NAIL TECH TALK: Jess Swinburn of Beauty by Jess
By Callie Iley | 10 July 2021 | Feature, Tech Talk
Scratch chats to Burnley and Blackburn based tech, Jess Swinburn of Beauty by Jess, about being featured in her local news and the importance of utilising social media for business…
I love everything about the nail industry. I did art as an A-Level, and have always had a creative side, I just didn’t know how I could make a career out of that until I got into beauty (by mistake) and it was the best decision I ever made! I get paid to sit and create art everyday – it’s my dream job.
I love to create any designs that are bright, complex and intricate. I love doing butterflies as I really think they look so effective on nails and can completely transform a plain set.
I was featured by the Lancashire Telegraph as my TikTok account featuring nail art designs has wracked up millions of views. I only recorded the TikTok videos on my own in my bedroom so for millions of people to see my work and then get onto other platforms, to where people have been writing about me, is just surreal!
“I’ve had messages from all over the world, I still can’t get my head around it.”
I get a lot of my inspiration from Instagram. I take inspiration from accounts like Annabel Maginnis, Nails by Emma, Nails by Janine and many other Glitterbels ambassadors, as they’re all amazing!
I also take inspiration from Charli Jepson, Jennie Padbury, and Storme-Susan Hargreaves – these are some of the girls that I work with, and they’re amazing at throwing me ideas. None of them get enough credit for how good they are both nails and work ethic wise.
Social media helps more people see my work without having to directly message them pictures. Potential clients can scroll down and see any ideas for their nails. I made my TikTok in the first lockdown of 2020. I did a few videos and nothing really came of it until the beginning of this year when I was bored in the following lockdown, so I decided to give it another go, and my video blew up overnight!
I’m now on 8.5 million views on just one single video. I’ve gained a few clients from them noticing it and I have other nail techs and people in training messaging me for advice, which is so good as I felt like I didn’t have that support when I first trained.
In the future I hope to have a very successful nail career. I’m already working alongside my favourite brand, Glitterbels, so becoming a Glitterbels ambassador was my goal for 2021, and it happened only two months in. I would be interested in teaching future nail techs as I want to give people the advice and help I didn’t receive through my training.
I would also love to challenge the stereotypes on being a nail tech, as when I first told people I did beauty, I did get a lot of noses being turned up. I’m earning more than a lot of my friends who are in other jobs that are thought to be successful, I’m being noticed by amazing brands and I’m only at the beginning of my career! I can’t wait to see where I am in 10 years – hopefully still with my team at the beauty factory.
