PHOTOS Bellissimo celebrates 25 years of its ‘fabulous journey’ in business

Bellissimo Limerick celebrates 25 years in business in Limerick City and has changed many lives as it developed as an integral part of the city’s community. Picture: Richard Lynch/ilovelimerick

Bellissimo celebrates 25 years of its ‘fabulous journey’ in business and the much-loved salon is showing no signs of slowing down

Coco Chanel once said, “A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life,” and Bellissimo, celebrating 25 years in business in Limerick City has changed many lives as it developed as an integral part of the city’s community by sharing their talent and passion with their customers.

A quarter of a century in, and the much-loved salon is showing no signs of slowing down as the now iconic building overlooking the Shannon Bridge has become a symbol of success in the city.

Reflecting on when it all began, Darragh Curtin, who has been at the helm of Bellissimo for almost twenty-five years, told I Love Limerick, “If you go back to when we began, we had the coffee house upstairs when we opened, the Euro wasn’t in circulation, we were in pounds and pence. Customers smoked upstairs in the coffee house, there were no YouTubers, there were no hashtags, there were no smartphones. It has been a journey.”

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Part of the store’s key to success is its staff, and Darragh says his favourite part of the Bellissimo journey has been the people involved, be that the friendly staff, some of which have been with the company for more than two decades, or the customers old and new who are greeted at the Bellissimo doors.

He said, “I have people who are here with me 23 and 24 years, and I’ve had people who’ve been working with me and then have left and come back and we’re all connected. I just love that side of it, having provided the platform that Bellissimo has been to connect so many people, staff and customers. We love our clients. We love them. We love our people.”

Having opened in Limerick in 1999, Bellissimo has continually evolved and grown over the years and they provide a wide range of services, including hair, nails, body care, beauty, and cosmetics.

They have a spacious open-plan nail studio, which accommodates 15 people at any given time. They have private treatment rooms for providing massage treatments and waxing, facials, laser treatments, microdermabrasion and more. Their makeup Makeover Studio is equipped with 12 makeup stations and is ideal for bridal/hen parties.

Speaking about Bellissimo’s salon services, Jenny said, “Our team has a wealth of experience, I’m so proud to work side by side with these people. We are deeply committed to training; from our most experienced senior stylist, to the junior who’s just beginning their journey with us  – our training is never done.

“This industry is constantly evolving, so it’s our job to keep up with those changes. On the salon floor, we use the best products, we have a full range of Wella SP, Moroccan Oil and Color Wow. We take huge pride in what we deliver on the salon floor with our colours, our cuts, our styling, our extensions, everything. After you’ve had your hair done, you can pop upstairs to our beauty salon!”

The addition of Bellissimo Beauty upstairs makes it perfect for clients to have all of their beauty treatments taken care of in one place, Yvonne explained, “Here in Bellissimo Beauty we offer a wide range of services from manicures and pedicures in our extensive nail salon to shellac. We do spray tans, waxing, facials and we do advanced treatments like laser and micro-needling. We’ve introduced a very exciting new treatment called LumInfusion by Dermalogica, which is a very advanced exfoliating service, so basically you leave your treatment glowing!”

The Academy offers a full-time course where the students do a mix of practical and theory-based assignments throughout the year. The course includes hairdressing theory, customer care, blow-drying, dressing hair, up-styling, colour, cutting and perming. The course is suitable for individuals who wish to pursue a career in hairdressing. The Academy now has past students working successfully all over the world.

Bellissimo is an international award-winning hair and beauty salon. Bellissimo Limerick’s professional beauty therapists and outstanding stylist team have been called on regularly to work on hair and makeup for television programmes, for well-known Irish personalities, and for high-profile fashion shows.

Providing its one-stop-shop for your hair and beauty needs, Bellissimo has adapted its services over the 25 years to stay a cut above to keep their loyal following of customers and catering to new clients. Vidal Sassoon once said that “to sculpt a head of hair with scissors is an art form”, and Bellissimo is a master of the arts.

Pictures: Richard Lynch/ilovelimerick