News

Esthetics Graduate Michelle Ambrosone, Skincare Superstar. “Patients aren’t coming in for a treatment. They’re coming in to change their lives.”

Dr Frances Jang is a dermatological superstar. When magazines like Fashion or Elle Canada, or broadcasters like CTV News need expert advice, Dr Jang is the person they speak to. When she’s not sharing her extensive knowledge with the world, Dr Jang runs a private practice with plastic surgeon Dr Nick Carr: Vancouver’s most prestigious cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery clinic, Skinworks. 

Blanche Macdonald Esthetics graduate Michelle Ambrosone is a key member of the Skinworks team. She’s been a Laser Technician there for the past six years, taking her position at the clinic straight after completing her program at Canada’s top Esthetics School.

“I started researching jobs before I graduated from Blanche Macdonald,” recalls Michelle. “I wanted to start working right away, so I literally went through the phone book calling every doctor asking if they hired estheticians. I was pretty motivated. It was actually one of my instructors, Erin Grimble, who suggested contacting Dr Jang. She ended up being the one.”

Esthetics Graduate Simona Gozner: From Dreams to Director

Hollywood doesn’t make biopics on estheticians yet. There are still a few athletes, revolutionaries and rock stars to tick off the list first. When they do get to estheticians however, they’ll probably begin with Blanche Macdonald graduate Simona Gozner.

Twenty years ago she was a refugee in a foreign land. Now, after a triumphal career, topped with two years as Western Canada’s Business Development Manager for Nordic Selfcare Institute, Simona is returning to the school as Director of Esthetics.

Simona’s incredible story begins in 1989 in her native Romania with the violent overthrow of the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu.

“I was working for a fashion company, drawing patterns and helping with the collections,” she recalls. “I wanted to be a doctor but when the revolution happened everything changed. I went to Switzerland as a refugee in 1990. I had to learn German. I did odd jobs. It wasn’t easy, but it makes you stronger. In January 1993 my refugee status was declined and I had to go back to Romania.”

Two years later, married and mother to a nine month-old son, Simona braced herself for another momentous upheaval. Her family’s immigration papers had come through, and they were moving to Vancouver, Canada.

Esthetics Graduate Jessica Rouse, salon owner, waxes Montana's Wilderness at The Grizzly Bare

Think of the American state of Montana. You’re most likely conjuring up images of rugged mountains and rugged people with fishing rods and hunting rifles in their hands, enjoying the outdoor life in one of the United States’ few remaining wildernesses.

They may breed people rough and ready in Montana, but that doesn’t mean they don’t like feeling good about themselves. That’s the logic that’s turning Blanche Macdonald esthetics graduate Jessica Rouse’s waxing salon, The Grizzly Bare, into a success story in the cosmopolitan town of Missoula, home of the University of Montana.

"Missoula is a lot like Kamloops, British Columbia, which is where I grew up,” explains Jessica. “So it wasn’t that big of a change for me to move here. Montana is very much like BC. Snow in winter and hot in the summer, and we are surrounded by mountains. People are very freethinking and artistic here. It’s a very community-orientated place. And everybody is so friendly."

Jessica moved to the US to be with her American husband, but there will always be a small part of her heart in Vancouver, the city she loved even before she came to the Blanche Macdonald Centre.

“I moved to Vancouver five years before I went to Blanche Macdonald,” she explains. “I’d studied Fine Art at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, then I moved to Vancouver to take a photography course.”

Jessica grew up with two great passions – art and skincare. The opportunity to combine both brought her to Blanche Macdonald, Canada’s top Esthetics School.

Esthetics Graduate Kristie Thomas, Owner/Entrepreneur, Tastes the Fruits of Success at Cranberries Spa

It’s easy to miss Cranberries Spa. Tucked onto Robson Street directly opposite Vancouver’s colossal Central Library, it’s not a storefront that shouts about itself. It doesn’t have to. Cranberries is a spot Vancouverites in the know like to keep quiet about. They want it all for themselves. Because when the moment comes to take a break from Downtown Vancouver’s urban mania, they head to Cranberries and its owner, Blanche Macdonald Esthetics Graduate Kristie Thomas.

As a young entrepreneur running her own spa in the heart of Vancouver’s commercial district for the past five years, Kristie has had to rely on more than her skills as an esthetician. She’s needed to trust her business acumen too. Thankfully, she’s been blessed with both.

“I worked full time for four years before I opened Cranberries,” explains Kristie. “I worked in hair salons, a corporate spa and then this opportunity presented itself. Five years ago I was looking to move my career forward and heard there was a little spa for sale. I actually lived in this building, so I popped my head around the door, met the owner, and a few weeks later it was mine. It seemed like a really good idea.”

Opportunity knocked, Kristie answered and invited it in for an herbal tea and a manicure. That wouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that knew her. Kristie’s never been afraid to make strong decisions based on good advice and self-confidence. It’s what brought her to Canada’s top esthetics school in the first place.

Blanche Macdonald Nail Artistry Graduate Amy Nguyen, owner of Socialite Nails in White Rock, BC

BMC: How did you hear about the Blanche Macdonald Centre and why did you choose to study here?  

Amy: I first heard about the Blanche Macdonald Centre's Nail School through estheticians that had graduated from the program. I knew that spas handpicked Blanche Macdonald grads when they were looking for new staff, so it was a simple choice. 

BMC: Tell us about Socialite Nails. What inspired you to start your own business and what makes it unique?

Amy: The idea for Socialite Nails came to me when I was working as a fashion buyer for an upscale retail store. My travels to New York City inspired me to go into business for myself. I knew that there was a niche in the Vancouver market for something unique!

