It’s no real surprise that the residents of Tamborine Mountain share in its natural beauty, reflecting the stunning environment around them. But beauty takes work, and the clinical environment of the typical beauty salon might not be for everyone. At least, so Corissa Phillips thinks, which is why since March the mountain has been home to Cowgirl Bliss Beauty Salon, an alternative option for those with the rural mountain spirit to feel comfortable as she helps them match the beauty of the outside to the inside. Corissa might have just started her journey on the mountain, but she’s well versed in her art, and has more than a few stories to share with us today.

by Kyle Hitchmough

How did Cowgirl Bliss Beauty Salon get started?

I lost my job as a beauty therapist because of COVID so I started working in my backyard in a granny flat doing brows and Brazillians, and then after a year I moved to Jimboomba but I got broken into twice in three weeks. I found this location in March and I’ve been here ever since!

For those who might not be familiar, can you explain what it is you offer here?

We’re pretty much a full service salon, so we do all things body waxing, male and female. We do cosmetic tattooing, facials, spray tans, and I’m also a brow specialist.

Where does the name come from?

I ride horses, stables are my happy place. Being in a beauty salon is normally a sterile, white walls, white jacket environment, not very inviting. When I opened a salon, I also wanted it to be my happy place, and I wanted to make it really authentic to me and more inviting to other people as well! My friend and I were out on a trail ride one day. She said “you should call it Cowgirl Bliss, since it’s a salon where they come in and relax, and you’re a cowgirl!” I said I wasn’t, but it kind of stuck!

Are there any specific brands or products you use or sell here?

We stock EvenSkin in here, which is a skincare brand that is vegan, cruelty-free, organic and Australian-made. We also stock CPR which is for hair. It’s also really good with natural ingredients. There’s also all the things that we use for our brows, but that’s top secret!

What are the most popular treatments you provide?

There are two that are pretty much neck-in-neck. The first one is brow lamination, where we change the structure of the hair with a chemical formula to make the brows look fuller. The other is Brazilians. Female Brazilians are my most popular. I specialised in Brazilians for about seven years. Once you get good at it, it becomes quite a popular service!

Can you explain cosmetic tattooing?

It’s a tattoo that we focus on the shapes of brows, eyeliner, lip gloss… My tattoo makes it look like you’ve been tinted. So when you get your brows done and they’re nice and tinted, the tattoo looks like that. It doesn’t wash away, it’s semi-permanent so it will fade away over the years, and then you can get it refreshed if you like. Some people may have some scarring in their brow or on their lip, we can go over it with a little bit of pigment to get that fuller look without them feeling like they have to get up in the morning and spend a lot of time putting a lot of makeup on.

Have you noticed any beauty trends in the area?

Facials come in waves with the seasons. I only opened my store up here in March, so I don’t know if there’s typically trends yet. I have heard from other people in the area that there are a few beauty salons in the area but they’re more spa-like. I’m a little bit more of an express bar. You come in, you get your stuff done, and you go. It’s not relaxation for two hours. I’m just trying to let people know that I’m here. The other salons have great people and they do great services, but a lot of their services aren’t what I do here.

People often say that hairdressers are like counsellors for their clients. As a beauty therapist, do you find the same is true for your industry?

I don’t think it’s being a counsellor, I’m not a counsellor in any way, but it’s being personal and listening to the client and making them feel a little bit better. If someone walks in having a bad day and I do their brows, they leave happy because they feel great about themselves again. It’s a happy place in here. You can kick people out of that downer bubble that they’re in.

Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the Tamborine Mountain area and community?

I just live down at the bottom of the mountain. I do love it up here. If you look out the window it’s just a beautiful space. I love being up here, it’s very quiet-paced but I can see that there’s a younger generation now moving up the mountain as well. The people I’ve met have been very lovely, very inviting.

Do you have a favourite thing to do on the mountain?

I do love the Willow & Sage café upstairs! I love the lookout, I bring the kids up there to have a picnic quite a lot.

What do you think Cowgirl Bliss really provides to the area?

Self-care. My services, the express body waxing and that kind of stuff, I don’t feel that there are a lot of salons around here that do that kind of thing. You’d have needed to go to Browns Plains or the Gold Coast. I feel like I fit in for people who don’t travel as much. It’s an inviting salon, I feel that anyone and everyone who comes in feels welcomed, loved, and cared for.

What do you enjoy most about doing this?

All the different clients from all walks of life who come in here! A couple of months ago, my dog got bitten by a tick, and I was talking to a client about it. She turned out to be a pest controller, and she came and treated my yard! I just have such a beautiful range of clients and we all look after each other. That makes me so excited. To meet new people every day, find out what they do, what they love, what drives them, and then build that relationship and that friendship makes me so happy. We’re all cowgirls at heart!

What’s been your most memorable moment in your time here?

There was a time last week where I went at 5am, birthed a foal, came to work, did a brow, a male body waxing, a cosmetic tattooing, and then finished up with a spray tan at 8pm! It was a crazy day!

Cowgirl Bliss Beauty Salon
23-39 SCHOOL RD, TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN QLD 4272

We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, send your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.