The Fifth Avenue Beauty Emporium of DublinTown
Written by There is only one Fifth Avenue Beauty Emporium in the city and we’re proud to say it’s in the Creative Quarter of DublinTown.
Whether you’re looking to get your nails did, a pretty pedicure, a relaxing and effective facial, or perhaps you need a good waxing – Fifth Avenue has it all. With two DublinTown salons, on Wicklow Street and Clarendon Street, I sat down with co-founder Giedre Vasilauska to talk about all things business and beauty.
Tell us Giedre, how did you start your business?
Twelve years ago, myself and my best friend Jurgita were both working for accountancy companies in Cork, and we really liked getting our nails done but there was nobody specialising in that. So, we decided that we wanted to start that, and in 2007 we opened the first nail bar, Fifth Avenue. A year later the recession came, but it was actually quite easy for us to grow during it.
Six years ago, I moved to Dublin to open new salons, and Jurgita stayed in Cork to manage our original two salons. Here I started with a small place and then we built from it. Then a year later, both of our husbands became involved in the business with us, as we had 125 employees and four salons, and it just was not possible to manage this by ourselves.
What inspired you to open your business in Dublin’s Creative Quarter?
Having opened the nail & beauty salons in Cork, we would have customers who were born in Cork but worked and lived in Dublin. But often they said “you have to open in Dublin! There is nothing there compared to you.” We started checking the waters, and we knew that we wanted to work around Wicklow Street, because this location is so lively, there is a lot of people passing by and it’s not the high street of Grafton Street.
We waited nearly a year and half until something came up. And then when the Wicklow Street location became available it was just the perfect spot for us. Again, it’s lively with a lot of people; The International Bar across the road, Butlers Chocolate Café on the corner; it was just a really good location.
What’s your personal favourite treatment at Fifth Avenue Beauty Emporium?
I would have one from each of the categories! I really love the Yon-Ka HYDRALESSENCE (€60, 60 mins). It’s a new treatment that we started only a year ago, and it’s popular worldwide. There is a great buzz around the world about it! And I really love it because it does work, although it’s not as relaxing, it does give excellent results. And that’s what you’re looking for. It’s fast and very effective. My next favourite treatment is the Coconut Pedicure (€50, 60 mins), which is also our most popular treatment for all our pedicure clients.
And for the nails, for myself it’s the Yon-Ka Manicure (€55, 75 mins). Because we work with the Yon-Ka facial treatments, we have all their products. We created and combined their products and our expertise, and we built this Yon-Ka manicure. It has a spa feeling so you can really relax, with scented candles. It’s aromatherapy at the same time – a real treat yourself experience.
Tell us more about treatments here that people may not yet know about.
We’re very well known for doing nails, but what we have here in FABE on the First Floor of the Clarendon Street salon are five gorgeous beauty rooms. Here we do so much like Lycon Waxing (from €10), which is the best brand to use for waxing. We do facials including Yon-Ka, which is a well established worldly known French brand beloved in Ireland; and last year, Yon-Ka introduced new products in the body range, so we also do their body treatments here. We have a special room in FABE, which is suitable for couples or a pair of friends, where you can have a range of Yon-Ka body treatments.
As well as that, we work with French brand Carita (from €85), which is the Chanel of the beauty industry! It’s a very exclusive luxury brand, and we’re very proud that we’re one of the very few salons in Ireland to work with them. Fifth Avenue was chosen and offered the brand, and of course we said yes to that opportunity!
Then we also offer the Hydra Facial, a very popular choice; and we also new state of the art machines for body contouring: the Velashape III (from €100) and Ultrashape (€99). We know you need to exercise and have a healthy lifestyle, but if you still cannot lose those last few pounds that you want to, this is the thing for you. Velashape III is very good for cellulite too as it treats your skin; but it’s not only for losing the weight, it also maintaining good and healthy body skin.
Where are your favourite DublinTown spots for socialising after work?
If we have a guest visiting the salon, I really like to bring them to Powerscourt. For lunch it’s The Townhouse Café because it has really nice food, drinks and history; and I also like to bring them to The Pepper Pot, because it has so much character and vibes.
I also like The Ivy on Dawson Street. This is probably my favourite spot, very beautiful and especially if you want to treat yourself. Then I also like Fade Street Social. Usually when we have a staff party with all my girls we go to their Winter Garden, which is so lovely.
Ooh and my latest favourite lunch spot is Honest to Goodness on Dame Court, I swear they have the best salads!
What goals do you have for Fifth Avenue in 2019?
Jurgita and I made a plan that we’re not going to open any new salons but that we’re going to concentrate on improving all our current services. To improve on new products and better brands – we’re going to CosmoProf Worldwide in Bologna, so we hope to bring home some new treatments to add to our line. Our goal is to work with what we have, to improve our customer service and give better treatments to our clients.
To make your appointment visit Fifth Avenue Beauty Emporium at 45 Clarendon Street, Dublin 2, call (01) 679 8317 or email hello@fabe.ie
