Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole McCormack.
Hi Nicole, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
It all started in 1992 in Santiago, Chile where I was born and learned to dream big. It was also where I was exposed to the world of entrepreneurship by my mother Sandra and grandmother Marta. My mother worked full-time as an RN nurse in the Pediatric Burn Unit and also had a stand at our local artisanal market on the weekends where she would sell seasonal items and gift banquets.
My grandmother Marta was a seamstress and business owner fabricating women’s business attire and children’s winter clothing, then selling in her own shop as well as selling wholesale to other clothing shops inside a kiosk mall in Serena, Chile. My amazing father would travel all over Chile for work, to manage construction projects as a General Contractor for my grandfather’s construction company. So my mom and grandmother teamed up to raise me and my sisters during the time we lived in Chile.
Some of my best memories were made at my mother’s and grandmother’s businesses. I remember my mother would take me with her on her days off from the hospital, to shop for the inventory for her stand at the wholesale warehouses. Especially right before the Christmas holiday season, this was her busiest time and my favorite of all as a child because that meant I could help her pick out the trending toys which at the time for girls was all about Barbies.
So she came up with the idea to make unique Barbie outfits using a scrap of leftover fabrics from my grandmother’s clothes fabrication and would use my and my sister’s massive Barbie collection, barbie house, car, horse, etc. as her models as the display for her designs. The toy warehouses we would go to had a wide variety of Barbie accessories like shoes, glasses, purses, and hats. Her stand was very popular amongst parents because our Barbie display did all the magic, and we would sell out every year. Being exposed to their businesses as a child is truly what lit up the entrepreneurial light bulb for me.
Then in 1999, my father took a job opportunity to double his income with a construction job offer in Miami,fl. So my parents got all of us a visitors visa and that’s how we ended up in Miami. As a child, I remember how excited I was when I heard the big news that we were moving to America. I started practicing my English by learning the lyrics to Spice Girls, lol.
Once in Miami, it was a huge culture shock for me because not only did I not speak English but I also had to learn 15 different types of Spanish. That was the least of my worries because I was able to learn English in just one school year. As I got older I started to help my parents translate during their errands and that’s when I realized me and my family had limited opportunities because of our legal status. But this never stopped my parents from making a way, my father worked construction and my mother worked cleaning houses.
Once I started high school my parents sat me down and talked to me about the reality of things. They explained to me that I did not have the same opportunities to go to university or college or even get a scholarship due to my legal status. So I had to make sure I graduated and obtained my high school diploma to make them proud. I watched them work so hard every day, mom had 3 jobs at one point. She worked cleaning homes in the mornings, then at a warehouse in the afternoons, and as a waitress at night.
At this point, I really wanted to be able to help them and during the summer I begged them to let me get a job, they wanted me to only focus on school, but I couldn’t stop thinking of a way to be able to help. I always loved fashion and beauty and I started to do research on freelance jobs I could do in that field. That’s when I discovered makeup tutorials and started practicing makeup on myself watching tons of makeup videos.
Then at 17, I went for it during that summer I had already put together a makeup kit using the money I would make by helping my parents on certain jobs like taping for my dad’s painting gigs and helping my mom clean her clients houses during weekends and started to advertise my makeup services on Craigslist and thumbtack. Eventually, I got my first gig to do makeup for a quinceanera. I remember being so nervous but I kept telling myself “Don’t let them see you sweat, you got this”.
I was so relieved and extremely happy to see that the birthday girl loved her makeup look. I made $85 dollars cash plus a $20 tip. After updating my ads with my pics from my first client I started getting booked every weekend. I was finally able to save money and give it to my parents. They always refused to take my money so I figured I could just start buying my own clothes, shoes, and school lunches, pay for my phone bill, and help my parents this way.
At 18 I was in my senior year of high school and now getting bookings for weddings and also started offering hair styling along with my makeup services. I was able to buy my first car cash and soon after that I started skipping school behind my parent’s back and would take clients during the week.
Graduation time came and although I always maintained decent grades I was falling short in one subject and found out I was not going to be able to graduate due to 1 missing credit, that I would have to do a whole year of adult school to be able to earn an EGD. I said screw that I can’t even go to college anyways, so I put all my energy into growing my lil unofficial freelance makeup business.
So I had to dream it to believe that’s when Instagram started to create buzz in the makeup world, as another platform to be able to display your portfolio and get client leads. So I had to think of a name for my makeup IG page, knowing that I had this big passion in my heart to create an Impact with my makeup work, that’s when Impact Glamour was born.
Then at 22 I had built a strong makeup clientele and was getting constant referrals and even landed a gig working for the late music legend Jose Jose for his youngest daughter Sara’s wedding in Coral Gables in 2014. To do the bride’s hair and makeup, the groom’s airbrush makeup, and Jose Jose’s makeup, the wedding was covered by TVNotas Mexico along with pictures of my work and even one of the makeup behind the scenes process, sadly I was never able to find the printed magazine to keep as my first celebrity client.
Shortly after this gig I was introduced to the world of Eyelash Extensions and was given the opportunity to work as an independent contractor in one of the only lash extension salons at the time. I went in to see what this was all about because honestly, I didn’t even know what it was until I saw it in person and got to witness how obsessed clients were with their lashes. So I took the challenge to learn this new skill, motivated also by the high price point at the time which compared to what was made with makeup, I thought this would be great I could make double doing lashes and makeup services.
So I was able to shadow the owner for some time and then I did my first practice model which took me over 6 hours to “complete”. My friend Cynthia was my model and after all those hours I finally brushed through her lashes and almost everything fell off leaving only 15-20 extensions applied on each eye. I finally showed her my work and although It felt like a total failed first attempt I was surprised to see her reaction. She loved them and was obsessed.
