Shaping the future of NAIL ARTISTRY

Dina Umarova, Founder, Bluesky Nail Academy India, and Ambassador for Bluesky (Global) in the Asia Pacific region, gives us a lowdown on her plans for expanding her academy footprint across India and the scope of nail artistry in India.

Dina Umarova is known in the professional beauty circles for bringing Bluesky to India and establishing the brand name here in nail products and training. Apart from being the exclusive licensed importer and distributor for the brand in India, Umarova is also its National Trainer in the country. She established the Bluesky Nail Academy in Juhu, Mumbai, in October 2018. She has a strong team of highly skilled nail masters who share her vision of curating courses that deal from basics to an advanced level in order to transform an amateur into a professional. Umarova is now focussed on her vision to spread the Bluesky Nail Academy umbrella across key cities in India. Her efforts at training a sophisticated league of nail artists is supported by the brand’s product repertoire, which are certified as per European standards. The brand is 12 years old in the global market and is available in 67 countries across the globe, while completing 7 years in India this year.

Tell us about your venture into nail education. What plans do you have for the academy?

I have always been creative and independent. Fashion and beauty are a big part of my life and my love for nails grew in my home country Russia where I witnessed amazing trends that were growing and changing at a fast pace. That’s where I decided to get trained and used my skills and certifications to establish a training school in my second home, India.

India is filled with talent but people lack opportunities to grow, polish their skills and explore their creativity.

This is where my Academy comes into the picture. We train beginners as well as nail artists from basics to an advanced level, and give them skills that help them to be independent individuals.

Having tasted success with this venture in Mumbai, we are now moving to different cities such as Chennai and Kochi in South India. We are working on setting up our academies in Hyderabad and Gurgaon, too, in 2022.

Salons and nail masters will need to focus on picking the right products.

We will continue to grow and establish ourselves in major Indian cities over the next five years.

Our educators will also travel to different cities in India for seminars. We recently completed a three-day session in Hyderabad and will soon be going to Aizawl, Surat, Pune,

Delhi and many more cities so that our training is more accessible in all parts of the country. Through our main base, our Academy in Mumbai, students also have the opportunity to attend online sessions.

We now also have a tie-up with Urban Company, and our students can avail the opportunity to be a part of their team as nail artists.

What will your academy offer nail artists that will give them an edge over others?

Our Academy exclusively uses BLUESKY products, which are certified 100 per cent vegan, non toxic and cruelty free. They are free of seven harsh chemicals including formaldehyde, and are halal, thus totally safe for natural nails.

Apart from quality products from a global brand with presence in over 67 nations, we also focus on trends from across the world, which get incorporated in our course structure. Hygiene protocols followed globally are also an important part of our course module. For new products and trends, we also organise complimentary live sessions via social media, demos and share tutorials so that our clients are at par with international nail masters.

Along with the above, all training and practice material is included in our course fees. Students get hands-on practice with nail models. All our educators are experienced, coupled with their own international certifications.

Will the training also include nail salon management?

Currently, our course covers the basics of salon management, an overview on the same.

However, we are working on a detailed schedule and will soon incorporate the same in our courses so that our students can not only be a professional nail master but also a wellinformed, certified salon manager as well.

Why do you think there is a lack of technical nail expertise in the indian market?

Awareness and education are extremely crucial components to ensure that students can approach us and be willing to learn.

Comfort is another reason. Nail masters are so comfortable with age-old ways of doing nails that they themselves do not want to try and experiment with new, advanced techniques and products that can help them cater to new clients as well.

So, if they don’t try something new, they can’t share anything new with students as well.

Also, there is hesitation to be a part of institutes/academies in big cities and metros as students feel there may be a language barrier which may hamper their learning. We are happy to share that at our Academy, our educators are fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi, Mizo (from Mizoram) and Meitei (from Manipur); so students can feel very warm and welcome when they join us.

Lastly, nail services are more or less restricted to major social events. When our women will take out time to pamper themselves regularly, irrespective of any occasion or celebration, they will ask for more and our nail artists will work harder, learn new techniques, focus on trends and be able to satisfy each client by giving them what they ask for to complete their look and feel good.

What business trends do you predict for 2022 now that the beauty sector is bouncing back?

• Focus on learning will be big

• Quality products, which are also cost effective

• Social media has bridged the gap across the globe so being on the same page when it comes to trends in the international market is very convenient which helps in ensuring that education can be at par with the demands in the market. Thus, efforts will be deeper to be on-point with digital media and marketing platforms

• Establishing strong, virtual learning mediums will also continue to see a rise

• Salons and nail masters will need to focus on picking the right products. Best products that offer great quality, value for money and training support to ensure flawless experiences

• Clients need to be careful and go through proper, verified channels to make purchases in order to avoid fake/illegal products that are being widely circulated in the market

We, at Bluesky India, only sell through our head office in Mumbai, our own website and our social media platforms, which are exclusively managed by us. If we have a reseller, we inform our clients about the same and only we give that information through posts and magazine advertisements to ensure that our clients pick up only genuine products from us. We take a lot of pride in our quality and thus take care of each and every purchase.

Orders are processed and sent meticulously by my team after each product is checked physically, so that our clients get nothing but the best.

What advice would you like to give to aspiring nail artists and nail salon owners?

Keep learning, keep exploring, keep practising and never compromise on quality! Good quality and great service is what will get a customer hooked to you. Never cut corners on both and you will always have loyal customers who will only keep adding to your clientele.

Invest in your skills, enhance them and keep an eye on global trends, not just in terms of nail designs, but also products.

Lastly, our clients come to us with a lot of trust in our skills and hygiene. Keep your nail stations extremely clean and well sanitised, tools should be sterilised and every client should experience the same level of comfort. In order to build a brand, all of us need to build a base with loyal customers. PBHJ