Inside Small Businesses - Pure Brows & Beauty

On a miserable February afternoon, I sat down with Jess Bannister - founder of Pure Brows & Beauty in Tywardreath - for a glimpse behind the scenes of her serene, light-filled studio. Known locally for transforming faces and lifting spirits, Jess has created something truly special: a sanctuary where the emphasis is on natural beauty, gentle confidence, and that unmistakable Cornish warmth.

Rachel Roberts

For Jess, beauty begins with confidence, and a great pair of brows. “Eyebrows hold grudges,” Jess says with a knowing laugh, her eyes lighting up. It’s one of those delightful throwaway comments that’s also entirely true. Years of over-plucking in the 90s and early noughties, she explains, have left their mark. Literally. On a whole generation of brows. But here, in her calm, candle-scented studio, redemption awaits.

Pure Brows & Beauty isn’t your typical beauty salon. Nestled slightly off the beaten path in the heart of Tywardreath, the studio, inside Jess’s childhood home, a handsome Victorian property once run as a B&B by her parents, feels intimate, personal, and unexpectedly luxurious. There’s a sense of history to the space, but also new beginnings. “I love that people feel so relaxed, some even come in wearing pyjamas.” Jess laughs, “That’s exactly the atmosphere I wanted. Comfortable. Real. Unpretentious.”

Her focus is singular: the face. Jess specialises in treatments that accentuate its natural beauty, think microblading, semi-permanent brows, lip tattooing, lash lifts, and results-driven facials. “The face is the first thing people see,” she tells me, “And brows really do frame who we are. They give expression, personality, and confidence.”

Jess grew up in Polperro and Tywardreath, true-Cornish roots, and admits her path to business ownership wasn’t linear. She started studying beauty back in 1998, when treatments were simpler, and the industry was less defined. Her ambitions were global: a Level 4 qualification aimed at working on cruise ships and travelling the world.

But as she puts it, “life had other ideas.” After working in hospitality and a variety of customer-facing roles, she found herself thriving in an unexpected career, as an account manager for a professional haircare brand. She was good at it too, earning recognition as UK and Ireland Account Manager of the Year. Yet even in that corporate role, the common thread was there: a deep desire to help people feel good about themselves.

When she later trained as a yoga teacher, that connection between confidence, self-care and wellbeing became even clearer. Eventually, the pull back to beauty grew too strong to ignore. “It was the thing I kept circling back to,” she says. “I loved watching someone’s face light up after a treatment, seeing their energy shift. That never gets old.”

The rebirth of Pure Brows & Beauty came, like for so many small businesses, after the shake-up of COVID. Overnight, Jess and her husband, both self-employed, lost their incomes. “It was terrifying,” she admits. “I went out and took a job. And when things started to reopen after Covid, even while I was employed, I kept doing a bit of work for myself on the side. That spark never left.”

By September 2024, she was ready to take the full leap back into self-employment, supported by her husband and a newfound sense of courage. “It was scary,” she says frankly, “but it felt right. I realised that even the hard days are still mine. That’s what freedom feels like.”

Today, her days are spent balancing artistry and entrepreneurship. She describes the joy of handing clients the mirror after a PMU treatment, seeing them stunned by their reflection. “Sometimes they squeal, sometimes they cry. I get hugs, lots of hugs. It’s incredibly moving.”

Of course, there are tougher moments too: spreadsheets, accounts, the ebb and flow of seasonal bookings. Yet through it all, Jess insists that connection remains the heart of what she does. “People talk,” she says quietly. “About everything. Relationships, kids, real life. I think part of my job is just to listen. Sometimes they leave looking better but also feeling lighter. That’s the best result.” That same determination now shapes the next chapter of her business.

Now firmly re-established, 2026 marks a year of expansion for Jess. She’s converting an outbuilding beside the current studio into a larger space, with help from her husband, who runs a property improvement business, and has plans to welcome other like-minded practitioners into what will become a holistic, collaborative hub.

Jess is also introducing new treatments, including lip tattooing this spring, and is already envisioning the energy of a small collective. “I want it to be about care, not competition,” she says.

And because she can’t resist variety, Jess also spends a day each week working at Bohème (part of the Salt Society family), the chic boutique that featured in the very first Inside Small Business story. She describes the decision as those serendipitous opportunities that happen when two like-minded women get chatting. Harriet mentioned she was looking for someone to join the team one day a week, and when she jokingly added there was a staff discount on clothes, Jess laughed and said, “Go on then!” She loves fashion and the joy of helping people feel good in what they wear, so the role felt like a natural extension of everything she does in the salon, another space to connect, uplift, and empower.

Pure Brows & Beauty is more than a studio; it’s part of a story about self-belief, resilience, and quiet transformation. Jess’s three words for her business? Authentic. Restorative. Empowering.

To explore Jess’s treatments and see her work, visit Pure Brows & Beauty online or find her on Instagram. Because sometimes, beauty isn’t about making something new, it’s about rediscovering what’s already there.