Socialite Nails is a loungy, sophisticated and luxurious nail lounge. Clients come to us to get professional services from creative and certified specialists. We’re all about bringing glamour back to the nail industry! We believe in building long term relationships with our clients and educating them on the health of their nails, not just the beauty of them.

BMC: What were some of the challenges you overcame when you were starting Socialite Nails?  

Amy: There were many. My first challenge was trying to open the store as quickly as I could. Dealing with contractors, especially being female, took me into new territory. The second issue was all the red tape that a new business has to go through with the City of Surrey. Then I had to market and advertise Socialite Nails in a recessionary market! Phew.

Sister Act II : Louise Dannhauer and Ailish Wallace, co-owners of Spa Time

Esthetics / Spa Graduates
Co-Owners of Spa Time, Tsawwassen, BC

The motto at Spa Time is "Replenish what time takes away from you", printed in delicate silver brush script across their tea-green gift bags. Sitting in the softly-lit waiting room on plush chairs while a gentle piano melody floats in from the reception area, one can understand why the people of sunny Tsawwassen, BC go to Spa Time to put their busy lives on the backburner and receive quality treatment. Sister owners Louise Dannhaur and Ailish Wallace are masters of the art of stopping time for the purpose of relaxation, and with the introduction of a new 1,500 square foot location, larger staff and wider range of esthetics treatments, they just keep getting better at it.

"We’ve kept all of our décor ideas and colours and themes all pretty much the same, but we’ve added a lot of new services," says Louise. "Microdermabrasion, LED, photo facials, and we now incorporate all different sorts of body wraps. We do gel nails now, too, which we never did before."

KEIKO MATSUI 松井桂子 - Owner of Glam Nail Studio

Nail Parlour Graduate
Owner of Glam Nail Studio - Richmond BC

Keiko Matsui graduated from Blanche Macdonald’s Nail School and established K's Mobile Nail Bar as a creative outlet while on maternity leave from her job at a local spa. In the years that followed, the demand for Matsui’s Japanese-style 3D nail art was so high that in 2008 she opened Glam Nail Studio in Richmond, BC in order to serve her large clientele. Matsui is also an award-winning nail artist, achieving third place for her design at the 2009 Nailpro World Competition in Las Vegas.

BMC: What was the inspiration behind this spectacular 3D nail art design?

KM: The theme for this 3D nail art design was "Prehistoric". We may tend to associate prehistoric era with rather dark colors such as brown. I wanted to use bright colors in this nail art, since my profession is to handle various colors. The design idea just came out very spontaneously.

Carla Sage, Pre-Opening Spa Director for Park Hyatt in Beijing

Esthetics/Spa Therapy Graduate
Pre-Opening Spa Director for the first Park Hyatt Spa and Wellness Centre in China

As a Pre-Opening Spa Director, Carla Sage is honored to have been the leader driving the Spa, Wellness and Fitness areas for the first Park Hyatt Spa and Wellness Centre in China. Carla has also lent her expertise as a consultant to various spas in the Caribbean and Central America. With a well stamped passport at the ready, Carla’s passion for Spa Therapy knows no bounds!

Susan Turner, Owner of The Garden Spa

Esthetics/SPA Therapy Graduate
Nominated for the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce 2008 Business Excellence Award - Vancouver, Canada

BMC: What have you been doing after graduating from Blanche Macdonald Centre's Esthetician School?

ST: I started my career at Shibui Skin Care, in White Rock. The first year was focused on learning spa flow. Each spa delivers their brand of esthetics. Watching, and learning from other staff and management was a tremendous help!

After settling into spa flow, my focus was to develop different types of services for clients as well as offer more variety of skill sets to my employer.

This included relaxation arts like Holistic Foot Reflexology (Pacific School of Reflexology), Chinese Massage for Pain Relief (Kwantlen Continuing Education) and Warm Stone Therapy (Ambianz).

Taking ownership of The Garden Spa meant risk. But I was ready to try! I went to Denver and took Strategies, a business development course designed for spas. Over the next few years, I kept trying different things - looking for ways to reflect my values into the business in a practical way.

High Touch to High Tech

NEW - EXPANDED 1100 hour Full time ESTHETICS / SPA THERAPY DIPLOMA PROGRAM

They say it’s a Revolution

Once, esthetics training focused on the conventional – solid, concrete theoretical curricula with a strict emphasis on repetitive practical cosmetic massage movements and a limited array of beauty services. Not any more. In the last decade, Esthetics training and its related services have evolved, transitioned and morphed into every form, function and fashion imaginable.

Whether it’s Spa Fusion, Eco Culture or Global Sampling, clients can now cross the globe to an exotic multi-million dollar locale and indulge in the region’s indigenous treatments or pare things down to its simplest elements with the casual comfort and intimacy of the neighbourhood day spa. Familiarity can breed content.

Moving onto to a whole new lexicon, the "High Spa IQ" consumer assimilates beauty terminology with science. With a new generation of skincare products that advocate DNA repair that improves the skin’s appearance from the outside in, to non-invasive breakthrough technology using various levels of light energy, the language of beauty has changed. Whether it’s our everyday vernacular, Webster’s Dictionary or Wikipedia, terminology such as micro-dermabrasion, photorejuvenation, non-ablative resurfacing, or treatments of retox, detox to Botox, it’s all become so common place.

Interpretation, translation and comprehension – what does it all mean? It means that as an Esthetics professional, you have choice: endless, infinite choice. It means that as you make this commitment to yourself, you become the heroine or hero of this journey and the author of your own story. It all begins with you and it all ends with us; with all of us who will support you along the way. Here, at Blanche Macdonald.