Vanitystudios Reviews

Vanity Studio s won t style Afro hairUnfortunately my experience of Vanity Studios was marred by one hairstylists refusal to do my hair which was part of the package because my hair had a small amount of moisture in it and because she had burnt a client s hair who had similar hair to mine I was made to style my own hair for the photoshoot which wasn t ideal for a few reasons it was my birthday and I paid Vanity Studios to be somewhat pampered I had attended the shoot believing that I was going to receive hair and make up treatment by professionals not an amateur who has stage fright and my two young children being around meant I had to rush my own just as I would have at home I could have taken my time at home and styled my hair properly The hairstylist had according to colleagues burnt a client s hair before who was also of Nubian African origin and therefore had soft voluminous and fine tight curls just like me I was told plainly that through fear of not wanting to burn my hair I would be left to my own devices and so I had to pick up the straighteners that had been left in front of me When I did I was shocked to see how high the heat was - I turned down the heat which had been put to the highest temperature by the hairstylist and was able to style my hair without burning it perfectly fine As I did this I overheard and could see a number of Vanity Studios employees gathered by the bar behind me speaking in audible but hushed tones about it being better for me to fry my hair than for them as they didn t want to take the responsibility of any damage My daughter who is of mixed race Caucasian and Nubian African heritage and has looser curls than I do she was playing around and the Vanity Studios make up artist said I love your hair Emphasis was placed on your and it was a clear sign that my hair was not to favoured in that environment At that precise moment I nearly burst into tears I felt like a circus freak being watched as the staff members talked about me The idea that my daughters noticeably different hair type was favoured and the hairstylists refusal to style my hair which isn t hard to style in the least was an astonishing form of racial discrimination that I had not prepared myself for Being laughed at and told to fry my own hair was heart-breaking My husband and I had travelled across town with our two toddler children and so turning to go home as soon as we had arrived felt like a waste and so I held my tears styled my hair and got on with the day but the memory of the experience has surely put me off the idea of having my photos taken at such a place as Vanity Studios who clearly have preferences for particular hair types This was just another experience of the kind of micro-aggressions that women of Nubian African origin face in the world of Fashion Hair and Beauty in the UK Hair and Beauty schools need to do better training and should not be giving out certificates to people who are unable to be professional polite and skilled at what they do Studios such as Vanity Studios will do well to remind their staff that their living is made possible by clients like me who can afford to pay for their high-priced packages and to drive away such business on the grounds of race or any kind of difference is foolish On a lighter note the photographer we had was amazing and the viewer we had who helped us pick out pictures was very helpful and generous too

My experience with Vanity Studio has been a very stressful one to say the least however this was somewhat rectified by their lovely manager Mark below I outline my experience Firstly my friend and I were incorrectly sold a promotional deal - we were provided an offer of a package including makeup and hair professional photo shoots and a single free photo This promotional deal is supposed to be a one-time deal but we were mis-sold this deal twice On our first visit I told Courtney Allis the member of staff who greeted us the receptionist that we have two vouchers one to use at a later date and she basically dismissed the second voucher She explained that the deal is never supposed to be used twice I explained to her our situation but Courtney did not empathise with us at all and she still dismissed the second voucher As such I had to contact the manager Mark who confirmed that the deal was mis-sold but understood this was not our fault and agreed that it was fine for us to come a second time to have the same experience the first voucher offered us Mark CC d Courtney into the email which confirmed we could come back on the second voucher On our second visit Courtney was there again At the end of the visit when my friend and I went in the viewing gallery Angie was the member of staff attending to us who was quite an intimidating lady She insisted that the consultation was to be audio recorded even though we were given no prior notice of this After viewing the photos I explained to her the deal we had and she dismissed it I explained to her that Courtney was cc d into the email and showed her the email but she disregarded it She called Courtney during the consultation and Courtney said she did not remember the email and also agreed with Angie that the deal was basically not valid My friend and I had a very negative experience with both Angie and Courtney After this I again informed the manager Mark who was very empathetic He provided My friend and I with a free photo each as the deal offered and also an addition free photo for each of us This was lovely of Mark and I am very greatful for the excellent service he has offered us After our photoshoot our deposit was supposed to be transferred back to us and Courtney was the person who deals with this It is supposed to be refunded a week after but this was delayed to up to two weeks On the first photoshoot the refund of the deposit was also delayed and again Courtney was the person who was supposed to process this but it seemed like I had to keep calling her to prompt her to do her job effectively This is probably the first time I have ever written a negative review for a company but I felt it necessary to express our true experience Regards Leanne and Kiran

