A broken nail. A blowout gone bad. Eyebrows in need of an ASAP shaping. Every woman has endured at least one of these beauty mishaps, which often have a knack for happening when time is short.
It was this series of unfortunate events that led Kathleen Jennings, a self-confessed makeup addict, to create the BeautyNow app. Jennings likens it to Open Table for beauty appointments.
The new app includes 4,500 salons and spas across the United States and allows you to select a service, schedule an appointment based on your location and confirm the appointment.
“I came out of the womb thinking about makeup. I can talk about skincare all day long. I’m like Rain Man for makeup."
“I was sitting on the couch with my husband and I asked him, "Why don’t that have an Open Table for manis and blowouts?' I did research and found nobody in the area was doing it, so I thought it might as well be me,” Jennings says.
Like many who have aha app ideas, Jennings had another career and no tech industry experience, but with an interest in beauty dating back to childhood, she started researching and learning what women really want in a beauty reservation app.
BeautyNow books appointments based on geographic location, so if you want a mani after work or a massage on a trip, plug in the zip code for a selection of spas and salons offering your requested service. Jennings went door-to-door, curating the list of spas and salons for the app and even consulted with fellow startup app developers like Jason Kaminsky of the recently launched WorthIt.co app for direction.
“What’s really good about starting an app here in Houston, is how we trade information and help each other,” Jennings says. “There’s a great infrastructure here and strong camaraderie within the community.”
As an attorney, Jennings could only feed her beauty addiction during off hours, but with the development of her BeautyNow blog, she’s taking on the role of beauty editor very seriously, but all in good fun.
“I came out of the womb thinking about makeup. I can talk about skincare all day long. I’m like Rain Man for makeup,” Jennings says.
With that in mind, Jennings offered some of her favorite services from the BeautyNow app.
She likes Drybar for blowouts, had a great pedicure at Arena Salon and Day Spa and gives Fiori Spa high marks for an overall spa experience. For those seeking to simplify their summer beauty routine, Jennings suggests lash tinting, eyelash extensions or a good pore cleansing facial to unclog the skin of sunscreen, makeup and pollution.
The BeautyNow app works at spas and salons across the country.
