Up-Close with Roselyn Toussaint, director of Citronella Beauty Spa-‘My joy is making people feel good about themselves’ |05 February 2013
“When I got older and was more mature, I started to take an interest in beauty again. My parents always supported me in anything I wanted to do as long as I was happy. They have always been a great support system,” says the 25-year-old mother of an 18-month baby girl who is today running her own beauty parlour -- Citronella Beauty Spa -- on the second floor of OJ Mall, Market Street.
“Before Citronella I used to work as a flight attendant with Air Seychelles where I got the chance to improve my customer service skills. I also learned a lot about different cultures and different personalities which had allowed me to get along with anyone,” says Roselyn.
After working with Air Seychelles for three years, Roselyn decided to take a course in beauty therapy. She did her research and decided to study in Mauritius. According to her, Mauritius offered a great programme and while there, she practiced massages, nail treatments, body therapies, professional make-up and much more. She came back to Seychelles afterwards and started applying for jobs at five-star hotels and got a prompt reply from Ephelia Resort. There she was given the opportunity to learn more about massages and the different services offered by a professional spa, which gave her the experience she needed to open her own business.
Childhood and school years
Roselyn lives at Ma Constance in the Anse Etoile district. “I love my district because I’ve been there since I was born and I like the tranquility and privacy it offers,” she says.
She is the youngest of a family of three children – one boy and two girls.
She says what she remembers the most from her childhood is that she was a ‘girly’ girl; she enjoyed playing with dolls and liked wearing pretty dresses. She thinks she was interested in beauty at an early age.
“I lived in Australia when I was three so I did my pre-school there. We stayed there for three years, after which we came back and I continued my schooling at the Anse Etoile primary school, followed by English River secondary school. Then I attended post-secondary school were I did a two-year course in international tourism at the current Seychelles Tourism Academy (formerly known as the Seychelles Hotel and Tourism Training College) were I got the chance to learn a lot about how to interact with customers and also the tourism industry in general,” says the ever smiling Roselyn.
“I really enjoyed my days at the tourism school because we got the chance to visit a lot of places with our class; we did a lot of fund-raising to be able to go to Mauritius to visit tourism establishments. I am ever so thankful to my teachers because they’ve helped me grow up and be the person I am today.”
Passion for beauty
Talking about her current business and how the name Citronella came up, Roselyn says:
“I always loved pampering the people I love with pedicures, massages and I had a huge fascination with make-up as I couldn’t believe how transformed it can make someone.
“I used to and still tune in to style channels on television as everyday there is something new being invented to make people younger, prettier or healthier.”
As for the name Citronella she says it was agreed by herself and a previous business partner. They thought about citronelle -- which is lemon grass in English and sitronnel in creole.
“We decided to add the ella to give it an added touch of femininity and to make it different.
Citronella is also a scented aromatherapy oil which can be used during massage,” she notes.
“My clients are of all ages and we get both ladies and men. Anyone are welcome as our prices are affordable. I believe that anyone, whether they have money or not, should be able to pamper themselves once in a while as we all deal with everyday pressures and deserves to relax and unwind from time to time,” she says.
Leisure time …
Roselyn manages to juggle work and personal life quite easily. As the spa opens on a daily basis, from 9am to 5pm, she says she gets some free time after work to do some chores and play with her daughter. During weekends she says she’s free so this is where she finds time for herself, family and friends.
“I am someone who is always fascinated about learning more on life and everything in general so one of my main hobbies is reading. I also enjoy things that relieve stress such as watching movies and having a massage every now and then.
“I am also a very friendly and cheerful person so interacting with my customers makes me happy. “Being a businesswoman can be really stressful as one has to deal with a lot of challenges. In order to stay healthy one has to make time to relax and separate one’s business life from the social one,” says Roselyn.
“What I hate most in life are negative people, those who instead of giving you a compliment will find something bad about you to say each time they see you. Life in general is pretty hard at times so highlighting a good quality in someone can make a huge difference for them. I believe this is why I have always been interested in beauty, so as to make people feel better about themselves,” she says.
Roselyn says she would like to see more peace and love in the world and people have more compassion for others, to lend a helping hand to someone in need.
“It can be a small thing but I am sure God will notice,” she says, adding one can feel a sense of happiness when one brings a smile to someone else’s face.
Roselyn’s most memorable experience was when she gave birth to her baby girl.
“It was the happiest day of my life and the best gift God could have given me,” she concludes.