Mila Klimenko: “During the last call, the class teacher ordered make-up from me for a fee as a make-up artist.” stars

As my mother says: “Mila was born with a brush in her hands”, because from an early age I constantly painted and did not limit myself to paper – these were all kinds of surfaces at home. From the age of 4, my mother decided to send me to an art studio, and despite my young age, they accepted me. Thus began my creative journey. Then I went to art school, college, university. My specialty is a computer graphic designer, which means that drawing has always been with me. When I was 11 years old, I realized that I definitely wanted to become a makeup artist. I really liked doing make-up, but at that time this profession was not generally popular. Moreover, in the small town I grew up in, this dream seemed somewhat unrealistic. Nevertheless, even at school, I continued to wear bright make-up for myself. Mom did not forbid me and understood that for me it was an element of self-expression. The turning point was that during the last call, the class teacher ordered makeup from me for a fee, like from a make-up artist. I think that was the best compliment for me at the time. At the age of 16, I started making some money doing make-up. I worked for a small salary, but I already realized that this opportunity meant real progress for me and a new stage in the development of my profession.

The first moment is the foreign internship. In 2012, I went to the Make Up Atelier School in Paris. At that time, it was the most famous school in Europe and the world as a whole. For me it was quite a serious learning stage, I realized that everything could be completely different. The fact is that all the schools that were in the CIS countries at that time were rather cold and with a bit of a Soviet touch: when you were never praised and the teacher could rather insult the student for a few moments, which was unpleasant in learning. When I came to Paris, I discovered that makeup is about love, inspiration and dedication. It was the best training in my life, which gave a new round of development.

The second moment was when I started working with stars and painting faces that I had only seen on canvas before. I would probably highlight my introduction and first make-up for Svetlana Khodčenková. Whenever you meet a popular artist, you think that this person is some otherworldly person, and there are fears that this person may be capricious and quite difficult to work with. It was a great revelation for me that this is absolutely not the case: it is quite easy to work with well-known personalities, they are professionals in their field who rather help the make-up artist in her work and never hinder her. Working with such famous people as Svetlana Khodchenkova, Regina Todorenko, Nastya Ivleeva and many others proved to me again that there are no more comfortable clients than celebrities.

The third moment is the filming of a make-up advertising campaign in Paris. In just 3 days we had to shoot a fairly large amount of material and we shot 20 hours a day, the locations were constantly mobile. One day it started raining and none of the team had umbrellas. The main character’s hair started to deteriorate and the makeup looked completely different than intended. And then I had to go to a nearby cafe and, without knowing French, try to kindly ask the staff to accommodate us and allow us to turn the business into a make-up shop for a while. We took up half the space of a small cafe to lay out all the tools and redo the model’s makeup and hair. This story taught me that there are no irreparable situations – everything can be fixed everywhere and always and under any conditions. The entire job of a make-up artist consists precisely in being able to work for a long time even in the most stressful situations. Indeed, a make-up artist’s working day can often last up to 20 hours, as he is the first person to arrive on set and the last to leave.

It was a coincidence: at first, my clients kept asking me to teach them how to apply makeup. I started giving lessons in the style of “own make-up artist” and I realized that I really like it. I realized that I might even enjoy teaching makeup more than doing it. When I was 19 years old, I was invited to teach make-up and make-up for artists, directors and musicians at the Higher Vocational School of Culture and Art. Through this experience, I was able to overcome my fear of teaching large groups and realized that I was incredibly inspired. I then opened my makeup school to share my knowledge in this area. My school was the first in my town because at that time it was not as popular as it is now. Later I had my own beauty salon with a full range of services. Thus began the formation of Nikk Mole. The first name of my brand was Mila Klimenko Beauty Academy.

Firstly, as a make-up artist I was aware of what products were missing and I understood that very often novice make-up artists who can’t afford to work with a big case but mix different products to get the best result. In general, when you are a makeup artist with a lot of experience, then you know exactly what products you must have. Therefore, each product of the Nikk Mole line is an exact color hit (for example, I know which shades look best on the skin of Russian women), a sample, because it is important that this product is universal and appeals to consumers. The first tools were professional eyebrow products, because 10 years ago they simply did not exist on the market. I was the first to develop products such as eyebrow scrub, eyebrow paste (a tool to create a shape before coloring to show to clients later). And today this technology is used by quite a large number of browists all over the world. The eyebrow paste itself is a patented Nikk Mole product, but of course it now has a large number of analogues and has already become a key one that could change the eyebrow industry in beauty salons, allowing the client to approve the desired shape before correction or coloring and then trust the master during the procedures.

The greatest expertise in the field of eyebrows, including a wide range of decorative and care cosmetics for eyebrows, which is presented both on the Russian and European markets. Of course, Nikk Mole stands for innovation and various products that were previously unmatched on the market. We continue to manufacture a variety of brow spa products. And I also cannot say about our own technology – means for special eyebrow care.

First of all, it is the exhibitions that provide the most coverage and also the opportunity to find the right distributors. For example, in 2022, as exhibitors, we participated in exhibitions in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey and attracted new distributors for our market. We regularly work with influencers: first and foremost, they are professional bloggers in the beauty industry, with whom we constantly maintain contact to develop the brand in local markets. We organize various events from time to time. For example. professional make-up and eyebrow championships, workshops and training to increase brand awareness and train new people to work on our products.

It seems to me that now is a great time for the development of Russian brands, because we see a significant increase in consumer demand and increased confidence in relation to the Russian manufacturer. Competition exists even in such a difficult time as now: many Asian brands are entering the Russian market and the number of local brands is growing every day, but I see that the Nikk Mole brand continues to actively develop and we see interest in the products among new customers in the Russian market. After all, earlier, when the brand was present abroad, it only showed the consumer even more that Nikk Mole is a sign of quality. I wish that in 10 years, the Nikk Mole brand would be sold in every country in the world, be the most recognized brand and become the most desired product in every girl’s cosmetic bag. Of course, this is a worldwide dream, but I create cosmetics with great competence and love, so I sincerely wish that my products are tried and appreciated.

Now I see such a trend as “fast beauty”, where the cosmetics collection changes faster than the consumer has time to buy the products or try something. I create cosmetics that will be relevant in any season. These are products that take 2 to 6 years to develop, so we understand that they will be relevant in the next 10 years.

I would recommend our BB cream, which blends perfectly with the skin. The light shade suits more than 80% of Russian girls. Those with darker skin should consider medium. The colors are very comfortable. And if you do not use tonal means, then I recommend starting your acquaintance with Nikk Mole with an eyebrow pencil or mascara. Our thermal mascara will not leave anyone indifferent, as it remains resistant in all weather conditions and does not destroy the make-up. At the same time, the product does not crumble and can be easily washed with warm water. The bottle itself contains a mirror, which is very convenient for everyday use.

My personal top products are foundation, brow pencil, mascara and brow gel. By the way, at Nikk Mole you can find 3 types of eyebrow gel and everyone can choose the most comfortable product for themselves according to the type of hair. For example, if you want to achieve the effect of lamination, then it is a gel-jelly, for a light and weightless fixation, it is a classic transparent eyebrow gel, and the eyebrow soap is our must-have for those who love a strong fixation.

This is an emphasis on beautiful and well-groomed skin, when make-up does not overload the girl’s appearance and only emphasizes her natural beauty and individuality.

With hyaluronic acid BB cream, brow pencil and mascara, this Nikk Mole set will make you look flawless!