FRIDAY FAVE! Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour stick

I love how seamlessly and easily the Face Trace stick blends, the buildable colour and the natural finish.

Available in three shades Biscuit, Truffle and Ganache.  I use the lightest shade Biscuit on a lot of my clients for subtle contouring, sculpting and defining features to perfection.

Easy application - simply trace your features with the stick under the cheekbones, jawline, sides of the nose and hairline. Blend out with a brush to soften the colour for a natural finish.

The creamy formula is hydrating and nourishing (Vit C & E) and the shades suit all skin tones. It also contains Kaolin clay to absorb excess oils.

I love the sleek packaging too!

RRP. £44.00

FRIDAY FAVE! NYX LIFT & Snatch!Brow Tint pen!

FRIDAY FAVE! 

NYX LIFT & Snatch! Brow Tint pen!

I seriously love this brow defining pen for my fair eyebrows to add natural shape and definition. 

It gives an instant brow lifting effect with easy to draw on fine stokes of colour to mimic real eyebrow hair.  It looks very natural once applied and lasts all day, I recommend this product.

Sadly I cannot use this in my professional kit as I cannot use the felt pen on multiple clients but I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a natural and easy way to fill in and define your eyebrows.

Available in 9 shades with a flexible micro tip pen for seamless application.  I am blond and use shade 'blond' which is perfect for me.

Pro tip! Apply in upward diagonal flicks following the shape of the brow from inner to outer corner, use a light touch to fill in sparse areas for a natural finish.

Vegan Formula.

RRP. £11.99

JANUARY UPDATE!

Bit of blue start to the year for me I spent the first week pretty ill on the sofa doing what work I felt up to with a throat virus that started on new years Eve, so New year goals and resolutions were not really even considered this year it was just back to it! I had a lovely relaxing Christmas break though which was much needed.

I have now set dates for 2025 Makeup workshops as I had quite a few of you asking about dates.  These are advertised on my website www.nikimakeup.co.uk and my social media @nikimakeup. Makeup workshops are held in small groups of up to six at my home studio in Harpenden. They are a fun way to learn a natural makeup look and tweaks to make it more evening/glam in a relaxed, friendly environment. Nibbles drinks and fizz are included and a gift before you leave.  All makeup and tools are also provided and I offer lots of my pro' tips and advice throughout the two hour session.  Spaces are limited so do book in advance a £20.00 booking fee is required, the balance of £30.00 is due one week before.  

Email nikimakeup@aol.com to reserve a space or two!

I have been keeping busy with 1:1 Makeup lessons, pre-wedding trials and a couple of shoots as well.

I also had my first wedding of 2025 at Tewinbury Bury Farm https://www.tewinbury.co.uk, one of my favourite local venues.  It was a freezing cold day at the beginning of January but it looked picture perfect!

I have spent a lot of time hibernating in the warm with my new pup, watching tv and eating! We enjoyed The Avicii - I'm Tim and Helmut Newton The Bad & the Beautiful documentaries on Apple TV.  The return of Dragons Den is always a must watch for me, I am just waiting for the return of The Apprentice now! January is not the month for me in fact neither is February ...note to self book a Carribean holiday for January 2026!  Anyone who knows me knows I hate winter with all my being, I belong in a warm sunny place...thanks Spain for making it harder and harder for us Brits to live there! Roll on Spring and please let us have a great summer this year after last years non-existent one and a freezing winter I think we definitely deserve it! Anyway moan over!  I am looking forward to two lovely weddings in February back at Tewinbury farm for one and at beautiful Huntsmill farm https://huntsmillweddings.co.uk for the other.  Its also my husbands birthday so we are looking forward to celebrating!

DECEMBER UPDATE!

Wow how fast did December go! I was actually quiet with bookings in October and most of November but boy did it go crazy form the end of November! I have been kept so busy which I wasn't totally prepared for (a lot of last minute bookings!).  It was definitely my busiest December on record this year which is great and it makes me so happy doing what I love, so thank you so much to every single client old and new who booked me for their glam!

It has however meant that a lot of Christmas stuff was very last minute this year not like me at all but somewhat fun doing it late when it definitely feels more Christmasy! I hadn't planned on icing my Christmas cake a few days before Christmas but hey ho!  I also hadn't planned on sitting here crazily trying to get all my admin done the day before Christmas Eve I am usually on Christmas break by now with everything organised ready to start a fresh in January.  Hopefully I can finish everything today eek! including a food shop tonight and making a Christmas crunch chocolate pudding this evening! Christmas mode starts tomorrow...Christmas Eve!

Back in November when quieter I designed and printed some Christmas bauble cards which I really enjoyed doing so will definitely do more next year and also up my painting and drawing time.

I had two lovely weddings this month one on the weekend of the storm at  https://www.offleyplace.com where I am a recommend supplier.  I usually love working in the wonderful Roseview bridal prep suite but it was a very blustery and cold bridal prep' situation that day... but all went well which is the main thing, I was having visions of power cuts and all sorts... phew!

My last wedding of 2024 was on Saturday 21st and what a stunning bride she was, with the ceremony at the beautiful St Albans Cathedral and reception at https://stmichaelsmanor.com which is one of my favourite local venues where I am also a recommended suppler.

It has also been lovely starting to meet some of my 2025 Brides for their pre-wedding trials ahead of Spring weddings.

 

There was a definite part-up part-down theme with Christmas Party hair this year, always popular and definitely one of my favourites to style!

