a graduate of the prestigious Brushstroke Makeup & Hair Academy at Shepperton Studios, which trains makeup artists for TV, film and fashion. She’s a co-business owner with her mum, Bev, and together they are part of an eleven-strong Beautique team.

We chatted to her about beauty treatments, good vibes and customer feedback, and why moving to the Wharfside was a fabulous business decision.

Hi Chelsea, tell us a bit about the business.

We each specialise in different areas of beauty. I enjoy creating nails, make-up and relaxing treatments like pedicures. Bev, the other co-owner (also my mum!), does semi-permanent make-up, brows, facial waxing and nails. We also do lashes, facials, waxing and massage, and run a monthly clinic for all aesthetic needs. Finally, we have two stand-up sun beds, which are very popular!

For someone who has never had the beautician experience before – what’s it like?

Our aim is for our clients to walk away from their appointments feeling happy and relaxed, with the added extra of some gorgeous nails or a fresh new look. We are more than just therapists – we have made lovely friendships with customers. 

We’ve seen your incredible nail art on Instagram. Tell us a bit about the whole process.

We have around 1500 gel colours for nails, which helps us to cater to our clients’ exact needs. People even bring in photos of outfits, so we can match the nails from our fantastic collection of colours.

So, are the amazing designs hand-drawn by you?

Mostly, we try our best to hand-paint everything. We also have special decals, gems and charms to give the nails that extra pizzazz! Some nails can take up to two hours, which is quite a process. It’s definitely worth taking the time to create something special for our clients.

What’s the most artistic request you’ve had?

Recently, one of our lovely clients got engaged in the Isles of Scilly. Sarah Hencher, who created her nails, made it look like there were waves crashing into the sand, with shells and a hand-painted starfish added to the mix. All of our girls are fantastic at their craft – Mum and I are very proud to have them work alongside us.

What kind of reactions do you get to your work?

Clients are totally elated and take pictures of the results. They upload them onto social media, which is a great advertisement for us. Our customers get lots of compliments on their treatments, which makes us proud of our work and want to continue doing what we love.

Why did you move to the Wharfside?

We felt we were ready for a change and wanted accessible premises. The space and light at The Wharfside is brilliant and ticks all the right boxes. We enjoy being in the heart of the Wharfside with all our fantastic neighbours.

Talking of which, what’s your relationship like with those other businesses?

Great! When we spoke with the centre manager, he said, ‘We want each business to have its own appeal and not create loads of competition.’ We all have our own little niche market. Cork and Fork is different to Fred’s and Thai Moon. Then there’s St Justin for jewellery and RideOn for eBikes.

And, presumably, the centre has raised your profile and brought you passing trade?

We believe that ‘eye level is buy level’ and people enjoy watching us work. When people come in, they say, ‘I came past and you looked busy, and you were all laughing and smiling.’ It’s non-stop!

PZ is buzzing right now. Any thoughts on why the town’s doing so well?

It is getting better and better and I love the fact that the Wharfside has more life back in it. I feel like this centre is making a big difference and generating so much more interest for the town.

Check out the very colourful and inspiring Beautique Instagram page.