How Christina Fitzgerald transitioned from manicurist to brand owner

Scratch catches up with Christina Fitzgerald, manicurist and brand owner, to discover her career story so far and more about the Australia-based Christina Fitzgerald brand…

You began in the beauty industry as a manicurist, why did you decide to launch the Christina Fitzgerald brand?
When I started my career 36 years ago, manicuring was at the bottom of the food chain in the beauty industry. I found it hard to find good, specific nail products and there were certainly no good nail colours around. So, I headed to the local pharmacy and made up my own concoctions. Every morning, I would make up products and use them fresh every day. At the beginning, there were only three colours that I used; pale translucent pink, red and French manicure. I wanted to give my clients a beautiful manicure and ensuring the perfect colour on their nails was important!

Christina Fitzgerald

My career eventually saw me start my own hair, nail and beaut salon and create a training academy where I educated hundreds of beauty professionals. Eventually, I took my passion for hand-mixing colours and launched my first range of 14 colours. Then, 10 years later, I launched the Christina Fitzgerald concept based on techniques I had been doing since day one. The Christina Fitzgerald concept is a range of bespoke treatments for hands and feet delivered with purpose. I have created a collection of specifically formulated products that accompany each of the steps in the Christina Fitzgerald concept.

What do you hope to achieve with the Christina Fitzgerald brand?
The aim of my brand is to elevate manicurists to a higher level. We believe that manicurists are luminary figures in the beauty industry, we want to equip them with the skill to change a client’s mood and style. I am so passionate about training and educating the next generation of manicurists.

What makes the Christina Fitzgerald brand unique?
Me! I’ve been in the industry my whole life. I started as a manicurist and I only stepped away from manicuring 10 years ago.

Colour is who I am as a person – it’s in my DNA. I use colour and have done for years, to create fashion in manicuring and pedicuring. To me, nail colour is a fashion accessory. We mismatch colours and do things differently.

I work with my dedicated team of colour chemists to develop our polish formulation. I’ve meticulously created the formulas and I’ve produced the perfect shades that are rich in colour, even if it’s a soft hue. Everything has been considered from the way a polish dries to its durability and shine.

I spend hours driving myself insane making beautiful manicure and pedicure treatments for our clients and customers. I know what customers want as I have years of market research from speaking with my clients.

What products make up the Christina Fitzgerald range?
Currently, we have 60 nail polishes in our Extreme range and 30 gel polishes in our Ultra range, as well as our amazing range of skincare. Our colour palette has been meticulously crafted. We want a small precise collection that salons and manicurists can navigate easily.

I am fanatical about skincare. Hand and feet skincare is completely different to the rest of the body, so it was important that we formulate each of our skincare products with our client’s skin concerns in mind.

What is the Christina Fitzgerald experience?
What we do is not rocket science. For the salon customer, the Christina Fitzgerald experience is about giving our customer the opportunity to come in, sit down and have a beautiful treatment for an hour. We want our customers to leave having beautiful hands and feet. I hope that every time a customer looks down and sees a Christina Fitzgerald polish on their nails, it brightens their day just a little.

Taking time out of your day to add a little luxury makes people feel special. We always have the client experience in mind – everything I do is for my client. From the minute I think of a product idea right to the very end, I am all in. I am involved at every step of the way.

Christina Fitzgerald products are shipped internationally via the online store www.christinafitzgerald.com.au

Follow the Christina Fitzgerald brand journey on social media here.