Ezmio Beauty: How four women turned $4k into a $3m empire

News.com.au

05-05-2025

It's no secret money-conscious Aussies are cracking down on spending due to the rising cost of living. And that means cutting unnecessary costs where possible, including those regular $100 nail appointments.
But what if you could still enjoy salon-quality nails in the comfort of your own home, for a fraction of the price?
Say hello to Ezmio Beauty.
Founded by four female entrepreneurs – sisters Saryne Lagudi (33), Rochele Hanna Politis (32), Jazmin Hanna Oluklu (30) and friend Nicolle Khattar El-Rassy (33) – Ezmio Beauty is a Sydney-based nail brand created with one mission: to simplify women's lives.
Launching in December 2020, Ezmio Beauty has become the one-stop shop for all things nails in just four short years. From gel polishes, gel wraps, builder gels, press-ons, nail stickers and everything in between, their products are affordable, beginner-friendly, non-toxic and built to last.
For Saryne, Rochele and Jazmin, getting their nails done at salons was an obsession – albeit pricey, it was convenient and easy. It wasn't until Nicolle introduced them to the world of at-home nails that their passion for do-it-yourself (DIY) nails grew.
'For a few years, we started doing our nails at-home. And then we decided to post a video about how we do our nails on our other Instagram page that's pretty popular, it's called @eatingupwiththehannashians, and it just received so much feedback,' Rochele told news.com.au checkout.
'Everyone was like 'oh my god where can we buy this kit?' And we were like, it's not a kit because we had to get the UV lamp from here, the nail polish from here and everything was just all over the place.'
When their followers told them there were 'too many links', it sparked a light bulb moment.
'We were like maybe we could shift this area and see if we could build products and a kit that people could just buy and use themselves. So it would have to have everything that we've been using [to do our nails] from one place,' Rochele said.
Nicolle, Saryne, Rochele and Jazmin each invested $1000 into the business despite not knowing if it was going to go well or how it was going to work.
'We were like we have to be really smart about this – $1000 each, it's a $4000 investment, we're going to sample everything,' Rochele explained.
After spending a year testing and sampling a variety of formulas and nail tools, Ezmio Beauty officially launched in December 2020 – and sold out within the first week.
'We were so shocked because we were like how did this happen? We literally went from being salon-obsessed to being self-taught and now we've helped over 20,000 women,' Rochele said.
'And it's not even just customers, it's women who run nail salons as well.'
'WE ARE CONFIDENT IN OUR PRODUCTS'
Ezmio Beauty has cemented itself in the nail industry thanks to their high-quality, non-toxic products that are not affordable but perfect for beginners.
'We have the cheapest gel polish on the market. Our bottles are 17 millilitres and at $29, they happen to be the best value gel on the market,' Rochele told news.com.au checkout.
'We're also definitely the cleanest [nail brand]. We ran reports on the brand ingredients and essentially, every single one of our gel products is 12-free and HEMA-free, which is an incredible product to have in this market because I know a lot of people are more conscious about what they're putting on their nails.'
The term '12-free' means that the nail polish is free of harmful chemicals, whereas 'HEMA-free' refers to the absence of hydroxyethyl methacrylate – a common ingredient used to cure and set the gel polish, but may cause allergic reactions and skin sensitivities when in direct contact with skin.
'Gel is a very dangerous product when used incorrectly, but that is why we aim to be there for every single customer. Just email us, we'll email you right back. We have a lot of information on our site and it is very heavy on 'how-to's',' Rochele explained.
According to the team, what sets Ezmio Beauty apart from big name beauty brands is their commitment to customer service. They value being personable and approachable; they want their followers to communicate with the faces behind the brand.
'When we started Ezmio, we wanted people to be able to email us to be like 'how do you use this product?' We wanted to be able to be there for them,' Rochele said.
'A lot of the big brands have no face behind them. It's just the brand. I'm not dismissing the fact that that's an amazing achievement but at the same time, what we were aiming for Ezmio Beauty was different. You know the faces behind Ezmio.'
Ezmio Beauty's offering goes beyond the classic one-step gel polishes. The evergrowing brand has a range of builder gels, gel wraps, nail art stickers, nail care and most recently, press-on nails – courtesy of their sister brand, GOJELLE.
First introduced to the world in March 2024, GOJELLE press-ons are made out of gel and easy to apply on the go.
'You can literally apply them anywhere you want and they appeal to those who don't feel confident enough to do their own nails. They're for people who get their nails done in the salon, but need something like a last minute fix. Or for a wedding or an event, they can just stick them on with the adhesive tabs,' Saryne told news.com.au checkout.
'It just went hand-in-hand with our concept of being a one-stop nail shop and press-ons are an important nail product.'
The beauty brand prides itself in their inclusive product range that caters to anyone. Whatever nail products you're after, Ezmio Beauty has it all.
'I feel like every woman is a certain type of nail woman and we kind of have to cover all bases,' Rochele told news.com.au checkout.