That’s when I realized wow this lash thing has great potential and I knew it would become a popular new beauty service. So I became more focused on perfecting my lash skills during the week at the lash salon and makeup gigs on the weekend. It was a great time in my life, I had found something I was truly passionate about. I didn’t care about the day or the time, I would take anyone that would allow me to practice on them.
During this time I also became pregnant with my boyfriend at the time, he was supportive at the beginning of my lash journey until he wasn’t. He became a different person and soon all the love was gone and what once was a beautiful relationship turned into one of the darkest moments in my life.
He became very physically and mentally abusive, especially throughout my entire pregnancy. So I made my lash practice my escape. I would go to the lash Salon from 9 am-10 pm even with no models or clients and just practice on lash practice sponges. To be able to distract myself from my painful reality and most importantly protect my unborn baby boy.
Now I look back at those dark days and I am grateful because they truly taught me how to be resilient and to never let anyone take away my light. I freed myself from this abusive relationship and was left with the biggest blessing of my life, my son Antonio, and the ability to fix my legal status which led to another big highlighting moment in my life. When I was able to finally apply for my parent’s citizenship.
So I pressed the petals on my life by fully dedicating myself to taking my lash career to the next level before I knew 4 years passed being a full-time lash tech with a completely full schedule. I then started to see the bigger vision in the lash industry, by recognizing there’s so much more than just being a lash tech. So I decided to walk away from my full schedule to start from zero and become an Artist. This is when I rented my first lash suite inside a wax salon in North Miami. It felt so good to dream again!
I decorated it super cute and was able to create a luxury experience for my new clients. My lash work started to get a lot of action on Instagram and soon I was back to being fully booked again. It was my clients at the time that inspired me to start teaching lash courses. I created my program and started sourcing for lash supply companies to give me wholesale prices so that I could create a quality lash kit for my students.
That didn’t work out so I decided to do all of the research possible on how to find lash supply manufacturers. I took the risk and after many trials and errors, I finally had my first branded product. It was a lash shampoo to sell to my clients for lash extension aftercare. My lash Courses took off and in just 2 years of having my first tiny location and saving everything possible, I was able to expand and open up my first brick-and-mortar shop in Miami Lakes, FL from 2018-2023.
It was during this time that I was introduced to the world of collaborations with social media influencers. I started doing collabs with popular Miami influencers and IG models, artists, and actresses such as @evalangoria @AlexaDellanos, @missbuscemi, @angievarona, @officialdaniela, @dominosaints, @lolavicewwe, and many more. This was one of the main marketing strategies that helped grow my business.
Working with my brand ambassadors allowed me to expand my reach and create a new potential for lash artists by stepping outside of the commercial everyday looks and creating colorful Swarovski lash looks. Perfect for performers and abstract beauty content. Then In 2021, I was invited to create a custom glitter and Swarovski lash look for Gigi from the band Domino Saints for their Latin Grammys official after party performance in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s so amazing to me to think that lash extensions can open up such doors.
Now Impact Glamour Lashes offers a complete line of Eyelash extension supplies, lash salons, and lash academies and has just relocated and opened a new prime location in Miami Gardens, FL in the stadium corners plaza across the street from the HardRock Stadium. No matter what life has thrown my way I chose to never give up on myself and my dream, to make an impact in people’s life doing what I love!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some of the struggles I’ve faced have been essential to my growth. Being a domestic violence survivor once was a personal struggle but gave me the perseverance to look elsewhere for the piece I deserved and filled my pain with love for my work and it helped me heal. My legal status was once a struggle but because of having to find a way, it gave me the work ethic I needed and led me to finding my life’s purpose.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Impact Glamour Lashes offers in-person Lash Extensions Certification Courses, a Pro Lash Supply Store, and a Lash Salon. With 10 years of experience in the lash industry. We believe in giving all of our customers a luxury experience by making sure they feel like royalty from the moment they step in the door. We always have a cold glass of champagne ready for you and a complimentary snack cart to enjoy during your visit.
Prior to any lash service, we always make sure to have an in-depth consultation with our clients to make sure they have the safest experience possible. Our lash academy has certified thousands of students all over South Florida. I have always believed in helping the lash industry by providing quality education through my training. When creating my programs I started with putting myself in the mindset I had when I first started learning lashing and realizing all of the struggles I faced. This way I was able to create exercises that help make those issues disappear for my students.
This is why at Impact Glamour Lash Academy we offer 4-5 day lash certification courses that are completely hands-on from start to finish and require two live model applications. The biggest benefit of becoming Impact Glamour certified is the benefit of our ongoing support and mentorship program. This allows our graduates continued access to come into the academy and practice with live models or shadow our lash artist.
All students receive a complete professional lash kit including all of Impact Glamour Lash supplies needed to start their lash career with top quality to help them work smart, not hard. Especially when we are talking about lash adhesive, this is the most crucial product for a lash artist. I dedicated 2 years to creating and testing a lash glue that is sensitive, low on fumes, and most importantly with strong retention.
So I created our first glue, the De Luxe black lash adhesive. This has become favored by lash artists because it works as promised and has become one of our best-selling products allowing us to expand our lash collection by adding the Cristal Clear lash adhesive and our Rose pink lash adhesive. At our location we have a complete pro shop stocked with all of our lash products for lash techs to be able to shop in-store and the best part they can try all of our supplies before they buy! From Classic lashes, Volume lashes, Lash tweezers, Lash adhesives, Lash shampoo, tapes, application accessories etc.
What do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy the most is spending time with my family and loved ones. As well as being able to help and create an impact in people’s lives with my story and work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://impactglamour.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/impactglamour/
- Other: https://www.vagaro.com/us03/impactglamour
Image Credits
Bruno De Oliveira and @flowgalleryagency
