Blush Hair & Beauty www.blush-hair.co.uk

Not much of a rep, but appears to be a well invested salon, which is usually a sign of success. Many services offered in Hair and Beauty, but it's that old saying - 'quality not quantity' is something this salon seems to be missing in their overall product delivery.

Booking my appointment was straight forward, I decided to play it safe and book a 'Style Director' as to not be disappointed, despite the heavily increased expense.

A smile was spared by the lady on reception, but hardly a warm welcome for my investment. No refreshments offered, and made to wait 35 minutes over my appointment time. This wasn't due to the stylist being busy, but being late back from a lunch break. I was soon ushered to my chair whereby my wash, cut and style was over in what seems like fast forward. In that time I could over hear the salon staff giggle from upstairs with very unpleasant language and disgusting topic of conversation. A brush wouldn't go a miss on the floor, the stylist had a face like thunder and was walking the line of rudeness throughout. Her language too was shameful and liked to frequently express the word 'Wha' which is short for 'What' and used to answer everything.

Every time the door opened the staff froze like it was a game of musical chairs, and all heads facing the door. Distractions were also frequent and simply a member of the public walking past the shop window was enough for my expensive stylist to stare. Being that the salon is placed in a very busy part of Cardiff (Birchgrove), it could seem she spent more time not doing her job than actually doing her job.

I was unimpressed by my service and my 13 year old daughter could have done a better job. If that was the high end option of hairdresser at Blush, then I'd hate to think how poor the regular hairdresser/stylist is at hair dressing.

Certainly the salon shouldn't be in a position to compare itself against some of Cardiff's premier salons such as; Toni & Guy, SAKS, Aquarius, Ken Picton or Ocean. The prices state otherwise, so too the service. In all, I found my experience miserable. The high investment and quality furnishings is a blanket of misinterpretation, a 'More Money than Sense' statement that fronts below average service and stylists. It's also a stark reminder how daft people can be paying for a service from the uneducated, and a lesson in not judging a book by it's cover. I was however, humoured by the fact that the stylists expect a tip....Shocking.

A handy bit of advice: If you want to know how good a salon is, then look at the employees hair cuts/styles. The chances are they do each others hair and will resemble the quality they offer. I should remember my own advice from now on.