About Us

Maria Marques

Maria Marques, the dynamic founder and CEO of Princess Pawdicure, possesses the passion and drive to make your doggy look as fashionable as you. As a seasoned veteran in the luxury cosmetics industry—having worked for Christian Dior as one of the top Executives at major retailers, such as Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and many others throughout the nation—Maria has enthusiastically developed the FIRST and ONLY trendy nail polish sets for Kids and Pets!

One day in 2014,  Maria about to polish her own nails, her puppy “Princess” staring at her, the proverbial light bulb went off in Maria's head and the thought occurred to her: “I will polish her paws instead.” But Maria quickly discovered that Princess wasn’t going to sit still long enough for the nails to dry. “Then I thought to myself, I need to create a quick-drying, nail polish for pets.” Maria was thrilled at the prospect of creating her own product line, a childhood dream of hers!

Born in Portugal, Maria came to the U.S. at the age of 13. Growing up, cosmetics were always a passion to Maria. She would apply her mom’s makeup on herself, her sister and her friends. “And there were,” confesses Maria, “a few times I got into trouble.” But for Maria, makeup and making people feel beautiful about themselves has always been her passion, so now she says why not do it for pets!

Maria began her career in cosmetics at the age of 19, working the counter for Chanel cosmetics in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. Soon after, she was hired by Cargo cosmetics of Toronto, Canada, and as the first person to represent the Cargo line in the U.S., Maria was responsible for all the Sephora stores on the west coast. Her responsibilities grew to include Macy’s in New York City. She was responsible for doing whatever was necessary to grow the business. She was also Cargo’s top makeup artist from San Francisco. For five years, she worked for Cargo, traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In 2006, she began working for Christian Dior (LVMH Perfumes) as their account executive, and for more than six years, she served as on Dior’s top executives in the U.S., in charge of Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Dillard’s in Utah and all the Sephora stores in Northern California.

When Maria first conceived of the idea that would ultimately become Princess Pawdicure, she set about doing research and contacting highly respected chemists to develop a non-toxic and fast-drying formula that would revolutionize Pet Paw Fashion. For 6 months, she dried different formulations and colors on top of her kitchen table. She personally designed everything herself-- the bottles, boxes, description, formulations, logo – and all named for her puppy, Princess.

Maria Marques and Princess thank you for helping making their DREAMS come true.

In the words of Maria, founder and CEO, "I encourage you to try our products born of the love for Kids and Pets and want to personally thank you, our beloved customers, for all your love and support! Happy Polishing!”