I will not be returning to blanche for my makeup or hair. Instead going to go to JCI bc I feel that there is not enough practical experience being given at blanche, we don't get actual textbooks with color diagrams to learn the material, and the amount being put into the kits for what is given doesn't seem legit. I am especially unhappy with the nail kit and how we barley have enough material to learn in class and have to go and buy the same brand to practice at home bc for the practical exam we have to use the brand provided in the kit. As students we can barley afford to pay rent, buy food, and need to have a part time job just to get by. Its expected that we will have everything that we need for the course for that amount we pay and we need to go and buy our own things along the way bc its not provided in the kit. The nail kit doesn't even hold what is given to us and Im expected to buy more of everything for practice. Im not confident that at the end of my time at blanche I will be ale to preform all the services bc of lack of practice on clients. You also need to consider that putting someone in both esthetics/artificial that maybe one should have learned mani/pedi and the fact that i need to be at the school from 9-5 in esthetics then 6-10 in aritifical on tuesdays when i could have been put on different days. Ive been told its due able to do it but the fact that i need to travel an hour there and back each day on top of that and then study and work. Ive been running on lack of sleep. Then we are expected to go to the spa show for attendance and have to pay $30 or we get marked absent. Things such as these are considered field trips and should be considered in the price of the school. These are just some of the concerns I am either experiencing or either have had other students express the same concerns and are considering other options for their other years. Now looking more into other schools and even JCI has many scam comments so is there even a good school in canada to attend for the beauty industry of today?
On top of that the teachers or not the best and I was told that I would not have any friends b/c I'm smart and was coming across as a know it all and to dumb myself down for the rest of the students. I am continuously reaching out to other avenues such as other professionals in the industry to go over things with me bc I feel that i am not ready for the practicals with the lack of practice and going to youtube and the internet for help on receiving more information and basically teaching myself and another student who are currently getting the highest in the class. we already had 4 students fail first term and 1 drop out. I will not be recommending this school to anyone looking for a positive environment to become a highly qualified professional in the beauty industry today. Which is sad now Im torn as to where to go for hair and makeup when even JCI has bad reviews from actual students are no good. Im dissapointed in the lack of proper education in this field.
The teachers are not even that great and I was even told that I wouldn't have any friends b/c I was coming across as a know it all and that I needed to dumb myself down for the rest of the students. Im constantly reaching out to other avenues to learn everything possible for the industry(such as professionals in the industry to go over things, youtube, and the internet) We are expected to be able to do a practical exam when we have only done 5 facials and 3 waxing practices in class with our class mates. We already had 4 ppl fail the first term and another dropped out a little more then a week into second term. They facility is supper anal about dress code(specially shoes) but are very contradicting b/c they feel they don't need to follow the same rules(such as jewelry and always having hair back when doing a service) all and all they are unprofessional and Im unsure where I will be going for makeup and hair.
The facilty is also very unprofessional I was pulled at the end of a class and was told that i wouldn't have any friends b/c i was coming across as a know it all and that I needed to dumb myself down for the rest of the students. and when a question is asked i always get singled out "anyone except me" know the answer. the rules that they put in place are being contradicted by what they are allowed. e.g.. shoes, jewels, and hair. We have to wear black runners and they are allowed black leather boots so our feet get soaked and they get to stay dry b/c it rains a lot and most of use travel by transit for an hour to get there. when they are demoing a service they have their hair down and jewelry on. They are not current in the industry and seem to have lost their spark or love of the industry and it shows in the teaching. 4 ppl have already failed first term and another dropped out in the second term. Im constantly reaching out to other avenues to learn as much as possible (other professionals, youtube, internet) to go over things b/c we are expected to do a practical exam after 5 facials and 3 waxing days on our classmates and we don't have client days to learn on other ppl. They focus too much on writing the steps down then actually getting to phyciacally getting to do them. I do not recommend going to BMC for education they pull you in and keep taking and taking and taking bc you are continuously having to purchase more and more material as the year progresses. Im very skeptical and believe there are better avenues/schools to attend with a more friendly, passionate and learning environment(practical). Ive heard similar complaints in the lunch room from other programs and they are looking into other schools for further education in beauty.
waste of time to take the artificial nail course at blanche Macdonald. In total i got to do 5 full sets of both gel and acrylic and the teacher who i had for term 1 and 2 of Esthetician program just sits at the front of the class and once you have completed to the best of your ability she then tells you everything that you have done wrong and doesn't spend any time with you to try and fix it or improve it. Overall i have had a final for a swedish facial, swedish body massage, 1/2 leg waxing and underarms, and a couple written exams in esthetics and just finished the acrylic nail exam and we are required to finish one hand in 75min when the entire time in class we were lucky to finish a full set in 3 1/2 hours because we need more practice. Not to mention having to bring back and forth your materials which causes bubbles in the gel products from being on its side or flipped over. I expected more from this program and not just doing french tip a few times with each product and saying congradualations you are a nail technician. No wonder there are so many nail techs out there that are not that great because we are funding schools such as this. In order to be even employable and get good clientele further classes with a better teacher who is still currently in the industry is required which means even more money poured out when blanche should be teaching us the tricks of the trade. I didn't feel ready for any of my practical exams because there isn't enough practical practice on different people other then classmates. In conclusion if you are planning on going to beauty school I employ you to spend your money else where because blanche is a rip off all you are paying for is the name and it is outragiously exspensive. You don't even get proper student ID cards they are too cheap and give you a piece of paper the size of a business card with your name written on it. You can probably go to a school that is not as well known and get a better education then what is being provided currently at Blanche MacDonald. I will continue to teach myself the material and seek out professionals in the industry to help me get the best out of a bad school. Many of my classmates are concerened just like me about out confident and knowledagable we will be as certified beauty professionals. No wonder so many people have bad experiences and never want to go back for that service again. Its just like the hair industry if a hairdresser doesn't do what you want or completly makes a mess of your hair you are very unlikely to return and will take your business elsewhere. We are not going to become great in the industry without an adiquet amount of practice and knowledge. I fear for the beauty industry in the future if schools continue to have large classes and teachers who don't care and are just there for the pay check at the end of the day, only doing the bare minimum required. I am glad to be over with the artificail nails and will be following up with a friend in the industry to help me improve and learn new tricks. Im also glad to be starting term 3 in esthetics who actually cares for the students and is really knowledable in the field. She is open to questions and feedback from her students and makes things easier to understand especially students who have a language barrier making the material harder to understand and absorb. She takes the time to know each and every one of us and our needs for learning. Im so happy to be done with the first half of the year full of struggles and the feeling of never being ready in the pit of the stomach because Ive been learning on my own without the help of a good teacher. A good teacher does not just sit by and watch all the time telling us we are all going to fail because we are doing things wrong, no a good teacher is hands on and corrects whatever it is before it becomes a habit. They are encouraging and positive and don't knit pick on you for every little thing because they understand that we are learning and its like the pyramid which was not built in a day it takes time to perfect and modify behaviours in a more professional manner.
