Sure, there are plenty of people who can work their way around an eyeshadow palette, or pull off a simple highlight and contour, with a lipstick look to finish, but there’s no denying that some people possess more of a natural talent when it comes to makeup artistry than others.
And yes – the level and skill of makeup application we’re talking about here is an art.
If you’ve ever found yourself skeptical of that statement, you only have to take a look at the work of Ashton-native and “professional shapeshifter” Nicky Hill to have all of those doubts proven wrong.
The 27-year-old’s self-taught talents are to thank for her transformations into some of the world’s most famous and instantly-recognisable faces – from Cher and Angelina Jolie, to Adele and even Mrs Doubtfire – that not only have you looking twice to check it’s not the real thing, but have also, quite-rightly, lead her to becoming a respected name in the makeup industry across the UK.
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Some of the jaw-dropping celebrity transformations that Nicky – who is also a trained Microblading artist – has managed to pull off over her seven year career have amassed her a loyal fanbase of over 11.6K followers and counting on social media.
But they aren’t even half of what she’s capable of.
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“I started experimenting with SFX, illusion and artistic makeup around four and a half years ago now.” Nicky told us.
“Being a makeup artist is my full-time job and hobby, and some of my work [even] went viral [at the start], but because I was new to the makeup scene, I didn’t realise I needed to watermark my pictures, so I never got credited for it, which was unfortunate – and they still circulate to this day.
“I fell off the waggon a bit due to this, and my mental health wasn’t the best at the time [either],
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“So it was only in the last year that I’ve come back to the makeup scene, and a lot of my work has blown up [on social media] during lockdown.
“I’ve been receiving a lot of recognition, which I feel very grateful for”.
While makeup may a talent that Nicky has only been honing and perfecting in recent years, as you can probably imagine, her artistic interests showed themselves from an early age, and her clear abilities were pretty evident right off the bat.
“I have always been very artistic,” Nicky continued.
“I loved anything to do with art and had a keen eye for detail – I just love being able to use my face as a blank canvas and use art as a form of expression.
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“I started posting pictures online, and the more I posted, the more attention they received.
“I regularly look at illusion and abstract art, or anything which tricks the eye, and take inspiration from other fellow artists and their styles, but I always like to try and do original work and stay away from trends”.
She doesn’t neglect to mention the fact that it takes a lot of hard work to achieve what she has, but Nicky’s originality and intentions with her makeup looks are clear.
Though for the majority of us who find it hard to apply mascara without poking ourselves in the eye, or even come up against difficulty when trying to draw a convincing stick man, never mind attempting optical illusions, all of this still leaves one major question that we need answering.
How the heck does she do it?
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Without revealing too many of her industry secrets, Nicky tried to break it down for us.
She said: “My celebrity transformations [in particular] are done by contouring the face to the face shape of the people I want to turn myself into.
“I will look at a headshot of them on Google, see where the shading lands on their face and features, and recreate that on my own face, [and] this is done with heavy highlighting and contouring, and adapting to their facial expressions as well.
“My first ever look I did like this was Angelina Jolie, and I received a lot of attention for that when I posted it, so I was hooked ever since.
“[When it comes to] the illusion looks, [they are] inspired by optical illusions and illusion art.
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“I use my face as the canvas for it [and] it’s all about getting the shading right, and by doing that, I can create the illusion of 3D art, negative space, holes, cracks – you name it.”
You’re probably not shocked to find out that the answer to that is a pretty long time, as Nicky admits: “A lot of my looks take me anywhere from four to nine hours to complete.
“It takes a lot of attention to detail”.
Well it may take a lot of time and attention to detail, but when you have a talent and a passion that’s as clear as this, it’s certainly time well spent.
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You can find more of Nicky Hill’s work and keep up to date with her latest creations and transformations on her social media platforms – Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Inside One Port Street, the luxury new skyscraper that’s the tallest building in the Northern Quarter
Daisy Jackson
Manchester has a new luxury skyscraper, and while we’ve become pretty accustomed to seeing this pop up by now, this one’s a little different – because it’s in the Northern Quarter.
The city’s creative heartland has a new tallest building, a whopping 32-storey giant that’s home to features like a swimming and spa pool, skyline views, a state-of-the-art gym, and plenty more too.
It might sound like a new luxury hotel – but it’s actually a building that’s bringing hundreds of brand-new homes to the northern side of the city centre.
One Port Street is now open, and is the first premium residential community to open in the Northern Quarter.
Select Property’s £195m flagship development has 477 premium open-plan apartments, plus some awe-inspiring amenities for those who like the finer things in life (but don’t want to live in Deansgate Square).
Those features include a 2000 square foot swimming and spa pool that looks like a James Bond lair, with integrated changing rooms, as well as a huge state-of-the-art gym that’s free for residences, which has TWO yoga and barre studios.
You’re greeted at the entrance to the building with a 360-degree fire pit, with cosy co-working spaces and a hidden ‘Hideout’ room, which has its own projector.
