What makes a star shine?

“Despite our different personalities, we hit it off immediately,” says Naik. One film led to another, and soon the duo were not just colleagues, but chosen family. “We practically lived with each other more than we lived with our families that time. And today, we are business partners together,” she adds.

Their friendship has stood the test of time, travel, and tight shoot schedules — and now, it’s morphed into Magic Salon, a chic spot in Juhu where regular people can get the celebrity treatment. You can get makeup and hair and lash treatments done straight from the women who doll up Bollywood’s it-girls like Kiara Advani, Suhana Khan and Ananya Panday, or choose to get treatments from their team who have been trained to “make you feel like a star.”

“One my first day at my hair academy, my teacher asked me, ‘Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?’ My answer to that was as a brand. I have always had the vision of starting my own brand,” says Menon. That answer might have sounded like a daydream then — but a decade later, it’s their reality.

For Naik, the push came from a less-than-glam experience at a popular makeup academy in India. “He said very negative things about women, that women can’t be makeup artists as they will never willingly make another woman look beautiful,” she recalls. “I was just 20 then. I came home and cried and my father encouraged me to study abroad and I got a very good teacher in London. My whys and hows were not answered in India.” She believes that women can support women, and glam each other up too. Those answers — and plenty of lessons learnt — now fuel the duo’s mission: to run a salon that uplifts its clients, and a team that works with heart. “We have trained our team to make whoever sits in their chair feel like a celebrity. We know how to. People need to come to a salon with a feeling that something good will happen here,” says Naik.

Forget judgmental stylists and snooty service. At Magic, you’re treated like you’re walking the red carpet — even if you just walked in for a brow thread.

The duo poured their savings, as well as a lot of hustle, into bootstrapping Magic — personal investments, a loan, and support from their inner circle.

“I have been working since the age of 20 and my mom always taught me that if I earn R10,000, I need to put R2000 in into an FD, an RD or some savings,” says Naik. Menon adds that they were often second-guessed during the setup process, especially while scouting rental spaces. “It was a tough call, but we believe very hard in our vision,” she says. Magic Salon isn’t just a business — it’s a full-blown manifestation. “We believe in manifestation, and that magic is real if you believe in it and work hard, that’s why the name,” says Naik. 

So what makes a star shine? Aside from talent, charisma, and camera angles, it’s skincare. Lots of it. “You have to take care of your skin (and every actor does, this writer has seen many stars glow IRL at interviews) and get a facial at least once a month once you cross 30,” says Naik. Magic offers everything from facial massages and face yoga to express glow-up masks for the time-starved. “Skincare is more important than makeup,” she adds.

Brows and lashes also get the A-list treatment. Think brow lamination, tinting, and lash lifts — tiny details that elevate your look instantly. “Lashes are such a small thing, yet important to frame your face,” says Naik. “If you don’t have the time, a lash lift and tint means that you don’t have to do anything and have lifted lashes every day. I feel less is more and we have the right solutions for you.”

As for hair? Stars don’t skimp on treatments like Olaplex and K18 to repair all that styling damage says Menon. “Such monthly treatments help rebuild broken bonds of your hair strands to avoid breakage,” says Menon. They also colour their hair based on skin tone, not just trends.

Nails? Surprisingly low-key. “Stars prefer to go natural, with soap or nude nails, or chrome if feeling edgy,” says Naik. Running a biz with your BFF isn’t all glitter and glam — but these two have cracked the code.

“We are best friends, but we are very strong-headed and we have our own opinions, of course we are aligned in the vision we have for our brand, but as people, we are very opposite. An important lesson that we have learned is when we have differences, we leave it, sleep on it, and come to a neutral decision the next day,” says Naik.

And here’s the golden rule: “If you want to start a business with your best friend, leave your ego out of the door. Anything and everything you do has to be for the betterment of the brand and not you,” Menon sums up.

The Lash Lift Lowdown

I never step out without mascara and after watching many stars flaunt natural-looking lifted lashes on Instagram, I trusted Shraddha Naik to do her magic on me.

The promise? Mascara-ready eyes for six to eight weeks without the daily struggle.

Heads up: You’ll be lying down, eyes shut, and phoneless for two hours. A small price for lash luxury from a lash whisperer. The process kicks off with a lash shampoo (yes, that’s a thing), followed by your lashes being gently glued onto a tiny silicone shield. Enter: the perm solution, then tinting, and you wait for 20 minutes between each step.

Before and After: The writer gets a lash lift. Pics/Dhara Vora Sabhnani

The real MVP moment is when the shields come off and your lashes are conditioned — we feel a sting here, totally normal according to Naik.

The result? Lashes that look like they’ve been curled, lifted, and blessed by the mascara gods. Zero clumps, all glam. 

And yes, you can wear mascara (just not the waterproof kind).

The effect might just convert even the most committed lash curler addict.

The service comes with a starry price tag too. But hey — stars spend on their faces for a reason, and this is the flirtiest my lashes have ever looked without mascara.

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