'So if you're into very bare nails, we have a whole nail health range – cuticle oil and nail serum. All of these will help you maintain your nails – maybe that's what you're about. Or maybe you love gel polish. Or maybe you love builder gel. Or maybe you love extensions.'
The demand for Ezmio Beauty gel polishes and builder gels shows no signs of slowing down. According to Rochele, their best-selling builder gel polishes have sold out over 20 times and continue to fly off shelves.
Their beginner-friendly kits and bundles are also bestsellers and the perfect way to get anyone started on their nail journey, plus they're often discounted which makes it even better.
The Essential Starter Kit (now $222, down from $259) is one of their best bundles and it comes with The Essential Buffer, Mini Nail Brush, The Essential File, Nail Lamp, Pro Cuticle Pusher, Pro Scraper Tool, Peel Off Base Coat and three Gel Polish colours of your choice.
'It actually ends up costing you $2.50 a manicure and you get 90 manicures out of that one gel kit which is very amazing,' Rochele revealed to news.com.au checkout.
'Say you spend $100 on your mani-pedi at a nail salon, you'll end up spending $2.50 on a mani-pedi with the kit. So you'll end up saving around $2,500 a year'.
More of their bestsellers include:
Essential Starter Kit
$31 off
$222 at Ezmio
Bambi Blue
$29 at Ezmio
Pip Pink
$29 at ezmio
Belle Ballerina
$29 at Ezmio
Bella Black
$29 at Ezmio
Bowie Burgundy
$29 at Ezmio
Violet Builder Gel
$29 at Ezmio
Francesca Builder Gel
$29 at Ezmio
Gel Remover
$29 at Ezmio
Nail Lamp
$89 at ezmio
'WE ACTUALLY DID IT': THE PINCH ME MOMENT
The word Rochele and Saryne specifically use to describe the launch and success of Ezmio Beauty is 'serendipitous'.
Now operating out of their dream warehouse – bigger and in their ideal location – Rochele recalled a full-circle moment: grabbing a coffee together and chatting about going to the gym at their dream work complex, just as they had once envisioned.
'We'd be like, wouldn't it just be amazing to have a warehouse? Wouldn't it be amazing to have all of this? And when we were walking to that same cafe that we used to go to many years ago, we looked at each other and were like 'oh my god, we actually did it',' she recalled.
'I can't put into words how grateful and amazing the universe has been to us by giving us all of these little things.
'They say when something is meant for you, it happens really easily and seamlessly – I think we've found that with this business. Don't get me wrong, there have been setbacks but we've been able to overcome them quite easily. You just pivot and it works.'
What began as small, local beauty brand is now a multimillion dollar name in the nail industry. Ezmio Beauty has gone on make its mark at both Australian Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.
'We ended up doing three shows in Australian Fashion Week. We did Bec + Bridge, Staple the Label, Viktoria & Woods and we got to collaborate with Christopher Esber on his Paris Fashion Week show. It was crazy,' Rochele said.
'It's literally just the four of us texting each other freaking out over the fact that our nail products, our GOJELLE's are in Paris. It's nuts.'
If that isn't enough to speak on Ezmio Beauty's success, Saryne revealed that the brand has grown 500 per cent every year, generated over 50,000 orders, and reached 50,000 followers on TikTok.
Plus, the beauty brand recently collaborated with influencer, nail artist and brand ambassador, Vanessa Knight, on a hand-picked collection full of her favourite Ezmio products.
'WE'RE IN CONTROL': THE FUTURE OF EZMIO BEAUTY
The incredible success of Ezmio Beauty can be attributed to the four founder's hardwork, dedication and proactivity in ensuring they remain fully involved in the business.
'The girls and I work very actively in this business,' Rochele told news.com.au checkout.
'We're constantly packing orders, we're always on TikToks and TikTok live, we're always on Instagram. I'm taking photos of the polishes – it's all in-house and I really love that [ …]
'I think it's so cool that we come to work and our mum works with us as well and we're still packing orders together. There's no 3PL (third-party logistics) – it's just us in our warehouse. We monitor everything and we understand what's going on.'
So, what's next for Ezmio Beauty? With high-demand for their gel polish and builder gel range, Rochele shares they're working hard on formulating more colours and Saryne says they're looking to expand their nail sticker range to stay ahead of the latest trends.
The team also revealed plans to expand onto in-store shelves and tap into overseas market more.
'We'd love to be in stores like Sephora or supermarkets. Maybe even pop-up stores internationally – that's something we're definitely looking into,' Saryne told news.com.au checkout.
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While Ezmio Beauty already ships overseas to over 60 countries, opening up their first showroom where customers can actually experience the colours in real life is a major goalfor the brand.
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Harriet Amurao Shopping writer
Harriet knows a lot about helping Australian shoppers find the exact product they're looking for. She started her career at popular fashion website Showpo where she analysed thousands of fashion pieces (how stretchy is that dress?, are those linen pants see-through?) to create the detailed product descriptions online shoppers rely on. She joined the news.com.au checkout team in 2022 and spends every day scouring the web for deals to share and new products to test and review. She's always on the lookout for new trends and the dupes that are just as good as the expensive version. When she isn't working, she's most likely being influenced into buying trending TikTok products or gushing over her dogs.
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