The 360-degree firepitThe ‘Hideout’The One Port Street gym
There’s outside space too, including a landscaped garden and 22,000 sq ft of new public realm.
Going up to the seventh floor, you’ll find the Panganini’s resident lounge and roof terrace, named after a historic tavern that once stood nearby, with an exclusive dining room and more space for work from home days.
From open-plan apartment to communal spaces, you’ll spot artwork from independent artists and luxury finishes.
The apartments themselves have open plan layouts and the highest specification fixtures and fitting, all styled by Select Property’s in-house design team.
The huge new landmark is on Port Street, right on the doorstep of the Northern Quarter’s many bars, restaurants, gig venues, and businesses, and a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly.
One Port Street apartmentsOne Port Street apartments
Launching alongside the opening of the building is the One Port St Collective, a residents’ programme with a dedicated resident app, that gets members exclusive access to One Port St partners and curated discounts.
Adam Price, CEO, at Select Property, said: “One Port St is a major landmark for the city of Manchester, representing everything we believe modern residential living should be: design-led, community-minded and deeply connected to its surroundings and local heritage.
“One Port St is about redefining what modern rental living can be. It’s not just about beautiful apartments – it’s about how people live, connect and experience the city around them. Positioned at the gateway to the Northern Quarter, this is a place shaped by its surroundings and designed for modern city life.
“The Northern Quarter has long been the heart of Manchester’s creativity and culture, and One Port St celebrates that identity and brings something totally new to the area. With apartments now open and available to rent, and residents moving in, this is a big milestone for us and a proud moment for our entire team.”
Panganini’s resident lounge and roof terrace
Ian Simpson, Co-founding Partner, SimpsonHaugh added: “One Port St presented an opportunity to elevate residential provision in one of Manchester’s most characterful districts, creating a design that mediates between the Northern Quarter and the wider city.
“Our ambition was to create a building that respects and responds to the Northern Quarter’s rich industrial heritage. The result is an elegant landmark development that combines considered design, outstanding amenities, and enhanced public realm to form a welcoming and connected place to live, visit and enjoy.
“We’re proud to see the building now open and becoming part of the evolving story of this iconic neighbourhood.”
The building is officially open with apartments now available to rent – you can find out more HERE.
The Northern Quarter has never been fancier – One Port Street apartments are ready and waiting for you
The story behind Sâlo: the rising Georgian-born Salford artist set be one of the region’s next stars
Danny Jones
We always love stories of people moving to Manchester to be more creatively engaged, but tales of entire families relocating here for a better life and art being born out of it is something truly special – and besides her obvious talent, that’s what has attracted us and plenty others to Sâlo.
This up-and-coming Salfordian artist may have been born around the border between Eastern Europe and Western Asia during a particular fraught time for her country, but she’s been raised and moulded like so many of us by this city’s rich music culture and wider artistic heritage.
She came to the UK with her family as a baby, with her parents fleeing poverty and lingering friction in Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s, and their journey as asylum seekers eventually brought them here to the North West.
It was clear from a young age that Sâlo (short for Salome) had a gift for the piano, but it was when her family moved to the Greater Manchester area that her own interest in genres and styles began to develop. Here’s a little snippet of her recent performance at the stunning Stoller Hall.
This short video was taken from her feature in a recent episode of Manchester: Unplugged, the web series by StreamGM that launched just last year and spotlights local songwriters.
Honing in on one of her newest releases, ‘Set Me Free’, which taps into that pure love for the keys.
While this clip shows a stripped-back version of the fully-fledged electronic studio version, with production playing a key role in defining her sound, she blends everything from classical music and jazz to neo-soul as well as drum and bass.
You hear the phrase ‘genre-bending’ thrown around a lot these days, but if this mid-20s star in the making isn’t the epitome of that term, then we don’t know who is.
Speaking more about her background in the short documentary film, which aired on YouTube this week, she talks about her first memory of visiting Forsyth Music Shop in Manchester city centre, and the inspiration behind the track in question.
You watch the Sâlo episode of Manchester: Unplugged in full here.
Detailed in the description of the newest edition of the online show, “Classically trained from the age of four, Sâlo’s journey runs through some of Manchester’s most important music spaces”, including time spent at the RNCM and Chetham’s School of Music and more.
As for the tune itself, not only do the lyrics revolve around a difficult patch in a personal relationship – this being one of the first times she felt like she’s fully opened up and not held back on letting people know what she’s speaking about – but it’s also the first track she’s produced and mixed entirely on her own.
Painstakingly mastered from a small studio at home, she almost “fell out of love” with the song altogether, but getting back to that simple joy of playing piano helped revive her passion for it.
With a stunning voice, natural musical talent when it comes to her instrument, and a great blend of different analogue and digital influences, Sâlo is definitely one to watch moving forward.
Emily Sergeant -
29th January 2021 
