Meet The Creative Director Behind Nicki Minaj’s Nail Brand

Forbes

Yvett G joins Forbes Talks to discuss how her hobby turned celebrity heads and earned her the position of Creative Director at Nicki Minaj’s nail brand Pink Friday Nails.  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Hi, everybody. I'm Brittany Lewis, a reporter here at Forbes. Joining me now is Yvette Gee,

00:08Creative Director of Pink Friday Nails.

00:10Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

00:13You are a celebrity nail artist. You are the Creative Director of Nicki Minaj's nail brand.

00:18You have a storied and impressive career in the nail space. So I want to start at the

00:23beginning to start off this conversation. Can you tell us a little bit about how you

00:27started doing nails and eventually became a celebrity nail tech to celebrities like

00:32Rosalia, like Normani and Nicki Minaj, who we're going to be talking about later?

00:37Yeah, I honestly, I mean, honestly, I started really young. I started in this whole, you

00:45know, nail world at 15. It's it's a very long story. But to make it sure, I moved to Mexico

00:53when I was 15. I needed something to kind of keep me busy. I started doing nails and

00:57it just went off. It just went from a hobby and turned into something, you know, a passion

01:02and it turned into my career when I moved back from living in Mexico.

01:07That was just something that I always did. And then slowly I worked at salons. I did

01:11I did like every step, you know, I ended up working at a really big salon. It was very

01:17celebrity driven. And once I left, a lot of people followed me. Social media went up.

01:21And then slowly I did a lot of influencers. Eventually, we had I had like a few celebrities

01:27hit me up and it just kind of snowballed from there. And I think the my style of doing nails

01:33at the time was very different. It stood out from the normal. So I think that's what was

01:36able to, you know, draw the attention of different celebrities that were more into like the bold

01:42nail art, you know, like Rosalia, like, like Nicki Minaj, that they love the boldness of

01:47the long nails and the blingy stuff, you know. And yeah. And, you know, here we are.

01:52I've gotten to do a lot of things, you know, in every the nail world is so big. But yeah,

01:57I absolutely love it. I'm grateful for it as well.

02:00So when this first snowballed, when you were getting contacted by celebrities, did your

02:04business mindset change at all? Did you did your approach to nail art change? What did

02:09that look like?

02:12It definitely opened up my mind. It definitely I think when I started, it was such a my mindset

02:19was more hobby. This is fun. This is, you know, this is something that I enjoy doing.

02:23This is like a side thing. And the moment that I started getting bigger clientele, it

02:28definitely was was that's when I took it a little bit more serious. Like, wow, like this

02:32can definitely change my life, my ink, you know, different things. So as in regards to

02:38like nail art and like the creativity aspect, it definitely changed because I could go crazier.

02:44I could do, you know, the bigger, bolder things, things that may necessarily not be practical,

02:48may not be like every day. So it was able to do the crazier things a little bit more

02:53out of the box.

02:55And as you said earlier, Nicki Minaj is known aside from her really impressive music career

03:00for her bold nail for her intricate nail. So can you talk to us how you were tapped

03:05by Nicki Minaj to become her creative director?

03:09So I had started doing her nails, I think about six, five years ago, about five to six

03:14years ago, we started with like music videos, she would, you know, and then I slowly turned

03:19into her full time nail artist. And we I would do the nails on her, you know, that's just

03:24what we did. Eventually, you know, she was when she had when she got pregnant, and she

03:28had her baby. It just wasn't practical anymore. So we switched off into press ons. And that's

03:34what I would do. I would just make her a lot of a lot of custom press ons. And just

03:39anything that had to do specifically with like music videos and things like that. And

03:43when she decided to do that, she contacted me and said, Hey, you know, she had briefly

03:49mentioned it, it was something that she definitely had planned on doing. So when she went and

03:53went forward with, you know, with creating the brand, she said, she reached out and asked

03:57if I would be a part. And she said, you know, I can't think of anybody else, we work together,

04:01you know, my style, you know what I like, you know what I don't like. And she's like,

04:05you know, she's a perfectionist. So am I so she said, This is, I think this would be the

04:09best. And obviously, you know, I jumped at the opportunity to, you know, to do this.

04:13I mean, it's an incredible opportunity. So talk to us how that working relationship is

04:17going, because it's different working one on one with someone and making nails for them

04:22themselves, and then starting a whole business based on that. So has anything changed since

04:29you guys started Pink Friday nails?

