Sinead Timoney was at the charity nail bar at the Diamond with Catherine Corrigan from Enniskillen
Catherine McCurry caught up with some students who raised money for Action Cancer last week…
THERE’S always some sort of activity or event happening in The Diamond in Enniskillen and if you happened to be in the area last Thursday you couldn’t have missed the group of beauty therapists from South West College.
Dressed in their black and pink uniforms, the students were raising money for Action Cancer – a charity dedicated to saving lives and supporting people affected by cancer – by filing and painting nails for a bargain £3.
The lovely second year ladies spent a few hours beautifying up to 40 customers including women, as well as men, by filing and painting nails and keeping in with Action Cancer tradition, the main colour of the day was pink.
Women in general often spend a lot of money on beauty treatments from facials, manicures, spray tans and massages – we all love some self-indulgence.
I often forget that many of these treatments are carried out at the South West College building at discounted rates compared to public salons. And from seeing what the trainee beauty therapists can do, they are worth a visit – it’s experience for them and saves you from paying standard treatment prices.
Emma Elliott (18), Jade Lealan (20) and 19-year-old Leona McCaffrey were some of the beauty therapists helping to raise money.
Emma explained some of the current nail colour trends: “Popular colours at the minute are purples, blacks, red, greys and maroon. It’s all darker colours because it’s changing season and it’s going into winter.
“Stiletto nails are very popular, people are loving really long nails. We have had a few men getting their nails done today which isn’t unusual for us. We see men coming in to get basic manicures, no colour. We see more men now than ever before. They get their eyebrows done, tanning and nails. Tan is massive, they love the Joey Essex look.
“Men would come in for different treatments like massage and hot massage, threading and facials.
“We have some very competitive prices compared to salon, that’s one of the big attractions.”
For customer Ian Pollard, it was the first time he had his nails pampered by a professional.
The Sydney man said: “It’s really good and I’ve enjoyed the treatment, I’m seeing how I can take better care of them and tips on how to file my nails.
“I understand now why girls get their nails done. I like sitting here relaxing and having a chat.”
His wife Victoria stated: “I really enjoyed sitting outside in the good weather and having a chat and it’s a cause that’s close to my heart, having had a double mastectomy three years ago for breast cancer so I know how important it is to raise money for these causes. And it’s good to see young kids and people being active about raising funds instead of just saying give us some money. I think it’s really good.
“You’re getting something back and they’re giving up their time. I really think it makes a difference that people just don’t give money, but you get something for it as well.”