Zandile Dube never considered she would be owning her own business at 24 years old - let alone the best lash salon in the UK. Allure Lash Lounge on Cheltenham Road was recently voted the nation’s best just two years after it first opened.
Lash extensions are becoming as popular as getting your hair cut or visiting a nail salon. In big cities like London, lash salons are emerging on every corner but there is still only a handful in Bristol.
“It takes quite a lot of art,” owner Zandile explained. The process involves placing individual synthetic lashes onto each natural eyelash to add length and volume. Enhancing lashes dates back to Egyptian times but became more popular in the 1940s and 50s during the Gold Age of Hollywood.
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When asked why she thought the treatment was so popular in 2022, Zandile said: “When you get your lashes done, you don’t have to do something every day because you already feel made up. It’s very versatile, if someone wants a more natural look you can get more natural extensions. It makes such a big difference, you don’t have to wear mascara. It makes you feel better.”
The salon owner, originally from Nailsea and now in Fishponds, had always been interested in fashion and beauty but never anticipated a career in it. While studying Maths, Further Maths and Geography at college, Zandile started getting her own lashes done when she was younger and was drawn to the work-life balance that her technician had.
After building a full list of clients alongside studying for her A-levels, Zandile got to a pinnacle point where she had to make a decision about whether to continue her studies or go into beauty full-time.
“With that, it felt like I was leaving behind something I had already built. That was the thing that made me toss up what I was going to do.” Although maths is a vastly different career path to beauty, it means she has a business mindset.
She continued: “Ever since I was young, I’ve always seen the world in figures and statistics. It’s just how my brain works, so I think it helps.”
Zandile initially began Allure from home and the pause during lockdown gave Zandile the opportunity to work on plans to open her own salon, something she may not have had time to do in normal times.
Allure Lash Salon first opened in August 2020 on the day the Government permitted salons to open as part of its Covid plan. It started with four technicians in total and has now grown to a team of eleven.
The salon has put a lot of effort into its aesthetics, too, and has even won an award as the most Instagramable salon in the UK. While it’s known for lashes, they also offer other semi-permanent treatments like microblading and lip blush (£350) along with hydrofacials (£135).
“We’re trying to stay ahead of the lash game,” she explained. Some of their services are a rarity among other salons in the UK. The premium lashes, for example, use a technique from Los Angeles that only one other salon in the country currently offers.
Standard lash extensions are £60 and are the most popular, lasting between two to three weeks before you need to return to the salon for an infill. Premium lash extensions, which last longer, start at £150.
The team’s attention to detail and time consulting customers on their desired look is what helped them win the award for best lash salon in the UK this year, an achievement that meant a lot to everyone.
“It was massive. We really focus on lash health, styling and trying to make the experience as good as possible for our customers. Every single person in the team has spent so much time practising, training and working on customer service.
“It was a big surprise for Bristol out of everywhere in the UK. I feel like you just expect it to be London. Everyone was so happy and it was good to have the recognition that shows we’re good at what we do.”
Zandile had previously told BristolLive that she felt “imposter syndrome” as a young Black woman in the beauty industry and rarely saw people who looked like her. These feelings are starting to fade, albeit gradually.
“When I first opened the salon I felt out of my depth - I’d never managed and now I'm managing a big team and had never run a salon. I questioned ‘should I be doing this? Am I good at this?’ I feel like I’ve settled into the role a lot more.” She attributed the salon's success to having a strong, passionate team.
Zandile has debated whether to open another salon in the future. While she has cities in mind if she ever decided to expand, the focus is currently on expanding the Allure Lash Lounge academy to offer training to the next generation of technicians.
“I’ve been doing lashes now for seven years and I’ve learnt a lot. I’ve taken some really good courses but looking back to some of the courses at the beginning if I had all of that information at the start I could have progressed a lot faster than I did.”
The academy will be expanding in the room above the salon in December, with space to train up to five technicians per day.
Allure Lash Lounge is located at 241 Cheltenham Road, Bristol, BS6 5QP open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am–6pm
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