Reviewed: Jane Iredale's It Only Takes a Minute Workshop

Jane Iredale’s new It Only Takes a Minute Workshop teaches therapists to master 12 one-minute make-up looks. Amanda Pauley went along to try it out...

At a glance:
Course: It Only Takes a Minute Workshop
Location: iiaa, 12 Priestley Way, London, NW2 7AP
Duration: One day Price: £75+VAT
Open to: Anyone with make-up training who wants to refresh their skills and selling techniques.

Taking place at the International Institute for Anti-Ageing (iiaa) headquarters, the UK and Ireland distributor for Jane Iredale, the “It Only Takes a Minute Workshop” aims to help therapists and salon owners learn how to maximise the result of treatments by finishing them off with one of 12 make-up looks that can each be done in just one minute. My trainer for the day was Lavinia Orsi, who says these simple makeovers will “enhance the experience for clients as well as providing added value for the business in terms of new retail opportunities”.

I was one of five students in the class, a mix of high-street and home-based salon owners as well as one freelance therapist. The first hour was spent talking through the theory behind the It Only Takes a Minute campaign: how using mineral make-up on the skin post-treatment can actually help to protect it. Packed with SPF and antioxidants, as well as working as an anti-inflammatory to reduce redness, it’s great for clients who’d feel self-conscious leaving bare-faced. 

Beauty basics
The rest of the day was spent practising the 12 one-minute looks on one another. Before each look, Orsi explained which treatment it would work best with and the key products you would need, adding, “to sell the make-up you have to put it on people and you need to incorporate something new so they fall in love with a different product.” She then demonstrated the look in 60 seconds before answering questions.

A few of the looks stood out to the group as particularly good retail opportunities. For example, look one, Protect Me, uses a tinted moisturiser, powder SPF and facial spritz to create a light and even base while look 11, Undercover, uses a concealer to address redness around the brows, under-eye and upper lip areas. Both would be ideal at the end of a facial or facial waxing to reduce inflammation and add a touch of colour.

However, these makeovers aren’t restricted to the treatment room. Pucker Up, which is look eight and involves lip exfoliator and lip balm, could be done at the nail station as “you can match the client’s lips to their nail colour”, says Orsi, while look four, Total Definition, is a great addition to any brow treatment because therapists can use a concealer and brow kit to fill in brows and hide redness after waxing or threading.

Get the look
Although the looks were easy to do, many of us struggled to finish them in the one-minute timeframe. However, Orsi explained that whether we did the makeover in a minute or two minutes and 30 seconds it didn’t matter, as long as we were educating the client on their skin and using the Jane Iredale products in the salon that may usually just sit on the retail shelf.

I was genuinely impressed with Orsi’s knowledge and ability to tailor the course to each of our needs. Her tip about including the makeovers as part of the treatment, rather than an add-on, so clients experience the products before making their mind up about whether they want to invest in them is a great idea.

Check out all the latest courses happening in September on our Training Calendar.