Leighton Denny is the UK’s leading nail technician.  He has won the ‘Nail Technician of the Year’ award so many times, they’ve given him a golden statue, banned him from entering and made him a judge instead!
Leighton has a host of celebrity clients clamouring for appointments and Leighton’s nails have been hailed as the ‘ultimate accessory’ in top glossy magazines – taking nail grooming to new heights.  His manicures have been hailed as the ultimate beauty accessory in top publications such as Vogue, Marie Claire and Harpers Bazaar and national newspapers including the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times.  Leighton has also worked with celebrities such as Penelope Cruz, Joan Collins, Jerry Hall, Kate Moss, Davina McCall & Helena Christensen.
Leighton started out his professional life as a fork lift truck driver, then following a trip to the USA with his mother and discovering nail extensions he returned to Bradford to train in an entirely new career.  After his training in the UK and the USA, Leighton took to the road as a freelance nail technician, pampering guests on cruise liners around the world before opening his first boutique salon in Bradford, Yorkshire.
The lights of the big city beckoned and Leighton soon spotted a niche he was keen to fill. “I saw the likes of Nicky Clarke, who is a household name for hair and shampoos, and I realised there was no leader in the nail industry. So I put some clothes in a backpack and decided to go to London to see what happened.”
He arrived at Kings Cross with his worldly possessions in his backpack and booked himself into a bed and breakfast for a month or so until he found his feet.
He opened his first bespoke salon in London’s Marylebone and few years later Leighton Denny Nails launched at the Urban Retreat 5th Floor, Harrods, Knightsbridge-London’s premier destination for hair and beauty under one roof.  Urban Retreat has the most comprehensive selection of treatments, services and products from some of the world’s leading brands.
He has appeared on many TV shows including This Morning, Lorraine Kelly Today as well as fly-on-the-wall documentary St Tropez Summer where Leighton hopped from villa to yacht looking after the hands & toes of many of the celebrities spending the summer there.
Leighton is now a star in his own right. He has appeared on Channel 5 News to talk about his diamond manicure and has appeared on VH1 in the Fabulous Life of London showcasing his salons and products. Leighton also recently appeared as the manicure expert on 10 Years Younger.
After years of researching effective ingredients for hand and nail care, Leighton launched his own line of products. They immediately received great praise from fellow manicurists who feel Leighton has used his expertise to create a professional range that is efficient and easy to use. The range also received great critical acclaim from a number of top beauty editors and has been featured in a number of publications from Marie Claire to Hello!
The products firstly retailed on QVC with Leighton himself making a ‘star appearance’. The first show was an instant sell-out and follow-up shows have continued to be extraordinarily successful.
Following on from the product launch, Leighton Denny began to open salon concessions throughout the UK that offer Leighton Denny manicure & pedicure treatments.  There are now more than 100 Leighton Denny accredited salons throughout the UK and more than 30 internationally, The Leighton Denny brand is now avaible in more than 10 country’s.
Leighton Denny continues to be involved in the product development of his range; he continually researches the latest ingredients in order to create groundbreaking products for the nail care market.
Leighton’s hard work and dedication to his range has been recognised through various awards for his products – Bright & White and Quatro File & Buffer were awarded Cosmopolitan Beauty Awards and the Crystal Nail File won an Instyle magazine beauty award.
Leighton still finds time to see his regular celebrity clients and work as a session manicurist on magazine shoots. He was the manicurist for the official Spice Girls UK reunion tour and he painted Dita Von Teese’s nails for her MAC Viva Glam launch, worked with Kim Cattrall on the Friday Night project and with the Beckhams for the new fragrance advertising campaign and TV commercial as well as preening the nails of Rihanna and Adele at the Brit Awards.
Leighton Denny remains a figurehead for the UK Beauty industry. He has a regular column in the highly respected international trade publication, Health & Beauty Salon Magazine and is often asked to act as an expert judge. His main judging responsibilities in 2007/8 have included The Nail Olympics, Irish Nail Tech of the Year and a place on the beauty panel of The Times Newspaper as well as Handbag.com.
Leighton Denny was also asked to join the team of elite British Beauty Experts to advise on creating an Urban Retreat Hand & Nail Care range. The range launched in Boots stores in January 2008.