At a bridal fair my sister was convinced into buying a 40 pound voucher for a photo shoot hair make up and one free photo Upon arrival we were welcomed very nicely with drinks and were quickly moved to hair and makeup Hair and makeup wasn t bad all the staff were very friendly and accommodating would say it was a little rushed but would expect that in 40 pounds for 3 people My friend had Andrew and thought he was AMAZING Nail polish range needs updating though all colours were very bright with one or two neutrals Moving on the actual photo shoot was very good photographer was very easy to work with and told you exactly what to doAfter the photo shoot lasted about 1 hour and 15 mins I believe we were taken uostairs where we got told about a promotional offer the offer being that if we gave 50 contact numbers over to them then we could have 50 pounds credit towards our photos and 5 makeup products At first we thought no but everything was so rushed ie before even agreeing the woman asked what phones we had and took our phones to download an app All so fast that you don t really know what s going on Following this we were taking into the viewing room where things turned worse The cheapest photo package is 295 for 6 pictures And apparently as a group you are not entitled to this package and the cheapest one is around 400 Initially we were told to go for the 900 pound package told that it s just 20 pounds per month split between the three of us Anyways we were given about 5 mins to discuss and we decided we would just buy 2 pictures but the lady then insisted we get the 295 package for 225 the deposit paid as that s gone anyways somehow we were sucked in and felt awful afterwards We did explain we were students and it was too much but the lady persisted final thing we asked for a few more minutes to discuss in private but were not given this either Ended up with 10 photos and 4 free gifts Side note the free gifts you could probably buy for under a fiver so don t be conned Overall good experience tainted by a very pressurised fast photo viewing experience

If you book solely through the website and know what you are paying for this probably fine and a 4-5 star service as staff were attentive and friendly The 2 stars reflect their sales techniques because sales people working to get sign ups in public spaces offer confused information and are - it s hard to avoid - deliberately misleading Our deposit better described as initial payment wasn t refundable after the shoot but the minimum package available was going to take up the entire 300 a taster package of just 6 digital photos and no prints None of this was clear in the sales pitch which presented an idea of some kind of special deal voucher and that we could purchase photos individually leaving the rest of the deposit refundable The basic 150 family package on the website for example was not presented to us as an option We were also pressured to attend in August or lose our deposit despite expressing our genuine concerns and fears around COVID and having to travel a fair distance on public transport with 2 children initial purchase was made in January By December we felt we just had to get it done and while there was sanitiser and temperature checks masks were not always worn by all staff while indoors and in the small rooms where you view the photos afterwards There was also very little ventilation and so there was still considerable risk involvedWe were eventually offered a 100 discount on the 495 after requesting the cheapest option and expressing our confusion meaning we came away with 13 digital photos for 395 If you are going as a family be aware that it s only really worth your time and effort if you are planning to spend some serious money 600 upwards - but the person pitching deals in the street is very unlikely to tell you that

