The Facial Studio - Born out of the Love of Skin By Louise May

Studying in Cape Town, South Africa at the young age of 16, Jasmine Payne had never dreamt that the career ahead of her would take her to the places it did, or that she would get to meet the most amazing and influential people along the way.

At the young age of 18 years old I had only one plan… says Jasmine, and that was to work for one of the worlds most desired product brands, Dermalogica. I called their head office in London and asked “how can I work for one of your flagship companies”. The lady on the other end said, well you have to be in London for an interview, so I sold my car and flew to London!

Jasmine Payne

I waited a few months before getting and interview with them and landed one of my dream jobs, to become a Facialist! after one month of in-depth training in all things skin, I started at the High Street Kensington branch and was a Facialist to some of the most famous celebrities, Makeup Artists and Journalists.

Fast forward, with marriage and a baby and a big move to New Zealand and yet again landing another amazing job opportunity, working at Louise Grey Mission Bay, and that is where my career flourished… being able to work with someone with as much profound knowledge as Louise Grey, my understanding and passion grew deeper and deeper. Whilst working there I gained my International Post Graduate Diploma with Merit, I was one of only 4 in New Zealand to have gained it, as well as winning the 2010 Dermalogica Therapist of Year NZ, it was such an amazing achievement.

Today I’m the proud founder of The Facial Studio, set in a small west coast town south of Auckland. I started my salon in our spare room and within 2 months I moved into a shared space on the main road, which I very quickly out grew, and opened up my own studio.

2 years later and we had out grown that space, and now I have created my dream salon with my dream team. From 100-yearold heritage Rimu flooring, to beautiful soft colours and touches, this is a space where you can definitely come to relax and reset.

With all that I have learnt on my journey around the world and all the different ethnicities, environmental influences, and heritages, I have created a studio where not one treatment is the same, each clients treatments are carefully curated, giving them a treatment journey unique to their skin needs and their concerns. The brands that we stock have all been tried and tested over months by myself. They are all unique and carry no nasties.

Dermaviduals is our biggest range and our most bespoke skin care range. Aleph is our makeup range that is clean, it is people, planet, and animal friendly and we have our internal supplements as we all know our gut and skin are connected.

Louise May recently caught up with Jasmine to find out more about her new “Facial Studio” location and her journey in the Industry.

What drew you to Beauty Therapy in the first place?

Honestly, I hated school and wanted out, so the easiest thing I thought would be to study Beauty Therapy, it was not until I worked in London that I realised that I was obsessed with all things skin!

You live and work in a small town in NZ, How have you gone about growing a successful business in such an isolated place?

Yes, we are in a small town on the south west coast of Auckland, honestly it only took a few clients to experience a treatment with us and the word spread like wide fire. I also built the presence of my business on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. But mostly it was high treatment standards coupled with amazing results.

What treatments do you offer and what do you specialise in?

Whilst we mostly specialise in Skin Facial Treatments we offer all beauty treatments from waxing, to massage, and old school manicures and pedicures.

What is your favourite treatment?

Well that’s easy…. It would be the entire journey of a skin programme, from the Observe skin diagnostic analysis to the indepth consultation and creating the perfectly curated skin plan and treatment journey! I love the excitement and hopefulness I see in clients’ eyes and then the dedication they put in along with our amazing brands and facial knowledge ends in life changing results. After working in the industry for over 16 years and in countries around the world I struggled with box type brands and facials. I never felt like I could curate the most unique and individual facials until I came across Dermaviduals, after consulting with a rep I was hooked. Every single facial we offer is different, we have to really think about the mixing of ingredients and what part it plays in the facial, how it will work and sit, and what we are trying to achieve. From bespoke cleansers to serums, moisturisers and masks, are all custom designed by us with a lot of thought and planning. We are basically little facial pharmacists combining ingredients with skin knowledge for the perfect product.

Congratulations on your new Facial Studio property, how was the process of expanding, finding staff, and navigating it all during a pandemic?

Honestly, I had moments where I thought, what on earth am I doing, expanding 5 weeks into a 4-month lockdown in the middle of the 2-year pandemic! however knowing that I have the most loyal and amazing clients, and our diary was full.. we need to have a second room and more space. Well I jumped in with both feet and turned an open plan hairdressing salon, into a two room, retail and consult area in just 8 weeks, of course it helped having a hands on handyman hubby, but there were many days with 4 kids a dog and paint everywhere, we did it and its every thing I ever wanted and more. I hired a senior therapist 1 week before the lockdown and wow that was stressful, but turn out perfectly.

What challenges have you had to overcome during the process?

It all came down to running a strict budget and lots of research and online shopping of course, as it was a level 4 lockdown here so nothing was open. I ordered every thing and when we hit level 3 it all started being shipped. I learnt that by mixing a few key expensive pieces with some cheaper ones works and looks lush., being that we are in a heritage building with 100-year-old Rimu flooring, the salon has a very clean and natural feel to hit.

What do you consider your own top 3 pillars of success to be?

1) Knowledge is POWER always. 2) I had an amazing mentor who taught me so much and pushed me when I needed it. She always gave the that fire in my belly when this got tough. 3) Consistency is key, I have my staff trained to a high level and we all do the same treatments therefore clients are happy to gravitate to anyone of us as they always will have the same skin journey and treatment.

How do you juggle a busy family/ work life balance?

It’s no walk in the park raising 4 kids, it comes down to being highly organised and running a tight ship, and I could not do it all without the help of my supportive husband who also runs his own business. I love my job; I am lucky enough that I don’t have to work, but I chose to as its my love for it that drives my passion and success.

Any plans of expanding your Brand further, or exciting projects in the Pipeline?

Well, we do have some really exciting things in the pipeline for this year including a new treatment/machine. Currently we have just launched our Skin Membership campaign for the next few months which is really exciting, especially in time like these, it’s easier for clients to budget with a skin membership in place, and it creates recurring revenue for the business. And yes, I would love to open up a Facial Studio 2.0 in the next few years, so watch this space.