I also had a client with Hollywood style Breakfast at Tiffany's Hairstyling and makeup which was so fun to do!

It has been lovely spending extra time with my puppy getting him all excited for his first Christmas and he  graduated puppy school training at the weekend so he is a very happy Chappy! We also discovered since it's got colder that he loves the fire he has definitely found his favourite spot.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year and thank you so much for reading my blog!

Niki (and Rufus!) 

Xx

FRIDAY FAVE! Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter Travel 3 Fair

Omg I am in love with this mini travel sized Hollywood Flawless Filter in shade 3 Fair from Charlotte Tilbury to use as a highlighter on the top of the cheekbones and décolletage.

I have actually been using shades 2 and 4 in my pro-kit for years, I am not sure why I never invested in shade 3 but I have now just also ordered a large sized one for my pro-kit because the shade is so good!

It is a warm peach tone and is great for fair to medium skin tones and just perfect for achieving gorgeous youthful glowing skin! 

I love that it gives such a gorgeous natural glow to the skin and is not a huge bottle to fit inside my makeup bag like the original size...no more trying to ram my makeup bag shut!

It is perfect for travel, handbag and if you just want to use a little as a highlighter as I do unlike the larger size which is good for wearing all over the face and/or mixing with foundation.

A definite Friday Fave!

RRP £15.00

Save 15% with my unique code nikilFB4J2 at checkout.

AD Magic beauty stars / Direct link below 

https://www.charlottetilbury.com/uk/product/mini-hollywood-flawless-filter-3-fair?_gl=1*cmuuna*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQiAu8W6BhC-ARIsACEQoDAMuQDs4nnZ4LkSmYS4ubg-78Mm1N1cD3YJZlyKcoBr0WS2JIMoY1waAsFhEALw_wcB&gbraid=0AAAAA-ZfAIAEuCpz8NjlcLHOAii4HUwTa

FRIDAY FAVE! Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Eye liner pencils.

I originally brought shades Cinnamon and black when these first launched and if I am completely honest I didn't like them! I found them way too soft and stopped using them altogether for a while. I did love the shade Cinnamon though so I persevered and I am glad I did as I now really like them. 

I just added shades Sequin Green (shimmer) and Cocoa (matte) to my collection and re-purchased Cinnamon (shimmer). Cinnamon and Cocoa are also VB's personal favourites!

Now I actually like the soft application of these pencils as they do not drag the skin and they are very easy to smudge and blend as they apply so softly. They set and dry so that they are completely longwear and waterproof which I also love.

So its safe to say these pencils are a firm Friday Fave! Definitely Cinnamon is the winning shade for me.

They come with a really nice pencil sharpener as well which fits the pencils perfectly and is so much easier to clean I have noticed than other cosmetic pencil sharpeners which often really irritate me.

Available in 19 vivid colours consisting of shimmer, jewel and matte finishes.

RRP.£32.00

https://victoriabeckhambeauty.com/products/satin-kajal-liner

NOVEMBER UPDATE!

I have had a quieter couple of months however I have been settling in my new puppy and getting on top of things!

A couple of weddings, a few trials as well as branding shoots and special occasions have been very busy ahead of Christmas too.

Behind the scenes on a recent branding shoot.

My studio has been so lovely to work in during the bright November days.

Some bridal pre-wedding trials ahead of upcoming December-March Weddings.

I am very happy to be a recommended supplier at the beautiful https://www.essendonweddings.co.uk and always enjoy working there, a great venue to check out if you are venue hunting!

... and I also visited https://www.quendonhall.co.uk/weddings which I honestly haven't been to in about fifteen years so it was great to be back and they had a really lovely bridal prep' set up for us to work in.

I was fortunate to have had a weekend away with my little pup in Norfolk, he enjoyed his first trip to a beach! We enjoyed a lovely stay and such delicious food at https://www.thegintrapinn.co.uk

He also visited his first Christmas fair at Sandringham, which I have to say we were disappointed with, it wasn't the quaint fair we were expecting with wooden huts and mulled wine, it was huge and resembled more like a giant boot fair in our opinion!

In other news I have been spending lots of time with our new puppy which is challenging but he is very cute and we have had lots of cuddles and fun! If you want to follow his adventures he is on tik tok (I'm not!) and Instagram @rufustheredtoypoodle.

We also had puppy train during storm Burt which was truly freezing fun!

I have also been doing bit of painting when I have had a spare minute check out Instagram @nikicreates if you are interested.

 

We had our first Christmas family gathering at Battersea power station at https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com

Puppy's first Christmas! He loved the giant baubles on the tree!

I also made a Christmas cake just to be fed and iced soon! I usually always make Christmas puddings but I still have two left from last year so I got out of it this year! My puds are a family favourite : )

I have lots of beauty products on Black Friday sale at an amazing 30% discount so do watch Instagram and Facebook (@nikimakeup) for updates all week until Cyber Monday, I have limited stock so first come first served to grab a bargain!  I am also offering free local delivery in the Harpenden and surrounding areas.

I have also made up some beautiful 'beauty gift boxes' ahead of Christmas which are just £10.00 a great gift for a beauty mad teen or a special friend!

All that is left to say is "I am wishing you a wonderful Christmas and New year and thank you for supporting my small business"

Niki X

All bridal enquires via www.nikimakeup.co.uk

All Headshot/Shoot enquires see www.nikimakeup.com