TECH TALK: Sarah Mills of The Beauty Room By Sarah

Scratch catches up with Sarah Mills of The Beauty Room By Sarah, a Wiltshire-based tech working from a cosy home salon…

“My name is Sarah, I’m 29 and I live in Wiltshire. I’ve been in the beauty industry for about nine years now. I started my nail career by doing a course in acrylic tip and overlay, that is when my passion for nails began. I then went on to train in gel manicure and various other courses. Fast forward a good few years and I worked as the assistant manager and senior nail technician for a beautiful salon in the Cotswolds which I loved and learnt so much, however after having my little girl I wanted more flexibility and to follow my heart and go self-employed. Because of this, I work from home in a summer house and I absolutely love it! My main services consist of gel manicures and builder gel overlays. During lockdown, I focused on my nail art skills and building my social media which has been amazing. I was so over the moon to be asked to join team Magpie Beauty as a brand ambassador! It’s a dream come true for me.

“I first discovered Magpie Beauty in my previous job. As I was responsible for ordering all the nail supplies, I remember stumbling across Magpie and persuading my lovely boss at the time to let me purchase a selection of glitters. As soon as the glitters came, me and the other girls in the salon were hooked! When I went self-employed, it was a natural choice for me to pick Magpie Beauty for my gel colour and I have exclusively used Magpie Beauty for almost a year now.

“My favourite nail art style to create would have to be florals! I absolutely love painting flowers and leaves; I find it so relaxing and love the outcome!

“My favourite professional Magpie Beauty range has got to be Build Me Up. I have been in love with Build Me Up since I first got my hands on it when it was released! I love the consistency of the product; how easy it is to apply and how hard wearing it is. My clients absolutely love it too.

“Before the Corona Virus lockdown, I had around 600 Instagram followers and as of August 2020, I amassed over 6500 – not a large following to some but a huge achievement for me! My tips for growing a large following on social media would firstly be consistency – ensuring you are active on your social media can be very time consuming, but it really does help. Be consistent not only with how often you post, but how you post and what your pictures look like. You want people to recognise your work as they scroll through their feed! Secondly, I really believe being honest is a massive part of how I have grown my social media following. When I post a picture, I usually write a little bit of background on how I came to do the design, what I like and sometimes what I don’t like! I think it’s really important to show that we are all always learning, and we may sometimes be amazing at one type of design, but not at others, and that’s okay!

“I would also encourage people to engage and be kind. Being kind and helping others is another really important factor for me. I love talking to other techs and helping anyone when I can! It’s also really important to engage with other accounts. If you see someone’s work and love it, don’t just like it and scroll past, comment and tell them! It will make someone’s day and the more engagement on your account the better! You should always be yourself online, don’t try to force a style if it’s not you. I love taking inspiration from other nail technicians/artists, but sometimes you may see a super popular design but it’s just not you, and that’s okay! People will like you for who you are and the work you post. Finally, remember to tag your brand. When you post your work, make sure it doesn’t get lost in the world of social media by using appropriate hashtags but also by tagging your brand of choice. You may get your work noticed and reposted and that makes such an impact on your growth!

“My five most reached for Magpie products would first of all be Build Me Up! Secondly, Give Me Strength it’s an amazingly versatile structure gel! I include this in all my gel manicures, but I also use it to mix with glitter, cap gems, shapes and stickers. Thirdly, brand’s set of three nail art brushes. I absolutely love the Magpie nail art brushes, especially the striper and the detailer, they are a complete game changer! My fourth most reached for product would be the flakes. My favourite flakes are Roseanna, but I am also loving the Adora-belle collection. Flakes always look so beautiful and you can create amazing opal designs! Last but not least, the Gel Paints. Much like the nail art brushes, using gel paints makes such a huge difference to the quality of nail art that can be achieved. They are a lovely consistency and a dream to work with.

“My nail career goals for the next two years is to focus on being a great brand ambassador for Magpie Beauty! I’m really grateful for the opportunity and plan to put as much time into the role as I can. I, of course, also want to continue growing my business and learning new skills!

“It’s hard to choose just one of my favourite Magpie nail art range to work with! I would say it’s between the flakes and glitters. I love how you can custom mix your glitters to create the perfect combination for your clients and how glitter instantly puts a smile on my clients faces!

“To name just a few of my inspirations in the nail industry, I absolutely adore Isabel May Nails, her work is stunning and it’s just right up my street! Chars Gel Nails and Magpie ambassador Indiglow Nails are also massively inspiring for me too.

“The best advice I have for technicians who have just begun their nail career is to work hard, be yourself, and make the most of this amazing industry. Connect with other techs who inspire you, as it is so lovely to have friends to talk all things nails with!

Follow Sarah on Instagram