04:32I mean, things are obviously always evolving and always changing. She's on tour, so she's

04:36a lot more busy. But we've definitely been able to work one on one. Because I do know

04:41her a little better if things have flowed a little bit easier. Because I would, you

04:45know, I remember the first time we created a lot of designs, her main thing was, she

04:50wanted people to because like you said, everybody loves her nails, everybody loves the boldness

04:54of them. And then, you know, she wanted her fans and more people to be able to have her

04:58looks and have her nails. So that was our initial inspiration. So I just created a whole

05:03line, just a variety of nails and of things that were inspired by her, she gave me like,

05:08I want this, I want that on that, I want you to maybe do these, you know, she gave me a

05:12few pointers, I did some more, she gave me a little bit of creative freedom as to like,

05:16okay, just this is what I want. And then from there, you could, you know, do whatever you

05:20think I would like. And then from there, she, you know, I presented to him, I showed

05:24it to her. And she said, this is these are the ones that I like, because I did give her

05:28a broad option. So she handpicked the current, you know, the designs. And so now, as the

05:34process and manufacturing went, we were able to, you know, keep in contact, obviously,

05:38text, emails, things like that. A couple in person meetings. But yeah, she's, she was

05:45able to do a little bit of everything while she's, you know, do her doing her tour.

05:49Let's talk a little bit has changed. Definitely. Let's talk a little bit about that creative

05:54freedom and that creative process a bit more. So as the creative director, how are you involved

05:59in the overall business? And what steps are you making to maintain the quality and unique

06:04designs, especially as they're going from being produced for one specific person to

06:08being mass produced to an entire audience?

06:12Yeah, I can honestly say I have been in every single part of the process. I was, we made

06:19sure for example, the quality of the nail that that was a major thing, because my my

06:24point of view was the advantage. As the creative directors, I'm also a working nail tech, like

06:30I've done this, I've been hands on. So I know what a quality nail is. I've seen press ons

06:35come and go. We use them on sets and things like that, you know, and we needed something

06:39that was strong, that would hold all these beautiful designs. I'm like, if I'm going to

06:43put a gem on there, I want a base that's going to be strong enough. And it's going to look,

06:47you know, a certain way. So yeah, we I was, you know, along with the team, we were present,

06:53we even went to the manufacturing company, we looked at everything. I had a certain point,

06:58I was like, I think they're probably think like, I'm very annoying. Because like I said,

07:01I'm very, I'm a perfectionist. And I also know that Nikki is not going to put out a

07:06product that she would not wear herself or something that she would not approve of. So

07:11you know, a lot of these things that you know, because she was doing that, I was kind of

07:13the voice and I was kind of the intermediate of like, okay, what about this, you know, but

07:16I also, she also trusted me in the quality aspects, like, okay, I know, I like this, but

07:21I know she knew that I would be able to, you know, get that quality to be top tier. You

07:28know, something that you know, that it's not, it's not just the looks, it's also the feel

07:33and the wear, you know,

07:34to your point, press ons have come and gone. And as as someone who is very meticulous about

07:41their nails, I mean, the worst case scenario is when you're out and nail chips and nail

07:45breaks off. So as you know, that the beauty industry really is oversaturated. So how are

07:51you standing out among the competition and making these nails, these press ons the best

07:57in the business?

07:59I personally think that, again, it's the base of the nail, our quality, the shape of our

08:03nail is, it's a little bit stronger, it's a little bit sturdier. We also gave it a little

08:08bit of a more, I don't want to say gel, but more gel like acrylic like as opposed to just

08:15a piece of plastic. Sometimes a lot of, you know, you don't want it to be too flat. So

08:20when you give it a little bit of like a shape, a little bit of a curvature in the right spots,

08:23it creates a little bit more safety, a little more adhesion, it just makes it kind of grasp

08:28onto your nail a little bit better. And it just gives you overall, overall, like you

08:32just got your nails done. You know, that's what we wanted. We wanted you to, you wanted

08:36your nails to look like you just got your nails done. Like you just went to the salon

08:40and spent hundreds of dollars on your nails. And we just wanted to give you that little

08:44bit more of a seamless look. And I think that's what sets us apart is it's just again, it's

08:50just the quality. I know I keep saying that, but I think it's just the quality of the nail.

08:53I think it's just the quality of our nails is just amazing because we really put the

08:56effort into, you know, even just the right thickness from the base is a little bit, you

09:00know, everything we, we really went into detail when it came to things like that.

09:04What's your favorite part of this business and what was most surprising to you from producing

09:08these press-ons from start to finish and then launching them into the market?

