Makeover Magic 

Makeover Magic
A fashion-forward NYC beauty company, Gloss and Glam turns matrimonial makeover dreams into reality

By Brittny Drye

Photo courtesy of Gloss and Glam

As your wedding day approaches, you may find yourself flipping through your favorite fashion magazines, wistfully looking at models gracing the pages and coveting their high-profile looks for your moment in the spotlight. The model’s ringlets are falling perfectly into place, not a stray hair in sight, and the colors of her eye shadow dance together in a fantastical way. Imagine having that kind of perfection on your big day.

Nikki Robinson, founder of Gloss and Glam, made it her mission to turn that dream into a reality. Based in New York City, Gloss and Glam is a team of top editorial hair and makeup stylists who provide brides with the look of their dreams. “Transforming women into versions of themselves that they never imagined has a never-ending magic for me,” Robinson says. “The fact that makeup can make women feel beautiful and self-confident is what led me to it as a profession.”

The company’s work has decorated the pages of Vanity Fair, Vogue and The Knot, rocked the runways of designers such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Burberry, and has beautified countless celebrities including Estelle, Carmen Elektra, John Legend and Vanessa Williams. Famous or not, Robinson makes sure every client receives the royal treatment. “We are always willing to go the extra mile for all of our clients, providing them each with individualized concierge treatments,” she says. “We want to ensure that the beauty experience of a bride’s wedding goes as smoothly as possible.”

Photo courtesy of Keiko Niwa Photogaphy

Being so immersed in the fashion world, Robinson and her team are able to offer a fresh perspective to their bridal clients, and are always on top of the latest trends. Due to the amount of time they spend behind-the-scenes at fashion photo shoots, they are able to foresee exactly how a look is going to come across on camera long before the wedding photographer starts snapping.

Though brides make up the majority of their matrimonial clients, there are several services that cater to grooms and brooms. “We accommodate anything from natural makeup to haircuts the morning of, covering up pimples to providing speedy manicures,” explains Robinson, making it the perfect one-stop shop for both men and women. But don’t even try to get a premature peek of your partner— Gloss and Glam’s stylists are extra careful to perfectly time brides’ makeovers so as not to see each other in their bridal beauty glory.

And it’s not only bridal dreams that are coming true thanks to the staff at Gloss and Glam. Brides can select from a group of charities and a portion of the company’s profit from the bridal makeover will be donated. Though the program started just earlier this year, they have already committed to funding two young girls through boarding school in South Sudan and Nepal, removing them from orphanages and child labor. “We believe in beauty, glamour, acts of kindness and above all, love,” says Robinson. A second philanthropic program is set to launch in October, which will give eco-centric brides the option of hiring eco-friendly hair and makeup artists, who solely use green products.

Extending beyond makeup and manes, Gloss and Glam is trying to make an impact on the world, one bride at a time.