“My mom called me a hippy of the ’90s because I went to school in my pajamas,” reveals makeup and eyebrow artist Nicole Jacob. Raised with two sisters and a brother in Woodridge, Illinois, Jacob may have been considered a tomboy growing up, but her creativity, spirit and energy always shined through. From drawing to theater, Jacob was interested in the arts, and it was her mother who encouraged her to pursue a career in makeup. After high school, Jacob considered her mother’s advice and launched her career at the Lancôme counter at Carson Pirie Scott in Yorktown, Illinois. At the time, there were entry-level jobs available at the more popular Clinique counter, but Jacob liked the challenge of working for the lesser-known brand. As she learned the ins and outs of makeup application and product ingredients, it wasn’t long before her talent, warm personality and natural salesmanship began to get noticed. Women began to line up to get their makeup done, and in the two years she worked there, her clientele began to build. From there, Jacob transferred to the Lancôme counter at Lord & Taylor in Michigan Avenue’s Water Tower Place. Her energy fit right in with the bustling shopping scene, and she spent two more years with the company. Jacob’s clientele continued to grow, and one day she found herself doing makeup for a VP from Elizabeth Arden Red Door, in town from New York to hire a manager for the prestigious Chicago spa. She offered Jacob a job on the spot. The spa wanted Jacob to serve as both cosmetic manager and makeup artist, but there was only one role she wanted to fill. “I demoted myself,” says Jacob, who ended up doing makeup at Arden for four years. It was around that time that Jacob also began freelancing for local magazines, doing makeup for photo shoots and editorial spreads. She also discovered that she had a natural talent for eyebrow shaping, and began offering the service during her freelancing projects. From Arden, Jacob moved onto Tiffani Kim Salon in River North, where she worked as a makeup artist for two years. During her spare time, she traveled to Miami and L.A. to do makeup for photo shoots in as well as projects for major companies like L’Oreal and Maybelline. Around that time, Jacob met local photographer Jennifer Girard, and began working with her on projects, from book covers to magazine shoots. After two years at Tiffani Kim, Jacob felt the itch to grow, and joined the opening team of a hair salon called Studio 110. A former manager of Tiffani Kim opened the Gold Coast salon and asked Jacob to be her exclusive brow and makeup artist. Jacob stayed there for three years, developing her own makeup line and continuing to build her reputation as one of the city’s premiere brow and makeup artists. But it wasn’t long before she was ready to venture out again. Paul Rehder, who rents out stations in his Gold Coast salon for independent stylists, heard about Jacob and asked her come aboard. “The offer was that you pay rent and you’re your own boss,” says Jacob. After much deliberation and a vacation to Ireland, she took the courageous leap. It wasn’t a problem for Jacob’s clientele (some from her early days at Elizabeth Arden) to follow her to Paul Rehder. To them, it’s Jacob’s exceptional work and her infectious spirit that keep them loyal. From athlete’s wives and high-profile society ladies to college students and young, single professionals, Jacob greets almost all of her clients with a warm hug, bellowing laughter and a stack of photographs or mementos from her most recent jaunt through Europe or Ireland. Jacob continues to work at Paul Rehder, where her appointment books fill up to as high as 25 clients in one day. Her next plan? Her own store. “Once you get to your peak you have to grow,” says Jacob. Like her dedicated clients, it’s a motto that’s never let her down throughout her 15-year career.