{"id":12715,"date":"2018-01-22T17:05:47","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T09:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/server1.webstudio.com.sg\/~staging\/ypsg\/?p=12715"},"modified":"2018-03-19T15:49:55","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T07:49:55","slug":"man-wants-help-get-perfectly-manicured-fingernails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/server1.webstudio.com.sg\/~staging\/ypsg\/man-wants-help-get-perfectly-manicured-fingernails\/","title":{"rendered":"This S’porean Man Wants To Help You Get Perfectly Manicured Nails"},"content":{"rendered":"

While most businesses are born out opportunity, it takes a certain level of unrelenting passion to see through it for the long haul. 30-year-old Daryl Chew created the first iteration of Nail Deck<\/a>, a beauty start-up specialising in nail polish, close to 7 years ago back in 2011.<\/p>\n

Before you make assumptions about Daryl\u2019s sexuality and draw parallels to famous male beauty mavens like Jeffree Star of Jeffree Star Cosmetics<\/a>, Daryl is your average Singaporean guy \u2013 devoted husband and father, worrying about BTOs and fussing over the current state of Singapore\u2019s mildly erratic weather.<\/p>\n

I notice that his left pinky is painted a bright purple and he quickly fills me in on his latest nail polish collection based on the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2018 (it\u2019s Ultra Violet if you\u2019re wondering).<\/p>\n

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Source<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no top coat and it hasn\u2019t chipped after three weeks and a trip to Bangkok,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

A Boyfriend\u2019s Kiasu<\/em> Gesture Of Love<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Daryl<\/p>\n

The idea for Nail Deck first manifested when his then-girlfriend (now wife), wanted to buy from a US brand by the name of Blaze, which produced colour-changing nail polish.<\/p>\n

Like any kiasu<\/em>\u00a0Singaporean, he thought, why not buy in bulk to offset the hefty shipping taxes?<\/p>\n

And so, he bought 500 bottles.<\/p>\n

He went on to become a distributor of nail polish in Singapore, beginning his foray into the technicolour world of the beauty industry.<\/p>\n

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Source<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Over the years, in spite of the bumps, hiccups and missteps, the Nail Deck dream is still alive and kicking and it\u2019s certainly not because Daryl’s wife still needs nail polish after all these years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stayed in it partly out of passion and partly out of luck.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Citing his passion for colour and a supportive network of friends and partners, Daryl has no plans to leave the beauty industry anytime soon.<\/p>\n

The Nail Deck brand has since evolved to include a mobile app which allows users to snap photos of objects and create matching bespoke nail polish colours.<\/p>\n

Daryl personally fulfils and creates all of the custom nail polish requests and even sources and tests of all of the ingredients himself.<\/p>\n

\"Nail<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n

Prior to Nail Deck, Daryl was running a custom road bicycle business where he provided custom design services for bikes, dealing with suspensions, gears, frames and rims. He still deals with suspensions, but of a different sort.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a specific type of suspension base to make a glitter polish.” Other nail polish jargons like \u201cjellies\u201d, \u201ccremes\u201d, \u201cpigments\u201d and \u201ctopcoats\u201d roll off his tongue effortlessly.<\/p>\n

Deciding to start a business fresh out of school is almost certain to raise some eyebrows, let alone a man entering the beauty industry traditionally dominated by females.<\/p>\n

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Source<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

And it\u2019s in these moments of madness that one finds out who are the sceptics and true believers. Unsurprisingly, Daryl\u2019s parents and family had their fair share of doubts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, my parents and family were sceptical that I would be able to make a decent living from this but over time I managed to prove that I could and I guess that was enough,\u201d he comments.<\/p>\n

In time, he managed to quell the apprehension surrounding his unconventional business decision. “My friends thought I was brave to do this (I thought maybe I was stupid) and were mostly encouraging,” he adds with a laugh.<\/p>\n

After all, he was<\/em> featured on an episode of Xiaxue\u2019s Guide to Life on Clicknetwork.<\/p>\n