In episode fifty nine of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Ciaté London, Charlotte Knight. 

At 21, Charlotte Knight moved from London to Dublin and, with little experience in nails and no experience in business ownership, opened Dublin’s first ever nail bar- she went into a hair salon for a blow dry, mentioned her idea to the owner, and came out with a business plan. 

People travelled across the country just to see Charlotte, with the young entrepreneur and manicurist soon finding herself in demand backstage at London, New York and Paris Fashion Weeks and on photoshoots as a session nail technician. It was during this time, as a session artist, that Charlotte first began sketching that now iconic little black bow-adorned bottle, mixing colours, and dreaming of what would become Ciaté London. 

Ciaté launched in 2009, landing in stores at the height of world’s nail art movement, but it was in 2012, when the brand released its Caviar nails collection, that things changed almost overnight. Prior to the launch of Caviar, Ciaté had 4 staff and were stocked in about 50 stores. Post Caviar, the brand found themselves in over 4000 stores across 35 countries. 

Nail art and, more specifically, the home manicure trend had hit fever pitch but, given the cyclical nature of the beauty industry, global nail polish sales crashed a mere two and half years after that launch. Armed with data, a plan, and one of the most creative business minds I’ve ever come across, Charlotte spearheaded the launch of an entirely new product skew for Ciaté London- makeup. 

Today, Ciaté is one of the most celebrated brands in the world across both nails and makeup, and this year will see the brand release not one but two high profile collaborations, both of which Charlotte offered up a few big clues about during our chat. 

In this conversation, Charlotte and I discuss the expectations and subsequent pressure that comes with releasing multiple global first-to-markets, how showing a boardroom the colour of her knickers led to one of her brand’s many successful launches, and why we shouldn’t expect a Carol Baskin for Ciaté collection anytime soon.  

You can read this interview now at glowjournal.com

Follow Ciaté London on Instagram at @ciatelondon

Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected]

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