Nicole is first and foremost a mother — and her devotion to caring for herself is grounded in a simple but powerful intention: to be the best version of herself for her children. For her, self-care is not an occasional indulgence, but a daily commitment. A steady, embodied practice that supports her physical vitality, emotional wellbeing, and ability to meet each day with presence.

Her world is shaped by consistency. Morning and evening rituals are non-negotiable anchors in her day, woven through with lymphatic work, breath, gratitude, and manifestation. These are not complex or time-consuming practices, but intentional ones — repeated daily until they become a kind of inner scaffolding. Over time, they have reshaped how she feels in her body, how she responds to stress, and how she moves through the demands of motherhood and life.

As a facial and buccal massage practitioner, Nicole works intimately with the places where we hold so much — the jaw, neck, cheeks, and expression lines that often speak before we do. Her approach is guided by slowness and care, allowing the nervous system to soften rather than be pushed. In her work, and in her own life, she sees ritual as regulation — a way of returning to the body, breath, and a more grounded state of being.

In this conversation, Nicole shares how touch becomes emotional release, why breath is the simplest path back to self, and how small daily rituals can gently reshape not just the face — but the whole internal landscape of a person’s life.

What does a typical day look like for you right now?

I’m a huge believer in daily rituals - morning and evening, and they always include lymphatic work, breathing, gratitude and manifestation. I’ve been doing my rituals consistently for quite some time now and the transformations are incredible. 

In your work with facial and buccal massage, you are quite literally working where we hold so much — jaw, tongue, cheeks, expression. What patterns do you notice the face carrying? Stress, silence, overthinking, unspoken words… How do you gently invite those muscles — and the person within them — to soften?

You may be surprised but the tension I see the most lives in the neck and shoulders, followed by frownlines and masseter (clenching) muscles. Including breath work is very important as it calms the nervous system and tells the body it’s okay to relax. My touch is always gentle and reasonably slow to allow the muscles to slowly release in their own time. 

We speak often about skin as something to be cared for gently, not corrected. How have you seen touch support emotional release, regulation and a return to calm?

Gentle slow massage technique is incredible for the return to calm. The first thing I notice when the shift from stress or anxiety takes place is the energy. It’s beautiful and I can really feel it, it’s not something you can explain but you feel it. This is often followed by the client falling asleep or a long breath out and after this, the muscles will release.

Many women move through their days in a constant state of doing. What does “coming home to yourself” actually feel like in the body? 

Breathwork. In my opinion, there is no better way than to stop, be present and come home to yourself through simply breathing and focusing only on the breath: very powerful.

How can a simple daily ritual — even just three minutes — begin that return?

For me, my rituals are simple but very meaningful. They bring return because I incorporate breathing, gratitude to the present moment & manifesting. All these things keep my nervous system happy and my mental state positive and strong. My rituals also include detoxing like tongue scraping first thing and lymphatic drainage which is so good for my health and wellbeing as well. 

What would you remind someone who feels too busy or overwhelmed to prioritise themselves? 

I always tell my friends “Health is wealth”. You should never be too busy to prioritise being your best and healthiest self. 

Your work is deeply attuned to the nervous system. Outside the treatment room, what rituals support your own regulation? In the rhythm of your daily life — morning light, breath, time in nature, simple skincare — what keeps you grounded? And how do those small, consistent rituals shape the way you show up for others?

As mentioned earlier, my rituals are well thought out and all beneficial for my mind body and soul.

For nervous system I incorporate mindful and diaphragmatic breathing (AM and PM), tapping my face (especially beneficial to nervous system to tap the third eye), morning light before artificial light, room temperature water as the first drink of the day, red lights in the bedroom which is calming and doesn’t block melatonin so helps me get a better sleep. Talking kindly to myself when I’m getting ready- never negative or looking for “faults” also helps to calm the nervous system because I’m telling it to stop looking for problems. I have consistently been doing these rituals for a long time and the positive impact on my life is incredible.

What is your go-to tahi skincare product, and why? Is it the scent, the glide, the way it invites slower hands? How does it sit within your own ritual — or the rituals you guide for others?

I love all three products they are just divine! But if I had to choose one, I’d say the mist. I’ve always been a big fan of mists and love when I receive this in a facial. I think it’s the experience it create with the combination of touch as it gently hits your skin, the beautiful scent that invites you to breathe slowly and then the pressing into the skin which is like a gentle hug and the hydrated skin afterwards. How could you not love that?!