Caitlin’s Journey...

Alan Santini
May 15, 2021
3 min read

Hi everyone! My name is Caitlin Parker and I’m a beauty therapist based in Prestwick, Scotland. I have been a beauty therapist for almost 2 years and I have a salon at my home called Blush Cosmetics where I specialise in Eyelash Extensions, HD Brows and Makeup Artistry.

I trained at City of Glasgow College doing my HND Beauty between 2017 and 2019! While training at college, I completed a course in eyelash extensions to give me some experience of working in the beauty industry! Once leaving college, I decided I wanted to do become self employed and pursue doing eyelash extensions full time! I then added to my treatment list by adding HD Brows and Makeup as these were the things I enjoyed the most and got the most satisfaction from!

I began being self employed by renting chairs within salons until the first lockdown of 2020.

At the beginning there was so much uncertainty about what was going to happen to the beauty industry. Would clients return after lockdown? What would the restrictions be like? And would you even be allowed to perform treatments on the face? My boyfriend, who is a builder, suggested that he could build me a salon in my garden which would take away any pressures of having to pay rent in a salon if my business wasn’t as successful after the lockdown as I wouldn’t have any overheads! This is how my business Blush Cosmetics was born and it is definitely the best thing I’ve ever done!

What made you decide to start up your own salon?

I had always wanted my own business when I was younger but never really knew what doing. After school, I went to university but realised it wasn’t for me. I took a year out to work to decide what I wanted to do and realised I wanted to do something I enjoyed which was beauty! When I was at college, I was doing a few family and friend’s eyelash extensions which definitely gave me the bug for working for myself! Once I finished college, there was no way I could go back to working for someone And decided to pursue it full time!

What has been your biggest challengie?

I think my biggest challenge - which I don’t think I’ve yet over come, is the anxiety that comes with being self employed! There’s definitely a lot of sleepless nights where you worry about what your going to make that week, if your clients will come back to you, if you are as good as others in the industry etc! That’s definitely one of the most challenging aspects of being self employed but there’s lots of positives too!!

Where did you find the inspiration for the studio?

Most of my inspiration for the studio came from Pinterest and Facebook groups where people share their decor ideas!

If you could go back to when your first begun, what do you wish you knew before you started?

That you are always a student! It’s not just a case of you do one course and you know everything - I’m still learning things every day! The beauty industry is so competitive and new trends can become outdated so quickly you’ve always got to be learning new things to move with it!

What is the most rewarding part of setting up a business?

The most rewarding part is definitely the clients! It’s the best feeling when I do a set of lashes, brows or a makeup for a client and they love what I’ve created. It makes it all worth while!

If you had any advice for anyone starting in this industry what would it be?

Put in the time and invest in your education and knowledge to be the best you can to provide the best service for your clients! It’s hard work but worth it!