Ciaté London

Charlotte Knight opened Dublin's first nail bar at 21 with no business experience, worked as a session nail technician at fashion weeks in London, New York and Paris, and founded Ciaté London in 2009. Three years later she launched the Caviar Manicure — tiny beads you roll your wet polish into — and it sold more than 12,000 kits in its opening weekend, taking the brand from roughly fifty stockists and four staff to more than 4,000 stores in 35 countries.

Ciaté has since extended well beyond nails into colour cosmetics, with the Dewy Stix highlighting balm and the Watermelon Burst lip range among its better-known launches, and the bow-tied polish bottle is still its most recognisable signature. Knight went on to found Lottie London in 2014 and Skin Proud in 2020. Parent company Brand Agency London entered administration in January 2025, and the brand's ownership has been in flux since.