I left vanity studios extremely upset The makeup was the best part and hair was alright but while the staff were all nice I had to wait an hour inbetween the shoot and the viewing where it looked like the ladies in front of me were taking a very leisurely time picking their photos so much so the girl behind me in the que had to leave i think they should hurry people up if theyre going to take over 45 minutes to do that it wasnt fair on the rest After that wait the photos werent very nice of me the photographer was nice and im not doubting his talent in general but I dont think he took into consideration I m overweight and most of the photos were really unflattering I really struggled to even pick 2 I liked He didnt ask me much about what i wanted to look like alot of moody arty shots and I just wanted to look happy for my 30th birthday i had to ask to have some smiling he insisted on moving my hair out of my face for every photo which I use to frame my face to make it look smaller because its so big resulting in every single photo looking unflattering I trusted the process at the time but i really wondered about that I think he tried to shoot me as if i was sample size and not all bodies and faces photograph the same I really think you should show more of the photos as you take them to people especially if theyre not typically model built I will say the person who saw me get upset james was very nice But overall I feel completely let down I ve never left a bad review in my life and feel abit guilty that I have but If you struggle with your body I don t recommend vanity studios I booked this to try and be brave and feel better about myself and to have a nice photo for my birthday and I left feeling so awful about myself and down 125 pounds for photos that make me upset

Where to begin on this very expensive experience firstly when purchasing these vip tickets my partner and I were told we d get unlimited complimentary cocktails hair makeup done and nails painted Once arriving the only beverage offered was water or juice I didn t like being lied to on that one considering I was looking forward to a couple cocktails to losen me up ready for the photoshoot Getting hair and makeup done felt very rushed I was quite shocked to see the amount of cheap makeup used before the shoot considering how expensive the experience is Same with the nail painting Both ladies were lovely but nothing like I imagined The photographer on the other hand was so warming and lovely he really knew how to make you feel comfortable if you arent camera friendly really brought both my partner and I out our shells When we were finishing up talking about packages my partner and I were hoping for our 2 complimentary photos and our deposits back 100 however that was no option with your deposits they expect you to use them to buy photos Now we told them we cannot afford it but they just keep pushing We had 84 photos to choose from and had to narrow down to 6 300 for 6 photos I was shocked It was a nice few hours but hardly worth your money I do rate the photographer though would be nice if you could hire him alone and do the makeup and hair yourself at home

So I came with my family after a friend of ours recommended us for a family shoot We had paid the 75 deposit which is fully refundable Everything was great We were greeted by a friendly person Rachel who gave us drinks talked to us and was very attentive Mine my mum and my sister s makeup was done very well and so was our hair mine is very short so not much needed to be done to it but my mum s hair looked beautiful The photographer Michelle was very direct with what she wanted for what background and the photos came out great All is well and good until we get to the viewing part of the session We chose the photos We also had a complimentary photo due to the voucher we had from recommendation We then get told their prices and bundles a photo is worth 50 EACH Mind you we had 100 photos which would have costed 5000 altogether The most expensive bundle was 2995 and the cheapest bundle was worth 295 OVERPRICED AND ABSOLUTELY NOT WORTH MAKING THE 1 HOUR JOURNEY BY CAR WE DID My family and I will not be returning and certainly not recommending this to anyone else It is a joke and a con which is a shame because the photoshoot and everything before it was VERY good

Had a lovely time at vanity studios until we were pressured into buying more photos A friend and I went with a discounted voucher which had 1 free photo She didn t really mentioned just having the one free photo as an option She pushed a for a sale of the smallest package which cost 295 She did a lot of quick maths on a calculator and made us feel we had an amazing deal This is far from the case We were two young girls who explained that actually we hadn t expected to be spending that amount of money and that we couldn t really afford it and she still carried on trying to sell She made my deal sound amazing at 200 but i had also paid a holding charge of 150 that I will not be receiving back I have ended up paying 35 pounds per photo which is not as discounted and she made it seem I paid on my credit card as I felt I had no other option ver dissapinting end as I know have lots of money I need to find and this fact looms over the day I really feel like I have been robbed I would actually be happy to send the photos back to get some of my money back I would NOT recommend I m very upset

Crazy money The actual photos were lovely and hair and make was good but I feel the price is crazy for a family shoot this is more for models and very rich people not your average family with a new baby

Bought VIP photo shoot as a birthday gift what a waste of money Package was supposed to include food and drink but no food or drink was offered on the day Pictures weren t anything special either