A SALON owner has said she is overjoyed after being crowned the best in Essex.

Sharon Metson-Halsey owns the Contours Beauty Salon in Tiptree and has been crowned Beauty Salon of the Year for Essex, as part of the 2022 LUXLife Magazine Health, Beauty and Wellness Awards.

LUXLife has held the awards since 2017, celebrating those who are championing the trends in the three areas named.

Sharon, 51, from Rayne, has owned the village salon for 24 years, originally opening it with the help of her mum and dad.

Sharon said: “I had always done beauty and just wanted my own salon.

“It took me two years to find the premises, and my mum and dad did help me, but they sadly passed away ten years ago.

“Over the last ten years it has been really tough, but we are still going strong.”

Sharon entered herself into the awards during the Covid lockdown and has also won two previously for nails and skincare.

After applying, the entrants are judged based on factors such as reviews, nominations from clients, and how the business is presented.

She said that she was shocked when she found out and that it is an award that means a lot to her after the difficult last decade.

“I was gobsmacked when I found out amazing, it actually got lost in the post so it only arrived on Wednesday", said Sharon.

“On a personal level, it means so much as well, after obviously everything that has happened.

“When you have been here for 24 years, sometimes you think what else can you do, but it is such an achievement to get something like that, and I am simply over the moon.”

The award is now proudly displayed in her salon, and Sharon says that the response when she has told her clients has been very positive.

She added: “Only a few clients know as I only received it recently.

“But the first client I told was speechless, they we so happy when I told them.

“It is just an amazing achievement, and I couldn’t be happier.”