12:10pm Tuesday 18th May 2010
Beauty therapist Trish Makepeace has picked up a lot of ideas on her travels, she tells Jenny Needham.
BEAUTY therapist Trish Makepeace is full of ideas, some gleaned from years of training and experience, and some from her travels abroad.
The 38-year-old has now settled back in Teesdale, where she grew up, and has taken over the beauty business on Newgate, Barnard Castle, which was run for many years by Trish’s mentor Sue Holroyd. After training at Darlington College and becoming Sue’s Saturday girl, Trish went off to do lots of other things - a business and marketing degree among them - but always kept her hand in on the beauty side.
“When Sue decided to retire, she asked if I would be interested in taking over the business and it coincided nicely with us coming back home from living and working abroad,”
says Trish. The family - Trish, husband Stuart, seven-year-old Ralph and six-year-old Fergus - are now happily settled in the home near Cotherstone they rented out while they went on their foreign adventures.
“When the boys were little, Stuart (who works for the pharmaceutical company Glaxo) had the opportunity to work in Puerto Rico, so we upped sticks and went,” says Trish.
“It was brilliant, though very much an ex-pat kind of life as we had to live in gated communities because of all the drug crime. The upside was that it was hot all year round and we met some lovely people and took trips to quite a few of the neighbouring Caribbean islands.”
Eighteen months in, Stuart was seconded to France. “We didn’t want to come back to the UK at that point, so we took the job in Normandy,”
says Trish. “We had to learn the language and as the children went to French schools, they were more fluent than we were.”
It was a happy coincidence that Trish’s former boss Sue was looking to retire as the family approached the end of their time abroad and Trish jumped at the chance to buy the beauty salon “We came back to our old house and started decorating madly, then I had to decorate the salon as well,”
says Trish. The result is a calm and tasteful backdrop of Farrow & Ball Lamp Room Grey and cream. Two treatment rooms have been created for more privacy and a new shower area installed.
Much else has stayed the same. “A lot of clients were very loyal to Sue: I remember some of them coming in 20 years ago,” says Trish. “I have tweaked a few of the treatments but certainly not changed the full menu.
I just wanted to update things a bit and add some touches from salons I had seen on my travels, in places like Paris.”
Trish had been on an advanced cosmetology course so that she can deal with thread veins and skin tags, and is proficient in eyelash extensions.
For products, she has stuck with Decleor.
“I don’t think there is anything better, really,” she says. “It’s 100 per cent natural and there’s a huge range for all skin types and ages.
Her clientele is mostly female, but men are an expanding market.
“They are a lot more aware of grooming these days,” says Trish, and as if on cue, a young chap pops in for his spray tan.
I was treated to a wonderful facial. Like many nowadays, it started with a back and neck massage, which completely relaxes you for the pampering to come. Over the following hour, my face was then cleansed, purified, pampered and moisturised, had various lotions and masks applied, and looked wonderful when the treatment was over. The dry winter pallor had disappeared and my skin was glowing and plumped up with moisture.
“All our facials begin with a massage and last at least an hour and a quarter,” says Trish. “They’re a fantastic treat for someone as a gift… or for yourself, of course. Everyone needs a pampering from time to time.”
■ Beauty Therapy Clinic, 6 Chapel Court, Newgate, Barnard Castle, County Durham DL12 8NG. Tel: 01833-690-324.
Aromaplastie Facials cost £45, Aroma Expert Facials cost £50; Decleor body treatments are £50 and holistic treatments, such as Indian head massage, reflexology and Hopi ear candling, cost from £25.
Trish also offers non-surgical facelifts, inch loss, eyebrow shaping, waxing, microdermabrasion, electrolysis and spray tans.
MY NAME’S Lauren, and I’m a former fake tan-oholic... I beat my addiction by going cold and pale turkey last spring, so I was a bit reluctant to say the least when I was asked to try out a new spray tan.
But when I was told the tan in question was the latest product to come to multi-millionaire Duncan Bannatyne’s ever-expanding beauty empire, curiosity got the better of me.
So despite swearing off the orange stuff, I decided to give it a glow in time for a friend’s wedding. Darlington spa manager Louise Allan was quick to allay my fears about the tanning product. “It has got absolutely no orange pigment in it and it works with clients’ own skin tones,” she told me.
“You should look the same colour as if you’d maybe had a week away somewhere hot. It goes on with an air compressor and because it is so fine, you’re not covered in a big thick layer, just two fine coats.”
The tan, available in Bannatyne spas at health clubs and hotels, aims to give a natural-looking glow and is paraben-free to prevent skin irritation.
The treatment was similar to most spray tans – special booth, attractive paper knickers and hat, and the fake tan dance (a series of poses the therapist asks you to assume to ensure even coverage) – with Louise working quickly and expertly to make the process as easy as possible.
I was left to dry for five minutes, before dressing again in loose, dark clothing, and told to leave the tan on overnight to develop.
And after I showered the next morning, I was left with a lovely, natural-looking streak-free, golden glow which lasted for about a week.
And after compliments ranging from “have you lost weight?” to “you look super-hot”, I fear my love of a fake tan is back for good.
■ Bannatyne’s spray tan is £15, or £13.50 for gym members and is available from Bannatyne’s spas.
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