At the age of 14, Andrea Martin undertook work experience at a salon and fell in love with the beauty industry.
Eager to get her foot in the door of the industry, she committed to a Saturday job as soon as she was able, commenting: “I had no idea that cleaning out a coffee machine and changing Barbicide would be the foundation of my career.
“I learned the importance of attention to detail during that Saturday job, from folding towels to building relationships with colleagues and clients.”
Andrea attained a nail qualification when she finished school, continuing to build upon her L&P acrylic skills in the salon under the guidance of her previous boss, Sunny Nadin, and furthered her training to offer spray tans, ear piercing, lash extensions, HD Brow services and Elemis treatments.
She currently offers L&P acrylic and gel services and luxury pedicures. “Nail art has always been a speciality of mine, which is why many of my clients booked their initial appointment with me,” Andrea shares.
“I’m a huge creature of habit when it comes to my core products,” she explains. “I’m a believer in trusting your products. For my L&P acrylic work, I use NSI. My go-to brush is CJP’s Liz Guild Brush in size 12 – I love it, and it’s been my favourite throughout all the years I’ve been tekking. I’m very sentimental with my acrylic brush, it’s everything to me.
“For gel polish, I use The GelBottle. The products are highly pigmented and don’t shrink, crinkle, or dull, and my clients love them too.”
“I believe my salon is unique, not necessarily for the style, but for the feel you have when you walk through the door. My salon is somewhere clients can visit to feel good, chat, shake off any stress, and leave with a smile.”
“Many clients comment on how bright and welcoming Bambu is, but it has a cosy touch, and is in a lovely community, with local people walking past and waving daily.”
“I want every client to feel comfortable with no negative energy.”
Its decor is simple, fresh and clutter-free. “It was so easy to decide the decor for my salon. One of my favourite things to do is go on holiday, especially to Ibiza – not for the hardcore party side, but for the chilled out, care free, hippy vibes, and the sense of happiness it gives me.
“I had visions of my favourite cafe bar when choosing the decor,” Andrea smiles. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t have the swinging seats from the ceiling… I don’t think it would work for painting nails!”
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