We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikira Richie a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nikira, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I got into makeup at the age of 8 years old, back in 2007. I was always in either my grandmother or sister’s makeup. As I got older I just stuck with that, I learned color theory, undertones, different skin types etc and when I got to high school in 2015, that’s when I started doing a full face of makeup and it would look decent, by 2019 my graduation year, I was a beast with any makeup product I came across. I also graduated beauty school that year and got certified, I am a certified makeup artist. I’m so glad I started at the time that I did because growing up in the 2000’s where modeling and Victoria secret was a big thing, i would see black women walking the runway or modeling in magazines with their makeup looking horrendous. The foundation shades never matched their complexion, everyone was being contoured and bronzed the same way, makeup artist didn’t really put forth the effort when it came to black women in media, whether it was a movie, an interview, an appearance on a tv show, a photo shoot, or advertisements. I learned as a got older the proper techniques, proper placement, different type of makeup styles and I even learned how to do makeup for movies, which was really cool. So because I got that knowledge, experience and education growing up, I have been able to share so much knowledge on my platforms about racial injustice within the beauty industry. I’ve had the opportunity to work makeup counters for big makeup brands. If I started now, I wouldn’t have the knowledge that I have now, the experience I have now and most importantly I wouldn’t love makeup as much as I do now. It’s crazy to say I’ve been doing makeup for over a decade, one of the things I’ve noticed within the makeup community on social media is that everyone is in competition. I don’t do makeup professionally, that’s just a choice. I choose to be a makeup enthusiast instead because makeup is not fun anymore. There’s so much hate and “purposeful misunderstanding” going on by bigger brands, that it’s not something I would want to be apart of. If I was to begin a makeup journey now, I wouldn’t like it. So I’m glad i started my makeup journey at a young age.

Nikira, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My Name is Nikira Richie. I am 26 years old, mom of 3 and a Makeup artist. I currently do makeup content across all social media platforms for fun. I have been uploading makeup videos since 2009 on YouTube when YouTube was brand new and didn’t have many policies or restrictions on videos being uploaded. I never took it seriously, I was just having fun doing something I knew I shouldn’t have been doing without my parents permission, I started taking makeup content seriously back in 2020 right after covid hit.

As far as what type of makeup looks I do, I do a little bit of everything so bridal makeup, creative makeup, editorial makeup, movie makeup, etc. when it comes to my makeup style, I never put myself in one category because I love doing whatever I feel in that moment.

What sets me apart from the rest would be my self worth.. Everyone wants to be a content creator for the money, there are lots of sell outs who work with brands because it’s a big brand sending them makeup but that same brand had no more than 7-14 shades of foundation with none of them being medium/deep or dark. I refuse to allow brands to try and sweet talk their way into sending me products for content because they don’t see my value as a content creator, I refuse to work with brands who look at black people as an afterthought when creating shades for us. Unfortunately that’s an ongoing issue within the makeup industry and because of it, I have yet to work with any brands. One thing a brand doesn’t want is a someone who doesn’t care about being an outcast to be their ambassador. I don’t care about products, I’m here for change and have yet to see it and until I do, I will always speak out for what’s right and brands will continue to pass over me because of that.

I am most proud of me standing up for what’s right, not selling myself out for makeup. I’m proud of the way I have been able to build up my confidence. I’m proud of creating a space where people can come and be themselves, get informed or even learn a Trick or two.

How did you build your audience on social media?

honestly, I do not have a guide on how I built my social media. I started consistently in 2020 and I seen the numbers grow ever since. I would say consistency helped, that’s what keeps you popping up on people’s fyp’s. My social media has always been about me and what I love, every supporter is a bonus. I’ve always been my authentic self, I don’t follow trends or try to narrow myself down into one niche. I simply do as I please with my content. My advice for someone who’s building their content presence would be to show up as you, every single time. Don’t try to speak a certain way or put yourself in a box because you feel like you’re too much or you’re not enough. Don’t do it for the money, let the money and supporters be a plus to what you’re already doing for yourself. Just because you do content creation does not mean you have to sit on the internet all day, take time away from social media, it will be here whenever you decide to go scrolling again. Don’t worry about the numbers or the likes.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the other creatives you get connected to. The events you get invited to and networking that you get to do, I’ve been in touch with some awesome and talented individuals. To be able to bounce ideas off of someone who thinks like you when it comes to makeup, gives you this feeling of relief. Like a “finally” type of feeling. Another aspect would be me controlling my own narrative, I get to choose when I want to upload, how long I want to stay off of social media, I can block people from my page when they decide to spread negativity, I love being able to take control of what I allow on my social media. Also me controlling the looks I put out or show to others.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikirarichie?igsh=MWhhdDJkamt3ajVvNA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@nikirarichie?si=K-0CgKPxkOtKh4pY
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikirarichie?_r=1&_t=ZT-93Ezb1uGNbS

Image Credits

Nikira Richie