City beauty salon offers 'designer bikini line' trims

It's the latest designer haircut that you wouldn't want your mum to see - and it's definitely not designed for showing off in public.

• Anna Brown says her designs can be funny, silly or even spiritual

A New Town beauty parlour has become the first boutique in Scotland to offer designer bikini lines.

For as little as 45, women can have their most private area shaped into anything they want, - a love heart, their lover's initials, or perhaps even a patriotic Saltire.

The new gimmick is the brainchild of Russian business beauty Anna Brown, 27, whose Frederick Street beauty parlour RBFY is thought to be only the second place in Britain to publicly advertise "bikini design".

"It's the ideal treat for a special occasion like a hen night, wedding or holiday," said Anna, who moved to Edinburgh around three years ago and adopted her Nottingham-born partner's surname in place of her real Russian surname Kishchenkova.

"I expect there'll be lots of ladies out there who will want this done. We've only been open two weeks so we're waiting for word of mouth to spread, but we've had a great response from the business community.

"I've been to a few networking events with Edinburgh's Businesswomen's Club, who said it sounds like a fantastic business idea, and also something they would fancy doing themselves."

Anna said most of the inquiries she's had so far have been from women in their 20s or early 30s, but she expects it to be popular with all age groups.

She added: "After a certain age you have to think of new ideas to spice things up, but people get it done for all kinds of reasons.

"It could be funny or silly, like the Playboy bunny, or elegant like the Chanel logo, or spiritual, like getting your starsign done. Or you could add a few diamonds for a very discrete private treat.

"We've had two ladies who have had it done since we opened, and a couple more bookings.

"The ladies that had it done didn't come to us especially for it, but they saw it on our price list and had to have a go.

"They didn't quite scream when they saw it, but they were very excited. Their reaction was, "Oh my God! That's amazing."

Anna creates her designs starting with a normal wax, before using stencils and dyes to create the desired shape.

She also performs slightly more traditional nail design using Shellac polish, a superfine quick drying polish which allows her to fashion designs and affix crystals.

Caroline Buchan, the Businesswoman's Club's president, said RBFY is only the second beauty parlour in the UK that she was aware of which was offering bikini design.

She said: "Anna has brought an innovative business service to Scotland's capital and we wish her the best of luck with her new venture."

"Early feedback from club members has been a mix of intrigue and excitement. "The female of the species do enjoy pampering themselves and this service brings an original niche within which the businesswomen of Edinburgh can indulge."