09:14Um, the, the, just the manufacturing, like being able to be there and see how much technology,

09:20like it, that was just so mind blowing that all this technology that's used to create like

09:25a tiny little nail. Um, I think that was like my favorite part is just being able to see that

09:30because you don't, you don't always, you know, me creating them, you know, in my office or in my

09:35desk, creating the nail, doing it is so much different than seeing this machine and doing

09:39all these, just all this technology that is used. It's amazing. And you know, our manufacturer is

09:42one of the top, top manufacturers. So it's definitely very, it was really amazing. It

09:47was very mind blowing to see that. As you know, Nicki Minaj has a really supportive fan base

09:53within the barbs. So talk to us about how they've reacted to Pink Friday Nails and the support that

10:00you've received from other celebrity clients. Honestly, I'm very happy to say that everybody,

10:06we've gotten great reviews. Everybody has been very happy. Um, I think the only problem now is

10:12people just want more and more. Um, but aside from that, everybody's very happy. You know,

10:16we have such a great customer service department as well. So even if there is,

10:19you know, anything we're able to be on that. And, um, I mean, the barbs are not forgiving.

10:23So if the barbs approve, then, you know, we're, we're set, you know, and we've also expanded

10:28beyond just, you know, her fan base, but it's, yeah, I think so far, so far, so good. Everybody's

10:33happy. Um, again, the only thing is they just keep wanting more. So, you know, we're ready for that.

10:38Talk to us about that a little bit more. How do you, um, how do you expand past her fan base

10:43and just, uh, get to women or other people who want quality press on nails?

10:48Uh, I think one of the biggest tools right now, for example, is we've been using, for example,

10:52Shopify collabs. We, we, we've been able to use that to expand beyond, you know, for example,

10:58this pop-up right now, we're going to go, you know, people are, we're going to bring it to

11:02the people, you know, and they've been able, and they've been a very crucial tool in helping us,

11:06you know, bring this to more people and not just, you know, the internet,

11:10not just her specific fan base. I know that you have a collaboration with Shopify and in New York

11:18City this week, there's a pop-up with your business. Can you give us any insight into

11:22what that event's going to be like? So, um, we're very excited because it's going to be a chance

11:27for them to experience our product, you know, firsthand, you know, get to touch it, get to

11:31enjoy it. It's going to be like a full salon set up. So they're going to be able to come and get

11:36pampered, get their nails done. And, you know, they're gonna have a lot of nice photo moments.

11:40So it's just very, it's just going to be very submersive, just, you know, and very personal

11:46as well. So we're really excited about that. You know, thanks to Shopify, they, they created such

11:50a beautiful space that I'm so excited for everybody to see and everybody experience, you know.

11:55And why Shopify specifically, what about this relationship, um, do you look for?

12:02I think, I mean, it was kind of, you know, we kind of knew, you know, Shopify is like the

12:07entrepreneurship, like they are just known and they're, they're just so amazing. They just have

12:11all the great tools. It was just very seamless for us to use, you know, to be able to work with them.

12:17And we've gone beyond, you know, just the general, which is, it's already such an amazing

12:21company. It's already such an amazing space for anybody to be able to, you know, work with.

12:26And with us, it's just, it was just kind of, you know, it was very obvious for us.

12:31That that was going to be the, if we wanted to work with somebody in that sense, it would have

12:35been them. Like it was just very, you know, you could just very obvious. I know is the music to

12:41any business owners ear is the people want more and more and more. And that's what you were saying

12:46with these nails. So how is the business doing since it launched and what can we look for next

12:52when it comes to Pink Friday nails? Um, we're doing really good. We're really happy with,

12:57with what we've been creating right now. Um, right now our, our biggest focus is just getting,

13:02because we are a new brand. We just want as many people as possible to see us, to know about us

13:07and just be prepared. Uh, we want people to understand that, you know, that we do stand out,

13:11that it is different because, you know, obviously we're in a market. We, we, we want people to

13:16understand that, that it's, we're not the same. This is, this is something different that we

13:19created something from scratch in reference to like our quality and our type, the type of, you

13:24know, nails that we're doing. And for the future, I mean, we are definitely, you know, hoping to

13:29eventually be in a retail space, you know, and there's a few other things that we have in the

13:33works, you know, that we're not quite ready to announce yet, but we definitely have a few

13:38projects or a few ideas coming up. Well, we are certainly looking forward to seeing what those

13:43projects are. Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you so much again for having me.

13:48I really appreciate it.

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