Changing the Beauty Landscape
The ever-evolving beauty industry of Dhaka sees enthusiasts joining in regularly. Be it the artists or the customers, this community is growing at an incredible speed. While the overlapping services between medicine and beauty has been around for a long time, it is only recently that they have become accessible to the masses. Understanding the need for such facilities, Nibedita Das established her brand – Luxe Medispa and Salon. She shares her experience as an entrepreneur and her journey with her brand.
by Rafa Mashiyat Zahid
Nibedita stands out among the recent additions to the beauty community. While most have turned their hobbies into a business, Nibedita established the business and has turned it into her creative outlet. Her background is rooted in business since she completed her bachelor’s and master’s in business administration. Having completed her degrees, she got into the corporate world since that was seemingly the natural progression of her career trajectory. She has worked with GP and BAT, arguably two of the most sought-after companies in the country for graduates. Eventually, like many other people in the younger generation, she decided to move abroad to get a second master’s. While she was completing the processing of the shift, she was dabbling in the online business community on the side, since a full-time job was out of the question for the time being. It was during this transitory phase of her life that she decided to take a risk and completely veer off her path and establish a business here.
Research is something that she has always enjoyed diving into, says Nibedita. So when it came to beauty and skincare that is exactly what she did. And like every skincare and beauty junkie out there she developed a keen understanding of the products and the chemistry behind them. She realized that a lot of the brands are pushing products in the market that are definitely cheap but have chemicals that are extremely bad for the skin in the long run. Some established brands and celebrities were also endorsing procedures that are blatantly wrong. She wanted to build a place where people will not come and get misinformation and get wrong products pushed into their hands. Her ideology was to make sure she does everything in her power to educate the people about their skin.
The young entrepreneur did a deep dive into the market needs and decided to venture into a more technical side of the community. She explains how most of the medical procedures for beauty are done in clinics and the general masses perceive that as being too complicated and too technical. That is how she came up with wanting her brand to be a medispa. While the medispas also provide services that are guided by doctors, it is done in a more casual, relaxing environment. She did not want her customers to feel like they were coming to the doctor, but to a spa to relax. Of the medicated services, Luxe provides Botox, Fillers, and PRP, while the salon services cover a wide range of services from waxing to massage to treatments. Her vision was to turn this into a wellness center where a customer will find almost every service they require.
Nibedita ensures that all her services are recommended and supervised by dermatologists. With a couple of house dermatologists, she suggests customers take consultations from them “Whether they take our service or not, I wish they at least get a consultation. That way everyone will have a starting point recommended by a doctor”.
As for the makeup side, Nibedita never planned on being a makeup artist herself. With a background in finance, she always knew she was more comfortable working on the managerial side. But she wanted to be more involved in the business. Therefore she perfected her craft in makeup artistry before joining in. She explains that she does not have a particular go-to look when it comes to her brides “I don’t want to limit myself to just one type of look just yet. I have a long way to go and much to learn.” When getting a bride ready, she takes into account her features, her outfit, and even the venue the event will be in.
The beauty community as a whole is extremely accepting, Nibedita says. Being a very shy person in her personal life, she is not very outgoing, but the community has welcomed her. As for whoever is looking to enter this world, she urges them to know and respect their craft well. Being skilled is extremely important but it is also imperative that people who are coming in respect the community and work professionally. “Professionalism is very important. Even if someone pays me 5tk, it is my duty to ensure that person gets the service. Customer satisfaction is something everyone must prioritize above everything” Looking towards the future, Nibedita hopes to expand Luxe and bring in more services for her customers.
