Born and raised in Bulgaria, but lived and built my beauty carrier in London – United Kingdom. Since a young age, I have been around my aunt (a famous make-up artist in Bulgaria) and have spent lots of time around make-up and other beauty treatments. Not to mention that I used to bite my nails and got fed up paying constantly to have them done. One day I decided to learn how to do them myself and signed up for my first course in London whilst studying at university to become an accountant as this was my dream since I was 10 years old.
I have been in the beauty industry since 2001, I had my own beauty salon in London since 2009, after which I created a licensed beauty academy USPAAH London and now I am an owner of Wellty Academy. I have worked with many celebrities and fashion designers. I had the opportunity to show my talent in doing nails and make-up behind the scenes at London and Paris Fashion Weeks for years. Also for music videos, film and theater productions, and commercials. I have taken part in photo shoots for magazines, one of which is the cover of the Sunday Times magazine and many Beauty magazines.
I used to work in some of the biggest salons in London like Percy and Reed, and Daniel Galvin, which in turn gave me the opportunity to work with many celebrities: X Factor, Spice Girls, Rita Ora, Cheryl Cole, Kelly Brook, Adele, and many others.
I have successfully completed over 20 courses in the field of cosmetics and beauty, as well as business and finance, management, and personnel management. Last but not least, is my teaching degree, which gives me the opportunity to issue accredited certificates in my field.
My journey in the lash industry started in 2007, but at the time the materials were not as good as I would like them to be, so I gave it a second chance in 2011 and it was a struggle to get the best quality products from USA and Russia even in London.
I have trained countless students, both in London and Bulgaria.
I have my own brand of professional lash products for everything you need in eyelash extensions – Lash Bar, which I later rebranded to WELLTY.
They are many international courses in the lash industry available on the market and many free webinars and seminars on social platforms nowadays and choosing a big name does not necessarily guarantee a great value of knowledge. So what I can recommend to anyone new choosing to go into the lash world is to check the reviews and personal recommendations for your mentor, their works published on social media with all the beauty apps available these days can be very impressive, so trust photos that are not retouched. One of the most important things is to have the support of your mentor after completing your course.
Another suggestion for lash technicians is to get yourself signed into championships and competitions, where you will receive reviews from judges on your work, so even if you don’t win you will know what you need to improve and scale yourself up on the ladder. Trust me you can learn something valuable on every course you sign up for, so in order to be well-known in the industry one course would be never enough, especially with things and products changing and developing pretty much every day.
And to get into the fashion industry as a lash technician, I would definitely recommend starting work in a big salon in your area and getting in touch with a famous hair stylist, nail technician, or makeup artist and offering treatments in exchange/ free treatments or percentage at least. Do your best no matter whether you are working with a big name or a friend, everyone is equal and should be treated in the same way. And everyone that leaves your salon or working space is a walking advertisement for you and the best advert you can get.
Working in a photo shoot can be very tricky and you would not only have to be one of the best but also have professional working manners and customer service skills. Working with famous people is a lot harder than with regular clients on a daily basis cause you have to know when and how to communicate with them. Most of them especially when is your first time performing a treatment on them would not want to chat and would want to have their private space. To work in a photoshoot doing lashes you have to do the lashes before anyone else, which is better as it could get very hard when make-up and hair people are working at the same time or even worst a nail technician too. But most of the time you would have to work in not so professional conditions, so to do your job properly be as be prepared to bring with you even a portable bed and lights. Being friendly is great, but you have to know there is a very thin line between friendly and professional, so don’t cross it or let your clients do it either.
In my carrier, I have turned down bookings for big names and have been accused of doing so, but you first have to be true to yourself and the people that have helped you to get where you are and know that not everything has to happen at any cost. Hard work, dedication, and professional courses will get you to any place you would like to be, and remember that if you put your heart into it you can achieve anything you would like.
Never stop dreaming, Anything is possible.
