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FEATURE
FIX YOUR CROWN, GIRL! Whilst bold red lipstick might be her signature, there’s one more thing Nicola Le Lievre can’t leave the house without – her crown. To Nicola, crowns aren’t made of diamonds; they are made of discipline, determination, and courage. An advocate for ensuring all the women in her life wear their crown with pride, Nicola has transformed her passion into a global award-winning entrepreneur, philanthropist, NLP Coach, author, and speaker. Nicola’s story is one of astonishing resilience, generosity, and empowerment of not just herself but all the women around her because where there’s an empowered woman, there is magic. From the very first moment, 6-year-old Nicola Le Lievre saw a perfectly polished Estée Lauder woman proudly donning her signature red lip, she knew she’d found her people. From her elegance, attention to detail to unwavering passion little did that Estée Lauder woman know, she was crafting the idea of a future entrepreneur that would change the game.
Together with beauty therapists across Brisbane, Nicola and her Tender Loving Beauties volunteers visit Hummingbird House to provide parents and carers of critically ill children a moment of utter self-care and undivided attention. In 2021 and beyond, Nicola is on a mission to inspire beauty therapists across Australia to join her community and share their magic hands with those in need across the nation. In 2021 Nicola evolved into personal branding “The Red Lipstick Effect” Focusing on empowering women to find their courage with empowerment speaking, NLP and the release of the Amazon #1 best seller, Back Yourself, which she was involved with alongside 28 women business leaders. Nicola’s Chapter in the book is “Community over Competition” exploring the importance of celebrating wins.
Children have a rewards chart and receive a gold star or sticker to show them how well they are tacking towards their goal. This is how we are conditioned to receiving recognition when we are doing well. Receiving an award is the same concept on a larger scale.
Here’s An Extract From Her Chapter:
I believe with that recognition comes responsibility. Your peers will look up to you and watch what you are doing, you need to shine in their light positively. If you win awards and your peers, ask you how you compiled your award or what you did to make it a standout is an incredible compliment. You see you are uniquely you as well as your business, so even if they did what you did, it would never be the same. I encourage other beauty salon owners to enter awards because of the great validation it brings. I encouraged another salon owner to enter the Australian Beauty Industry Awards. We were both announced finalists in the same category. So what? She is such a beautiful person and kickass salon owner it makes being next to her in the same award category so much more powerful.
Fast forward to today and Nicola is proudly surpassing 25 years in the professional beauty industry and has crafted her passion into becoming a multi-award-winning force to be reckoned with. After a decade of travelling the globe working on cruise ships, Nicola and her fiancé returned to her home country of South Africa before their lives were changed forever. Held up at gunpoint, Nicola recounts the harrowing day that saw her turn tragedy into triumph.
“I inspire woman to conquer their fears and find their courage to be the best version of themselves.” Nicola Le Lievre
A fresh start for both, Nicola and her now-husband moved to Australia and never looked back. With her feet firmly cemented into the Australian Beauty Industry, Nicola purchased intherapy, a Red Hill salon that she has transformed into global award winners. Encompassing love and respect for the environment, skin, and the people around them, ethical beauty is etched into the intherapy ethos. Nicola’s commitment to ethical beauty has seen intherapy become Queensland’s leading sustainable salon, a Share the Dignity partner, RSPCA champion and Hummingbird House volunteers. To Nicola, giving back to her community is nonnegotiable and she knew that the next chapter she was embarking on was going to be part of her legacy. Founded in 2019, Nicola launched Tender Loving Beauties, an initiative that provides much-needed pampering to women in need. 10
Beauty Biz Year 14 Issue 6
“Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead.” – Nelson Mandela Success begins at the end of your comfort zone. Making the conscious decision to enter an award is an excellent step for your business, becoming a finalist is a giant leap and winning is fantastic! An awards application process is a valuable way to reflect on your business. It is a reflection of what you are doing well, where you can improve as well as a reminder of how far you have come. Becoming a finalist is such validation that you are on the right track, and recognition from your peers and community is such a fantastic feeling. I love the excitement it brings amongst my team, knowing they are part of the success and how the perception of being a finalist or winning an award is received by customers. It is more than just winning; I love the comradery of awards events and the sense of community they bring. Being in a room with so many of your peers and mentors clapping for you gives you that validation of “Yes I did it”. Holding that bright shiny award and giving an acceptance speech (although nerve-racking) is such an accomplishment.
You cannot always receive the shiny award, and this is ok, it is nice to clap for someone else too and let them experience the excitement. Part of winning is also sharing your knowledge, positive energy, and for me, this is part of the awards circle. Feeling afraid of failure is normal; however, many do not try because they let this feeling paralyse them. My advice is to just go for it, enjoy the process and do not give up if you don’t become a finalist first time, keep going learning and growing.” With red lipstick shining and her crown firmly fixed, Nicola Le Lievre is just getting started. Pairing her infectious smile; with her, what you see is what you get. Beautiful energy. Nicola is available for presenting and speaking roles for brands, associations, charities, and events. For more details on Nicole’s Red Lipstick Effect and Free Facebook Group visit www.nicolalelievre.com
