Women jostle to shop for beauty accessories.

From early morning, the beauty accessories shop on Nguyen Van Cu Street in Vinh City was bustling with customers browsing. The shop specializes in selling nail and toenail accessories, as well as tools for drawing and shaping eyebrows and decorating eyelashes.

Ms. Ho Thi Giang, owner of a nail and eyelash extension accessories shop, said that two days ago, on the 19th of the lunar month, her shop stopped online shipping services to focus on in-store sales. During this period, many customers came to buy directly, and all staff and the owner had to work overtime to serve and advise customers. Ms. Giang said that the customers were quite diverse, mostly students and young people.

Some customers are owners of beauty salons, offering services like perms, blow-drying, nail care, and eyelash extensions. They are regular customers who only buy the necessary items and don't require much consultation. The store also provides accessories and specialized materials for apprentices in eyelash and nail care. For other individual customers who are first-time buyers or unfamiliar with the products, the staff focuses on providing advice, including how to use beauty equipment such as gel nail dryers and nail clippers.

In addition, many customers ask detailed questions about the usage of various chemicals and solutions, as well as the procedures for painting nails, attaching nail accessories, and applying false eyelashes. Sales staff even directly test nail polish samples for customers to choose from.

Prices for beauty products like eyelashes and nails are quite varied. A set of 500 artificial nails costs between 39,000 and 59,000 VND depending on the material and style. Each bottle of nail polish costs between 40,000 and 55,000 VND, with a variety of colors numbered according to the display. Nail glue costs between 25,000 and 45,000 VND per bottle. Nail conditioner and glue softener solutions for removing glued nails also cost a few tens of thousands of VND per bottle.

Besides nail polish and artificial nails, there are also nail art accessories in a wide variety of types and colors, from stones, animal shapes, flowers, and plants to lettering and famous brand logos… Along with the nail kits are nail grinders and glue dryers, priced from 190,000 VND to 500,000-800,000 VND depending on the model. Individual customers who want to do their nails at home can buy mini machines for 90,000-150,000 VND.

Nail clippers are also sold individually or as a set. A single nail clipper costs between 55,000 and 75,000 VND. A complete set including nail clippers, cuticle scissors, nail files, etc., costs between 120,000 and 250,000 VND depending on the material.

"The variety of false eyelashes is quite extensive, and they're mainly purchased by young customers, students, and teenagers. With 100-200 thousand dong, they can easily change up the colors and styles to make their hands look pretty for Tet," said an accessories shop owner.

Ms. Tran Thi Thuy, a customer from Hung Dung ward, purchased a set of nail and toenail decoration accessories worth 320,000 VND, including a box of artificial nails, 3 bottles of nail polish, and bottles of nail glue, nail conditioner, and nail clippers.

Ms. Thuy said that the first time her daughter "advised" her to get ready for Tet (Lunar New Year), instead of getting services at a nail salon costing 200,000 VND per set of nails, she bought the materials and tools to do it herself at home.

Besides retail stores, makeup, nail, and eyelash accessories are now widely sold online, offering cheaper prices and a wider variety than buying directly from stores. For example, at an eyelash and nail accessory store on Nguyen Phong Sac Street in Vinh City, the owner stated that they don't sell false eyelashes with glue attached, only false eyelashes with accompanying glue.

For artificial nails, there are no pre-decorated nail templates; only raw nail templates are available, along with accessories such as nail polish, glue, top coat, and other equipment. Buying these online usually involves a set of 10 pre-glued false eyelashes, ready to be attached to the eyelids, priced at 40-55 thousand VND per set. For artificial nails, a set of 30 pre-decorated fingernails and toenails with rhinestones, glue, and a mini glue gun costs 150-190 thousand VND depending on the type.

Some shop owners selling these items said that during the period leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year) and other holidays, they mainly sell to young customers, mostly students, who often buy accessories for group use. They buy the items themselves and do each other's makeup, especially groups planning to take photos and celebrate the New Year. They rent costumes, buy accessories, and help each other with makeup and photography. On regular days, the shops mainly sell online and serve wholesale customers.