This year has been a hectic but very exciting year for Karen Betts. Not only did she enter 2015 with the acclaimed 2014 Natwest Every Woman of the Year award, she continued on her spree to win more awards, launched her own pigment range and travelled the world… to mention just a few things.
Alongside running a successful business which houses a number of flourishing brands, helping develop the next generation of permanent cosmetics artists, and delivering life-changing treatments to her clients, Karen also has many other things in the pipeline for 2016. But, before the New Year kicks in, we thought we’d have a round up of 2015, and share some of the main highlights…
January
Crowned the NatWest Every Woman of the Year 2014, just a few weeks before the start of 2015, Karen saw in the New Year with family and friends in Cape Verde. Karen said: “I feel very privileged to have won the award, and I am extremely passionate about being able to provide courses that shape and mentor people while driving them forward. There’s nothing like celebrating a win like that on a beach!’
Feb
For the past few years, Karen Betts Professional have taken great pride in exhibiting at Pro Beauty South; one of the leading beauty exhibitions in Europe, taking place in London. This year was no different as Karen and her Elite Trainers (Head Trainers at Karen’s Permanent Cosmetics Training Academy – Nouveau Contour UK), set up camp and carried out eyebrow, eyeliner and lip treatments via live demonstrations, to a number of clients who left feeling thrilled with their treatments.
March
Karen is extremely passionate about using her skills to help support a number of charities and carry out medical tattooing treatments, which help people regain their confidence. Karen regularly visits Jersey to perform breast restoration treatments on cancer patients at Jersey General Hospital, and in March returned to Jersey for one of her favourite clinics of the year to carry out treatments which have a special place in her heart.
April
In April Karen jetted off to Las Vegas to attend the 24th Annual Permanent Cosmetic Convention and was thrilled to return with the prestigious ‘Industry Leader Award 2015’ in hand. The award is for “those who exemplify the true spirit of membership, fellowship and generosity in the permanent cosmetics industry.” Go Karen!
May
Karen genuinely appreciates her Elite Team of Permanent Makeup Artists and Trainers and decided to treat them to a holiday in the beautiful island of Ibiza, to thank them for their hard work. Karen believes in rewarding her staff, and making them feel appreciated. Teams really do work better when everyone has fun and loves what they do!
June
After treating her Elite Team members to a holiday in May, Karen also celebrated hairdresser Rhea’s 21st birthday with the rest of her salon staff in Yorkshire, South Elmsall. This salon is where Karen’s empire first started. She still runs her Yorkshire clinics from this Salon and looks upon her employees as family.
July
July was an important month for Karen, and saw her officially launch her own permanent cosmetics pigment range; K.B Pro. With pigments named after some of Karen’s favourite global destinations, including Cape Verde and Ibiza, the pigment range has proved a phenomenal success, appreciated by clients and other artists in the industry, alike.
Karen also dazzled at the highly esteemed ‘Safety in Beauty’ White Party in London in July, winning another 2 awards; ‘An Honoured Jewel in the Industry’ Award and ‘Queen of the White’ Award for the most stylish outfit, to add to her collection. Who’s to say you can’t work hard and always look fabulous?
It doesn’t stop there; in July Karen supported the UK Lash convention, hosted by the World Association of Lash Artistry and development. She presented an educational seminar on Trichotillomania, to inspire and educate artists and teach them new techniques for their specialist clients.
August
At the end of August, Karen jetted off to Barbados to take part in a rally with her partner and friends. That’s right, Karen Betts in a rally car, co-driving around a tropical island. Ever the workaholic, Karen sneaked her ‘Barbados’ pigment with her for an impromptu photo shoot. And yes, another award was won by Karen for coming first at the rally!
September
September saw Karen support the Alopecia UK’s Big Weekend event, where she performed three complimentary treatments and gave away another as part of a prize draw on the day. The charity, Alopecia UK put on a fantastic event and Karen and the team were so pleased and honoured to be a part of it.
October
October was another busy month, where the Karen Betts Professional team attended yet another beauty show, Olympia Beauty in London. Going to beauty shows is a great way to interact with the public – there can never be too many!
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Karen and her team sported pink gloves and masks to raise awareness in the clinics.
Karen also exhibited at the Olympia Beauty show in London, and returned to Jersey for the second time, to perform breast restoration treatments to further support Breast Cancer Awareness month. It was an incredibly rewarding month for everyone involved.
November
In November, Karen helped one of her employees start her own business by selling her the salon she owned in salon Yorkshire, South Elmsall. Nikki Walker Slack has been employed by Karen for the past 15 years and is now the new salon owner.
The salon was where Karen first started her empire in 1994, as a hairdresser. Also living on site at the salon, in the above quarters, Karen ventured into permanent cosmetics after tattooing eyebrows on to a friend who had lost her eyebrows as a result of chemotherapy. Seeing how happy the new eyebrows had made her friend, she instantly decided that career in permanent makeup was the career for her, and the rest is history.
Congratulations to Nikki on her new business.
December
In December, it was time for Karen to hand over her Everywoman Award to this year’s deserving winner. Before handing over her award, Karen gave a passionate and inspiring speech on how thankful she was to have won the award, and what it meant for her and the business. She ended her speech with her favourite quote “If you can dream it you can do it!”
That concludes the year. another exciting year on the wonderful world of Karen Betts. As with last year, Karen would once again like to personally thank all of her staff, associates, clients, friends and family for their continued support.
Karen Betts and the team have many exciting things planned for 2016. So watch this space…
Happy New Year.