Quick answer: To celebrate her 700th upload, Nikol Johnson set the makeup brushes aside and answered the personal questions her Instagram community asked most. She opens up about aging and going gray without Botox, her two French Bulldogs, the meaning behind her product names, and the everyday routine that keeps her grounded.
Key takeaways
- This milestone Q&A pulls its questions straight from Nikol's Instagram followers, so it's one of the most personal videos on the channel.
- Nikol is candid about confidence and aging, choosing to go gray naturally and skip Botox and filler while respecting whatever choice works for you.
- She shares the stories behind product names like Nick Ray, Nikita Banana, Shams, Franny and Confidence.
- She talks through her French Bulldogs, her three-to-four-day hair-washing rotation, her home gym, and her love of cooking whole foods.
Hey ladies — instead of another tutorial, this one is all about connection. Nikol asked her Instagram community what they really wanted to know about her, and the questions turned out to be wonderfully eclectic: nothing about eyeshadow placement, everything about real life. Here's what she covered.
Does Nikol ever feel unconfident about aging?
The very first question — do you ever feel unconfident when you look in the mirror? — got an honest yes. Nikol has been open over the years that she started going gray in her early 30s and lived through infertility, and that the last few years of relaunching her line and renovating a home have been genuinely stressful. Rather than reach for Botox, filler or a face lift, she chose to sit in the discomfort of going gray, cut her hair into a bob, and never looked back. She's clear that this is her personal choice, not a rule — if those treatments make you feel like yourself, she says go for it. What works for her is more self-talk, journaling, eating well, moving her body and using skincare. She even credits a Diane von Furstenberg clip for reframing age as something to celebrate: instead of how old are you, ask how many years have you lived.
The story behind her French Bulldogs
Asked why she chose Frenchies over another breed, Nikol explains she didn't really choose them — her husband wanted one. Their first, Franchesca, arrived in December 2013, and Rosé Champagne joined in 2019. She'd owned short-nosed dogs before, including a boxer and a Boston Terrier, so the flat-faced look was familiar. Her honest verdict: Frenchies are a very special but high-maintenance breed, and she gently cautions anyone considering one to research it fully first. She now home-cooks for her girls, working from their bloodwork with a veterinary nutritionist — a big time commitment she feels is worth it, though she admits she isn't sure she'd choose the breed again. On daily care, summer in South Florida means early-morning runs with cooling jackets and a dog stroller, plus at-home grooming she does herself.
How does Nikol name her Nikol Beauty products?
One of Nikol's favorite questions was about product names, because nearly every one is personal. Here's the shorthand she shared:
- Nikita Banana — her yellow brightening powder, named for a fun college-era nickname (and the color fit perfectly).
- Nick Ray — her most-worn lipstick, a mash-up of her name and her husband's, inspired by celebrity couple nicknames.
- Shams — a top lip gloss, short for champagne, because she layers it over everything like a little topper.
- Coconut Row — a bronzer stick named after a favorite street in Palm Beach.
- Franny — a much-requested lipstick named after her dog Francesca.
- Confidence — her deepest berry lipstick, because it takes confidence to wear it.
She mentioned she wants to start weaving these backstories into her makeup tutorials so the meaning behind each shade comes through.
Nikol's hair, workout and food routine
The rest of the Q&A was a peek at daily life. She doesn't wash her hair after every workout — over-washing would dry out her silver hair — so she sticks to a three-to-four-day rotation of shampoos and treatments she's relied on for years, including a purple shampoo, a bond-building core duo, and a pre-shampoo hydrating mask, all to keep her gray bright and manageable. For fitness, her new home gym means running with the dogs, a Peloton, two Pilates reformers and weights; she's worked out for stress relief since her cheerleading days at 15 and calls it non-negotiable for both physical and mental health. In the kitchen she's been cooking from the Half Baked Harvest cookbook, makes a from-scratch Caesar salad she's perfected since she was a teenager, and has read food labels since her mother taught her to at 14 — leaning on simple whole foods and tuning out the fear-mongering food content online.
The bottom line
This 700th-video Q&A is a reminder that Nikol Beauty was built on personality, not just pigment — every shade name carries a memory, and the woman behind the brand is refreshingly real about aging on her own terms. If the product-name stories left you curious to try the shades she mentioned, explore the full makeup collection, browse her lipsticks, or start with the best sellers her community reaches for again and again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Nikol choose to go gray instead of coloring her hair?
Nikol started going gray in her early 30s and decided to let it happen naturally rather than dye it. She cut her hair into a bob and has never looked back. She's open that confidence still wavers some days, and she leans on journaling, self-talk, exercise and skincare instead of Botox or filler.
Why did Nikol choose French Bulldogs?
She didn't pick the breed over others; her husband wanted a Frenchie, so they welcomed Franchesca in 2013 and Rosé Champagne in 2019. Nikol had owned short-nosed dogs before. She cautions that Frenchies are high-maintenance, home-cooks their meals with a vet nutritionist, and gently suggests researching the breed thoroughly first.
How does Nikol name her Nikol Beauty products?
Each name is personal. Nikita Banana, her yellow brightening powder, comes from a college-era nickname. Nick Ray lipstick blends her name with her husband's. Shams gloss is short for champagne, Coconut Row honors a Palm Beach street, Franny was named after her dog, and Confidence is her deepest berry shade.
How often does Nikol wash her gray hair?
About every three to four days, never after every workout, because over-washing dries out silver hair. She rotates several shampoos and treatments she's used for years, including a purple shampoo, a bond-building core duo, and a pre-shampoo hydrating mask, to keep her gray bright and manageable.
Where is Nikol from and what is her ethnicity?
Nikol is a native Floridian and considers South Florida home, though modeling took her to Chicago, New York, Miami and Athens, Greece. Her father is Greek and her mother is French and Northern European, and she says she identifies most with her Greek side.
