THE BILLIONAIRE BEAUTY CLUB Meet the beauticians living their best life

With the mortgage on the mansion paid off and enough fast cars in the garage to open a showroom, what does one spend the rest of one’s millions on? Looking hot, that’s what…

Picture this: a festive feast in the Hollywood Hills, and you’re enjoying an intimate get-together with 30 other people. On one side of you sits a global singing superstar, on the other, an international DJ. And directly opposite you, one of the biggest actors in the business, who high-fives you when you admit your favourite film of his went straight to DVD release. The following day, you all fly to Colorado (by private jet, of course) for a month-long ski trip, staying in a luxury hotel nestled at the base of the snow-sprinkled Aspen Mountain, hired out in its entirety for your group. So how does a 25-year-old girl from south-west London earn her place on this star-studded trip of a lifetime? She becomes a beautician. “Trips like this are par for the course,” says Charlie McCorry, founder of Perfect 10 Black Label, a company dedicated to delivering around-the-world beauty treatments to the rich and

famous. “I’ve taken private jets, sailed on super-yachts and even walked around a deserted Disneyland when it’s been closed for a client.”

So while the rest of us are treating ourselves to an annual facial and making the most of three-for-two offers in Boots, exactly how much money are the royals, socialites, celebrities and CEOs of this world spending to look as impressive as their bank balances? You’d have to ask the fleet of super-beauticians dispatched daily to pamper, polish, massage and wax them. “‘Budget’ isn’t a word that usually comes up in conversation with my clients,” admits Amanda Harrington, founder of premium beauty concierge InParlour. Their minimum call-out fee is £75 and the sky’s the limit, with a chock-a-block treatment list boasting £195 Jan Marini facials and £46 Chanel manicures. One of Harrington’s clients even flew a 50-strong team out to Italy to glam up a group of 30 friends for a party, setting them back a total of £65,000. It seems air miles are easily dismissed when it comes to the beauty needs of the next-level rich. Harrington once took two flights, one taxi and two boats to a private island off Santorini, just to give someone a spray tan before they joined Tom Hanks and friends on a yacht. The final cost to client? £4,500. “It’s not your average tan, though,” she adds with a smile. “We sculpt and shade the muscles using different tints and body brushes, it’s very popular for red-carpet events.”

Both beautypreneurs agree that they have social media in part to thank for a recent upsurge in people using their services. “We’ve supplied make-up artists for trips booked just to create Instagram portfolios,” McCorry tells us. “The client spends a week abroad having their photograph taken in various locations, with different hair and make-up looks, and that’s their social-media content sorted for the year – no filter needed. It can cost anything up to £7,000 for a seven-day trip.” And the make-up brands of choice? Charlotte Tilbury, Burberry, By Terry and beautifully packaged boutique brands such as Delilah. One client spent £45,000 on ‘fat-busting oils’ sold to her by a specialist doctor in Geneva, barely twitching when her therapist broke the news that they probably wouldn’t bust her fat. “Oh well, at least they smell nice,” was her blasé response. Then there was the extreme skier who chartered a helicopter to bring his masseuse to the top of a mountain for cramp, only to reveal it was just a practical joke when she got there. Money and a sense of humour, what

“‘Budget’ isn’t a word that usually comes up”

a catch. But like any job with perks, there’s an inevitable not-soglamorous side.“I once got flown to Texas to sit in a room on my own for a week,” says McCorry. “The client had forgotten they booked me. I also have a regular male client who gets long acrylics with nail art put on one foot,” she reveals. “I guess it’s some kind of fetish, but he pays for our respect and discretion.” It’s the word that comes up most when talking to these elite beauticians; discretion. But which other buzzwords should feature on the CV of a would-be billionaire’s beautician? “We tend to hire people who specialise in their field – sports massage or Pilates, for example,” say McCorry.“Our beauty therapists need at least an NVQ Level 6 and are ideally already well-travelled and bilingual.” Security checks are mandatory for therapists tending to royals, especially during turbulent political times.“My first trip was to Muscat for the rulers of Oman when I was only 22,” McCorry recalls. “I got escorted off the plane, put in the back of a car and didn’t even have to go through passport control – I panicked!” But despite her initial fears, McCorry describes a dreamy week that followed, giving the family massages and body treatments before being flown home on a private jet.

But people wanting to become a posh pamperer just so they can humblebrag on Instagram need not apply.“I hire a member of staff purely to vet my therapists’ socialmedia accounts,” Harrington tells us.“I would never post a photo on a private jet, [even] if you paid me £100,000. It’s disgusting to me.” Tell that to Liam Payne.

“Clients pay for our respect and discretion”