Polly Vincent

For Polly Vincent, being her own woman, calling the shots and having her own financial freedom has always been the driving force behind her career success.

Polly, 35, began her career working in permanent makeup (PMU) in 2013 after 9 years working as a beauty therapist in luxury spas and salons across the world.

Now 10 years later, Polly runs Enhance Cosmetic Clinic in Pakefield, Lowestoft, a business which has gone from strength to strength and continues to grow.

With more than 3,000 clients, Polly is considered an expert within the permanent makeup industry, employing five PMU artists and running her very own BIOTEK recognised training academy.

“In any business when you are in those early stages, things can feel unsettled, but with persistence and passion anything is achievable,” she said.

Polly, who lives in Lowestoft, says her father, who worked as a wedding photographer, was a major influence on her determination to succeed.

“My dad was self employed and ran his own business for many years, so from a young age I remember watching my father being his own boss and managing his own company. He would always take time off when he needed, however, we would always see him working long days and weekends. So, I always had that in me to understand what it takes to run a business.”

Polly is the first female in her family to have brought her own property, she has a passion for fashion with an enviable walk in wardrobe filled with designer clothes, bags and shoes that most women could only dream of.

“The weirdest thing that I always did was manifest stuff. When I was little, I remember going to the hairdresser with my mum. I was looking in Vogue magazine and saw a picture of a lady with a Dior handbag; I was like, ‘Mum, look’, and she said, ’Those bags are very expensive, you will have to work hard to afford one of those’, and I thought, ‘Yes, I will’, and now I’ve got 10!”

Although Polly likes the finer things in life she admits she’s not precious about things and likes to share her success with her close friends, colleagues and family.

“I am very generous. I am always treating everybody and I think that’s important to do, if it feels right for you. I like to give people things that I know that they might not treat themselves too – but I know they are worth it.”

As a female-owned and run business, Polly is an advocate of empowering women in work, supporting businesses across the region and employing locally.

“I have five women who work for me whom I enjoy watching grow and building our working relationship with. Enabling women to fulfil their potential of being able to have their own financial freedom is close to my heart. Most of the staff at the clinic have their own families and I never want to shy away from employing women who can only commit to two days a week. Every woman deserves a job, if they cannot come back to work full time, they still deserve to have a position here.”

Polly hopes her commitment to support women in work will inspire more young women to set up their own business.

After 10 years working as a permanent makeup artist Polly has developed a close relationship with many of her clients and she prides herself on offering a luxury service with a focus on making women feel good focussing on natural beauty enhancements.

“I try to shy away from trends, everyone plucked their eyebrows out in the 90s, which is fabulous as that’s my bread and butter these days! However, I like to keep my work very natural. I don’t mind being flirty with new trends, but I don’t do the crazy eyebrows.

“People come to me, and often it’s not about reinventing themselves – it’s about giving others back what they used to have. I like to give people that idea of colour, so that they wake up feeling beautiful everyday, however, if they need that little extra, they can always add conventional makeup of an evening. I often get ladies who say I used to have beautiful eyebrows or rosy lips, and I say you can have those back.”

In her time working in PMU Polly has not only seen her business grow but also advancements in the treatments available.

“10 years ago there were some really bad PMU treatments out there. I trained in London and at the time myself and other colleagues were pioneering PMU, as what we were initially taught was so primitive and basic. It was like a lip-line, harsh brows and a simple line through the eyes. Since then, the technology, pigments and machines have really improved.

“At the clinic we offer a full range of facial aesthetics alongside permanent makeup, including HydraFacial, CACI non-surgical facials, medical skin peels, anti-wrinkle injections, dermal and lip fillers, and areola medical tattooing. Plus some exciting new must have treatments in the pipe line.

“What’s really popular right how is skincare, we are seeing so many clients taking control of the ageing process with their home products and investing in regular facials.’’

With strong links to award-winning London academies across the UK, Polly continually travels to update and renew her training to ensure her clients are consistently offered services at the very forefront of permanent makeup.

So what’s next for Polly? “I feel like I have done more than I thought I ever could. I always knew PMU was a big thing but I never really knew how far it would really go. A clinic in London is on the horizon, as well as new treatments and we have more advanced training coming up,” she said.

Polly and her team love to welcome new clients and are able to offer a free consultation by appointment.

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Enhance Cosmetic Clinic

4 Ashhurst Place, Pakefield,
Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 7AE

01502 561758

Instagram: @enhance_cosmetic_clinic

www.pollyvincent.co.uk