Looking great feels fantastic, but who wants to spend a lot of time fussing around getting ready to leave the house? Life’s out there waiting.
Expertly applied permanent makeup lets you ditch a lot of that tiresome routine. Looking your best can last for months, not just a few hours. It starts with a visit to Floating Lotus Lash Bar in New Paltz.
Nicole Heaton is passionate about esthetics. Helping people achieve that feeling of looking great is her life’s mission, and at Floating Lotus, every client gets the benefit of her devotion to health and beauty. “I love this place so much! I haven’t had a facial in forever and I forget how much I love them—especially with Amy,” writes a happy regular on Google. “The whole space just calms you the second you walk in. Love, love, love it! And the owner Nicole is also super talented and has given me my amazing brows and lip tint, which has lasted years.”
After studying art at New Paltz High School, Heaton served in the Navy and—once her four-year stint was up—enrolled in the Hudson Valley School of Advanced Aesthetic Skin Care, earning her esthetician’s license in 2004. Working with a busy plastic surgery office and running a 2-year chemical peel case study, she gained a deep and thorough understanding of the medical side of skin health.
“We are a one-stop shop for specialized treatments here; we’re specialists in everything that we offer,” Heaton says. "There’s not much of that available outside of major cities”
After a corporate gig as a traveling educator for a skin care line ended when the company downsized, she tried a few other things that didn’t satisfy before starting Floating Lotus as a side hustle. While working with her sister out of one room in Highland, she realized that she could bring beauty to people her own way.
“I love the versatility of this field,” she says. “The possibilities of what you can do under this one license are endless. So I said, ‘You know, I’m going to take a shot.’ I went full time in 2018. I named it the Floating Lotus because a lotus grows in mud but is still beautiful. I felt like I’d fallen on my face twice in my life, career wise, and I wanted to grow something beautiful from it all.”
The range of services at Floating Lotus encompasses all aspects of the art and science of advanced beauty and skin care. “As a licensed esthetician, I do facials. I’m a lash artist, so I’ve earned many certificates for that. I teach lash lifting and brow lamination. I'm a permanent makeup artist, so I tattoo makeup, and I actually do fine-line tattoos now. So I have a lot of things I can do under this one license, and I’ve never stopped learning. And because I’m a natural artist, it allows me to show that on different levels.”
In 2020 she moved her business to New Paltz, but soon outgrew her first location. Studying the way lash bars were being presented in Europe, she decided to create a one-stop shop for gender-neutral skincare and beauty services. She found the perfect location on Church Street, where she offers advanced clinical services in a relaxing spa setting.
“I’ve had a lot of people that have lost their hair, whether it be from chemo, alopecia, or different skin conditions, thyroid issues—being able to give them back an eyebrow, being able to help a teenager with severe acne, those positive changes we can make that lift someone’s self-esteem are enormously satisfying.” – Owner Nicole Heaton
“There are a lot of different skin conditions that we treat here,” she says. “I found a skincare line that I really love. It’s cruelty and paraben free, and it’s medical with a holistic twist to it, which is basically what my shop is. So we’re able to give these really great services that feel like you’re in a spa, having a spa treatment (rather than a clinical setting), but really get to the bottom of skin conditions.”
Floating Lotus offers a comprehensive menu of Hydrafacials, featuring a patented three-step process that deep cleans, exfoliates, and hydrates, with medical-grade options like lymphatic drainage and LED light therapy. “We are a one-stop shop for specialized treatments here; we’re specialists in everything that we offer,” Heaton says. "There’s not much of that available outside of major cities. As far as lash bars, there are a couple, but as far as specializing in being able to offer everything for an eyebrow, you know, whether it be waxing or microblading or all the way up to giving somebody an eyebrow back. I’ve had a lot of people that have lost their hair, whether it be from chemo, alopecia, or different skin conditions, thyroid issues—being able to give them back an eyebrow, being able to help a teenager with severe acne, those positive changes we can make that lift someone’s self-esteem are enormously satisfying.”
Heaton started with two employees and now has five young artists working with her. A recent renovation added a second treatment room to the space. “It’s just a really calm, Zen environment to work in, where my staff can really show their true artistry,” Heaton says. “We offer something for everyone, and there are surprisingly affordable options. There are so many choices just for eyelash extensions, for example—and some people find it really boosts their self-esteem. We have high school students, college students, business professionals, a couple of celebrities. No matter who walks in the store, we do our best to make sure they feel at ease and happy when they leave. We offer refreshments, and we have a lovely front porch that’s great for relaxing on a nice day.”
“It’s about setting up a plan for a client and building trust. I have clients that have followed me all the way from my first job, and now I can show new clients what can be done over time, with patience. It’s been truly amazing to watch these things happen.” – Owner Nicole Heaton
The benefit of a microspa, she says, is flexibility. “A lot of bigger spas have opened, but you have to check in for an entire day. Here, you can just come and get the treatments you want and get on with your day, looking amazing and feeling refreshed.” For Heaton, running the spa has become a life path she never anticipated but deeply loves. “One reason I joined the military was that I really had no idea what I wanted to do—I loved art, but I didn’t think art was necessarily going to pay the rent, you know? I never really anticipated running my own business and having employees. But when I got out of the military, thinking I might become a makeup artist, I discovered I had a huge hunger to learn and it turned out I really loved the science of this field. Working in a doctor’s office was a huge steppingstone.
And as I tell my employees, the more skin you touch and the more time you spend, the better you get. I still sneak in at least one course a year, because you can never know it all; there’s always something new to learn.”
That new knowledge gets applied over a solid base of old-school esthetician’s knowledge. “I’m not into gimmicks. I’m not into really expensive services and machines. I’m only into what works, and it starts with ingredients. So it’s about setting up a plan for a client and building trust. I have clients that have followed me all the way from my first job, and now I can show new clients what can be done over time, with patience. It’s been truly amazing to watch these things happen. I love helping teenagers free themselves from acne. I love taking people’s natural beauty, that they may not even realize they have, and enhancing it to their liking. It doesn’t have to be over-the-top extreme and it doesn’t have to break the bank. I keep the pricing competitive, so anyone can walk in here; get an honest assessment of what they want and how to get there; get thorough, compassionate treatment; and walk out relaxed and ready to take on the world.”
floating lotus lash bar
10 Church St, New Paltz
845-389-3880
floatinglotusmicrospa.space
