Launching a fourth North-East business is child's play for single mum-of-four Natalie Paleschi, who combines her growing beauty empire with her growing family. She tells Lucy Richardson how she does it

GETTING out of the front door with one child can be challenging enough. When there are eight matching shoes to find, life can become overwhelming.

Yet Natalie Paleschi takes it all in her stride. The 28-year-old’s most ambitious project to date is raising three sons and a daughter, yet she applies the same pragmatic attitude to keeping the wheels turning at home as she does to expanding her thriving company.

Her name is synonymous with her signature look and now the ‘Paleschi brow’ is a brand in its own right. Offering a niche selection of results-driven treatments from nails and lashes to brows and Botox, she is determined to stay one step ahead of the fierce competition while continuing to help clients, both male and female, look and feel their very best.

The Northern Echo: Natalie Paleschi
Natalie Paleschi

“When I started in the beauty industry ten years ago, I just had a treatment bed in my living room and a little pot of wax,” she recalls with a smile. “There was a dog jumping about everywhere, but I never thought it would go wrong. I just knew it would work.”

Already mum to Alfie, now nine, she opened her first Paleschi - Specialist Beauty and Aesthetics salon in October 2014 on bustling Baker Street in Middlesbrough, when triplets Vivienne and identical sons Eli and Ezra were just six weeks old. Word quickly spread and a year later she opened on Yarm High Street, followed by Guisborough in February. A Newcastle city centre salon is planned for October.

Natalie thinks the responsibility of looking after her family is the reason she pushes herself so hard and is always at the back of her mind whenever she’s contemplating the future of her brand. ““I’m a single parent and I don’t claim anything from the Government. All the help I have with the children I pay for. I want them to have consistency and their nanny gives them that when I’m not there. It is tough, but I’m doing all of this for them,” she says frankly.

She realised early on in her career that what made her happy was seeing the look of delight was on her clients’ faces when they saw how defining and tinting their eyebrows gave them an instant facelift. Natalie and her stylists have worked hard to amass a loyal following for their HD brow treatments, in which they assess face shape and colouring to create tailor-made well-groomed and high-definition eyebrows.

“When I first started working in beauty salons, I didn’t enjoy doing the massages and the facials,” she says. “Women like me have no time and want instant results, so I decided very early on that we would be the very best at a select few treatments. We are specialists in HD brows, nails, lashes, Botox and fillers and we’ve built up an enviable reputation.”

An early adopter of social media, Natalie encourages her team of seven to show off their work across digital platforms where an image is everything. “Sharing a few before and after pictures is how I launched my business,” she says. “I’m very focused so I’ve always stayed one step ahead of the competition to ensure that the Paleschi girls always feel challenged while offering clients the very best trends.” The latest is microblading, first known as eyebrow embroidery, a semi-permanent makeup procedure that allows beauticians to dramatically correct or fully reconstruct lost eyebrows. And Natalie is unapologetic about being an advert for the Botox and lip fillers offered in-house by her sister, nurse Holly Paleschi, and says she loves the instant line-smoothing, uplifting results.

“I know full well how hard it can be to manage work and children and how vital it is for women to look and feel their best,” she says. “I’m proud to promote the services we offer so women know they can come to us and leave with results that are instant, which leaves them to get back to juggling life.” While looking amazing, of course.

Paleschi - Specialist Beauty and Aesthetics

Website: paleschi.com; email: npaleschi@hotmail.co.uk
20 Baker Street, Middlesbrough. T: 07881-226087
Yarm High Street. T: 01642-789557/07493-231496
Within Rag and Doll boutique, 7 Chaloner Street, Guisborough. T: 07881-226087