Nadene Cox has created her own range of products after converting her garage into a salon. Nadene named Normandaé in honour of her late ‘gramps’.

Not many beauticians can say they literally built their salon from the ground up. But Nadene Cox, 24, created her masterpiece brick-by-brick.

Nadene named Normandaé in honour of her late ‘gramps’. But now the business mogul is well on the way to building her own empire.

While offering all the beauty services you could want, the 24-year-old has also created her own line of products. During lockdown, Nadene wanted to create a salon experience that could be sent to someone's door.

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From that, Nadene quickly expanded her range of services and products and realised she needed a space to work from. So, armed with an array of YouTube DIY videos, she set about converting her garage into a salon from scratch.

Nadene, who is based in Saltash, wanted to give her customers as close to a professional manicure as they could get while being stuck at home so created custom, press-on acrylic nails that she could post out. They were such a hit that she then started offering hand-made strip lashes, shimmery body oils and hydrating lip oils.

She said: “I wanted to create a salon experience that could be sent to your door. I started making acrylic and gel press-on nails which would be the best I could offer my customers while they were stuck at home.”

On making the decision to build her own work space, Nadene said: “I wanted to be able to work from home to be near to my gran in case she needs me, so I thought the perfect space would be the garage where my gramps used to have his office. During the first lockdown, I decided to build my own salon as I needed somewhere to work and fulfil all the orders I was getting.

“I started the journey of turning the garage into a salon. I had a bit of advice from my family but basically built the whole place from scratch by myself.

“I worked day and night, seven days a week, to transform it. There were breeze blocks, cobwebs, concrete floor, paint pots, there was a hole in the wall, everything needed doing.

“I taught myself by watching a lot of YouTube videos as I had no idea at the start. Then I got to start looking at interior design.

“I wanted to offer people the salon experience alongside the idea of home comforts, I wanted to create a safe space for clients where they could relax.”

Nadene, who originally trained at Saltash College, added that she populated the room with finds from Facebook Marketplace and scrapyards to try and keep the cost down. She documented the process on TikTok and built up a good following with positive feedback.

Nadene has achieved a lot through hard work and determination but she also puts a large part of her success down to her gran and grandad. Her gramps’ name was Norman which inspired the name Normandaé, this was really important to her as his work ethic inspired Nadene to start her business.

She said: “When I grew up, he was my father figure, he was a big part of my life. Where I built my salon is where he started all of his businesses, he had his sketches and plans here for his restaurants and pubs.

“I thought it was really fitting because I’ve always been inspired by him and his work ethic. I took an interest in art from staying up late with him in the kitchen when I was little watching him sketch and that’s where my passion for nail art started.”

Ever since her gramp’s passing, Nadene has been extremely close with her gran and along with others, her support has been invaluable. She said: “I wouldn’t have the salon or be where I am today without the support I receive. Whether that’s from my clients, my friends or especially my gran.

“My gran has been my biggest support throughout this whole process, she was bringing me cups of tea the whole time I was building the salon, she’s always encouraged me to strive for my best and it means the world to me.”

While Nadene wanted her business to grow, and to be a shop as well as a salon, she also understands the importance of offering people an opportunity to feel pampered when they don’t necessarily feel comfortable to visit a salon physically.

The inspiration for the press-on nails came from the Clare’s stick-on ones that Nadene used herself when she was young. She wanted to make her own version but using acrylics to make them sturdy and durable. It also means the customer can choose their own colour, design, shape and length.

In order to make the order special during lockdown, Nadene designed an ‘unboxing experience’ to send out the nails which was a big hit with her clients. It comes with 20 nails so purchasers can find the right size and have spares. It also contains a nail care package kit - nail file, cuticle pusher and oil - nail glue, alternative sticky tabs and even a branded chocolate.

The strip lashes are also customisable depending on the desired look. Nadene found that people were really missing the feeling of ‘dressing up and looking glam’ and still wanted to treat themselves even if just at home.

Stemming from her studying and training in beauty, she is big on skin care and making products that are also hydrating and moisturising. This is how the body and lip oils were born. The body oils are intended to boost a natural, shimmery glow and the lip oils all have cocktail themed names and flavours and come with little clips you can attach to your bag.

Nadene loves what she does, especially the creative process and artwork she gets to put into her nail designs. She said she loves meeting new people and seeing her clients regularly as they become friends.

She joked: “I’m like a cheap therapist for a lot of my customers. It’s so nice getting regular updates on their lives throughout the years I see them.”

She added: “Nails will always be my favourite thing to do but eyebrows are my second. I love helping clients find or build their self-confidence by enhancing their natural beauty.”

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