Swanky Malone Downtown

She hadn't been to a salon in years.

Grown-out length, no real shape, and — critically — trust to place in someone new after a long time away. She chose me after seeing my work on socials, and honestly, that's not something I take lightly 🤍

We landed on a shaggy layered cut. But before I picked up a pair of scissors, my biggest question was this — how are you planning to style it at home?

That answer shapes the whole cut. What works in a chair with a stylist and product means nothing if it's unmanageable on a Tuesday morning at 7am.

Turns out she's brilliant with overnight curls — so I built the cut around that routine, and sent her home with a small but proper styling kit to keep it working between appointments:

✨ Authentic Beauty Concept Amplify Mousse — mid-lengths and ends
✨ Nymph Salt Spray — lightweight root volume and bang control
✨ Solid Pomade — finishing, frizz control, separation

She left absolutely loving it — and I loved being trusted with it.

If it's been a while since you booked a proper appointment, this is your reminder that a good stylist meets you exactly where you are 🤍

Joana came to me growing out chemical straightening — and you can see it clearly in the reel. Two completely different textures on one head of hair, and a client who was ready to reconnect with her natural curls after years apart from them.

The challenge? She wanted a cut that works when she wears it curly and when she wears it straight. Two versions of the same haircut, effectively.

So I adapted her vision — customising the shape to sit beautifully whichever way she chooses to style it, and cutting into her natural texture rather than fighting against it 🤍

The result — a very happy client, and a cut that finally works with both sides of her hair.

If you've been growing out chemical straightening (or any older texture treatment) and you're looking for a stylist who understands the in-between phase, consider this your sign ✨

We filmed this with Annie a week or so before she knew she'd be moving to Bristol — which is the only reason we're sharing it. Nobody says this kind of thing about their salon as a leaving speech.

When Annie joined us, the two of us sat down and built a plan around where she wanted to get to. Not where we needed her to be. What she wanted to be known for, which skills she wanted next, how fast she wanted to go. And then we rewrote it, over and over, as we went along and got better and worked out what she actually enjoyed. Every decision along the way was hers. We just provided the security :)

That's what she talks about here. She also talks about the room itself — that everyone at Swanky Malone specialises in something different, so nobody's competing, and there's always someone who knows the answer.

We've said for years that being self-employed shouldn't mean being on your own. It's a much better thing to hear from a stylist than from us.

Thank you for everything, Annie. Bristol are very lucky. ❤️

Annie's moving to Bristol.

"Unfortunate but fortunate, depending on how you look at it" — her words, and she's got it exactly right. We're gutted, and we're made up for her.

She's been part of this place since January but feels like forever, and she leaves it as a stylist with her own following, her own style and her own name behind the chair. Bristol don't know how lucky they are.

Her last day with us is 13th August — if you want to sit in her chair one more time, get booked in.

❤️

We asked Lauren: if your clients were a playlist, what would they sound like?

"Aussie beachy vibes."

And honestly? That's exactly the energy of her chair 🤍

Working next to her every day, I see it play out — calm, unhurried, properly relaxed. Her clients settle in the moment they sit down. There's no rush, no chatter for chatter's sake, just genuinely lovely appointments and colour work that lives in that same easy space. Sun-kissed blondes. Effortless balayage. Cuts that feel like the person is finally being met, not performed at.

Lauren spent time in Australia early in her career — you can feel that influence in everything she does now. The beachy vibe isn't a reference. It's who she is.

If that's the kind of appointment you've been looking for, she's currently taking new clients ✨ Find her at 🤍

Not over this transformation yet 😍

Pixie Dreams

A client asked Annie for a "boy" haircut. Her answer has stayed with me ever since.

"I don't make it a boy haircut. You do. It's a haircut. How you wear it makes it what it is."

Society genders haircuts. Annie's whole practice pushes back on that — because a haircut is a shape, and shapes don't have a gender. What makes a cut "masculine" or "feminine" is context, styling, and the person carrying it. Not the scissors.

This is what she means when she says her chair is a safe space for everyone. It isn't a slogan. It's a working philosophy 🖤

Annie is a proud Safe Space Liverpool stylist, and she's currently taking new clients. Find her at 🖤

The most ridiculous colour request Lauren gets? 🫣

Black box dye → platinum blonde. In one appointment.

Every colourist reading this just sighed in unison 😂 It's the appointment none of us can quite quote a price for, quite predict a length for, or quite promise a result for — because box dye lifts inconsistently, platinum is the most demanding shade to achieve safely, and honestly? It's not always possible.

Sometimes your hair will let us. Sometimes it won't. That's the honest truth of it.

The good news is that a proper consultation will tell you what's actually possible with your specific hair — and often there's a beautiful direction that gets you most of the way there without cooking your ends.

If you've been dreaming of a big colour change, book a consultation first ✨ Find Lauren at 🤍