A NEW quirky female run business has opened its doors in York with plans to make every woman feel beautiful.
MaYonail, a press on nail shop run by an entirely female team, opened its doors at 8 Stonegate on Monday, selling a range of nails, trinkets, and jewellery.
Starting from a kiosk in St John’s shopping centre in Leeds, the shop is owned by pianist Ruyi Liu – who currently has one other shop in Albion Street, Leeds and chose York as her second location due to the array of ‘small artsy’ shops in the city centre.
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Her decision to open a nail shop came after she spoke with a number of women who, like herself, love wearing false nails but aren’t able to keep them on full time or afford to replace them frequently in a salon.
Ruyi said: “I love nails, but I play piano and can’t always wear them. I was speaking with a friend, and we wanted to come up with something reusable that people could take on and off.
“The name Mayonail was just because I was eating a lot of mayonnaise at the time.”
So far, she said that the concept has been popular amongst a range of people but many of their customers are hijabi Muslims – who have to make wudu (a washing ritual) before praying and are required to remove nails as a result.
The shop offers a range of reusable and handmade press-on nails that are designed to be easy to apply and remove, with a range of colours, lengths, and themes alongside DIY nail kits.
In Stonegate, this includes specific designs for York, in addition to keyrings, jewellery, and other trinkets featuring characters such as Japanese brand Sanrio, Jellycat teddy bears and keyrings, and viral Labubu products.
Prices for the nails range from £8 to £35, depending on the intricacy of the design.
Outside of the shop, Mayonail also has a small charity where products are gifted for free to people who are in difficult situations or unable to afford the cost of a set – something which Ruyi hopes will give them the chance to feel beautiful and grow their confidence.
Details for this can be found on their Instagram page for people either wanting to give money or pick up a set of nails of their own.
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