Manucurist is a family story, a mother-daughter collaboration that became a women’s business. So, with Mother’s Day approaching, we wanted to chat with Gaëlle Lebrat-Personnaz, CEO and cofounder of Manucurist.
She shares with you the origin of this project she has been passionate about for a long time and reveals her impressions as a woman, mother, and very active entrepreneur.
Gaëlle, you created Manucurist in 1996 with your mother. Can you tell us how the idea was born and how you helped it grow?
Gaëlle | My mom always had impeccable manicures with beautifully lacquered red nails. After raising her 3 children, she felt restless and wanted to learn the manicurist profession. She first worked for Parisian hair salons until she found the perfect location, Place du Marché Saint Honoré. That’s how we created the Manucurist institute dedicated to hand beauty.
As for me, I worked 15 years in fashion while helping her remotely with product development, communication, etc.
At the end of 2016, I took full control of Manucurist to develop a new type of polish and care products, designed for all women, with formulas as clean and natural as possible, without compromising on their effectiveness.
What qualities do you admire most in your mother?
Gaëlle | Courage, tenacity, and a strong work ethic—that’s what I especially admire in my mother. I always heard her tell me that if I wanted to be free as a woman, I had to be financially independent.
Later, while reading “The Second Sex” by Simone de Beauvoir, I felt like I was hearing my mother: "It is through work that women have largely bridged the gap separating them from men; it is work alone that can guarantee them concrete freedom.”
What has motherhood brought you?
Gaëlle | Motherhood is a vast subject! It’s ambiguous: I find it has both weakened and strengthened me. I realized I was no longer alone and that I was responsible for little beings completely dependent on me, which is frightening because we lose the freedom and lightness characteristic of youth. But, and this is also a real strength: you understand that you no longer do things just for yourself. You feel useful. It removes the feeling of emptiness in life that was strong in me before.
How do you manage to combine your role as a mother of 5 children with your responsibilities as a business leader?
Gaëlle | It’s crazy! We never ask this question to male business leaders or even to any man. As if the burden of organizing the family fell only on women. Unfortunately, this is a reality in many countries and there is still work to be done to achieve equality on this point, as on many others.
Every woman, mother, and working professional has a list that runs on repeat in her head and constantly renews itself. It’s the famous and exhausting “mental load,” a term that only entered the Petit Larousse Illustré in 2020...
Like all these women, I am often overwhelmed, with my work/home list running on repeat. Added to that is the guilt, a deeply feminine feeling, of not being present enough for my children. But, over time, I’ve learned that it’s not necessarily the number of hours spent with them that matters but the quality of the moments shared with them.
What do you want to pass on to your children?
Gaëlle | They are raised in the city, in Paris, and I find that a bit sad. I want to pass on to them a love of nature, gardening, the names of flowers, trees… I try to help them feel the present moment, the taste of the little things that make life’s spice. They often imitate me by quoting: "Aren’t we comfortable here?"
There are also essential values such as respect for others and a strong work ethic without which nothing is really possible. To my daughters, I want to pass on a sense of beauty for themselves. That they accept themselves as they are and use makeup to feel stronger. And for the boys, I would like them to become fair men, capable of sharing household tasks equally.
But what I want them to remember above all is: “Be yourselves, don’t try to please me or others, become who you want to be.”
