Princess Nails at Q61 Beauty Salon in Leeds

On Tuesday I was invited to Q61, a beauty salon in Leeds city centre, for an evening of pampering. I was sent over the menu of treatments beforehand, to select the two I would be receiving on the night. Not gonna lie, it took me about 3 hours to narrow it down because I wanted everything! Eventually I settled with the Q61 Signature Manicure and a classic set of eyelash extensions. Originally, I wanted to get the matching pedi, but A) the weather has been about -1 degrees with torrential rain all week, and B) I wasn’t prepared to get my toes out, especially in a room full of bloggers with fancy cameras. My second toe is already long enough without being snapped through a HD lens, thanks.

I arrived to a champagne reception, which was an instant hit! Aside from the bubbles, I was really impressed with the modern interior which was decorated with balloons and big, fat cupcakes everywhere. (Is it really a blogger event without cupcakes, though?!) I was introduced to Jade and ushered upstairs for my first treatment: lashes. She kindly removed the dregs of my Russian Volumes and although we had less time than would usually be needed for a classic set of lashes (limited to 30 mins per treatment) Jade still managed to apply a subtle set of extensions. As a huge fan of volume lashes, I would love to go back for the 'Glamorous' set in the near future.

('scuse the double chin)

I used to swear by acrylic nails. Between the ages of around 17/18 to 23, I was never seen without my long, stiletto nails. (Sharp enough to kill a man, I tell ya!) In fact, they were so sharp I don’t think I ever wore tights throughout that time frame as it was impossible for me to pull them on without shredding them. In fact, I’m surprised I didn’t blind myself. Anyway, now I’m all ‘au-naturale’ (LOL. Well, my nails are) I have managed to grow my own real nails to a decent length, so I couldn’t wait for my luxury manicure. Sharday was absolutely lovely! I’ve been in so many nail salons where I’ve just sat in silence while the nail tech gets to work, but it is SO BORING. In fact, Q61 have an in-house trainer who takes care of the staff, and really makes a point of how important it is to chat and build rapport with clients, and it really showed! I went for a gorgeous, princess-y frosty white gel glitter, and it is AMAZING. Like, the photos do not do it justice!

In-between lashes and nails I managed to grab a quick chat with both Helena and Michael, owners of the salon. They are SO lovely and I love how laid back and down to earth they both are! Michael told me about how the idea to open a salon stemmed from when Helena received a poor salon experience pre-honeymoon. On returning, they bought a city centre property, renovated the whole thing, and fast-forward 15 months down the line look at them now! I wish them all the best and I can’t wait to come back.

For more information on Q61 studio, or to book your very own princess mani visit their website here.