Priscilla Rangasamy: The passion of nail art

Passionate about nail art since her school days, Priscilla always cherished the dream of working in this field. Today, her parlour specialised in nail art at Quatre Bornes, ‘Naily Grace’ is a resounding success. Her happiness lies in making designs on nails. In fact, her works grace the hands of many women including businesswomen, housewives and young girls among others. Five years ago, she started her activity at home and today, her dream has been fulfilled. She is now the owner of Naily Grace. This 31 years old lady recalls how it all started. After finishing her studies, she spent five years working at Espace Beauté – a well known beauty parlour. “I've always been very attached to details, and working in a beauty parlour is not the only thing I wanted to do. My aim was always to specialise in nail art and it was during my years spent on the job that I realised that I made the right decision. I noticed that nail art was quickly becoming a necessary item in the beauty world, and so I dropped everything else to pursue a career as a manicurist and nail artist. It is the perfect combination of detail and beauty. It was a match made in heaven for me!” she relates.

Courses worldwide

However, to be able to specialise and become a professional in this field, she had to undertake courses. Therefore, she headed to several countries including Malaysia, Thailand and England. Priscilla reveals that at the time she entered this field, there was no advanced trainings in nail art. “To be able to make my place in this world, I had to learn the techniques,” says Priscilla. However, she says, learning means investing too. “With my savings from the years I spent working, I was able to pay for air tickets and courses abroad,” she admits. In addition, she slowly started as a 'Freelance'. After seducing a large clientèle, the artist opens a parlour in her house. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"14166","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-23544","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"656","height":"369","alt":"Nail-Art"}}]]

Around 100 regular customers

Manicures, pedicures, nail extensions, nail care and without of course forgetting nail arts... These are the services she offers. In this business, she says, there is a need to constantly learn about new techniques and trends. Her clients are mainly women aged 25 upwards. “Certainly, I receive younger women too, but only for occasions such as weddings. Working women are more regular,” says our interlocutor. The latter states that her portfolio now boasts about 100 regular customers. In addition to those, she points out that she performs an average of 100 nail services per month. According to her, this activity is a very delicate job which requires a lot of attention. "So, I prefer doing it myself. But I intend to employ someone soon to help me," she states. As far as the prices are concerned, Priscilla highlights that the services start from Rs150 to Rs2,000. She also offers pedicure and manicure treatments whose prices range between Rs400 to Rs500. Apart from nail art services, the young woman is also an ambassador of brand Ez Flow, a range of varnished nail from the USA. If she was able to stand out in the world of nail art in Mauritius, this is due to the encouragement of her customers and her passion for the business. “Nail art is a niche market. And to be able to survive in this market, there is a need to constantly improve and innovate," she says.

Personal life

Priscilla is a single mother of a 14 year old girl. “When I was working for another company, it was difficult for me to find time for my family. But after opening my own parlour, I now have the chance to spend extra time with her,” says the latter. Her next project is now to focus on the distribution of Ez Flow products. “I also intend to offer courses on nail art,” she says.