Welcome to the Interior Perspective, where luxury real estate meets timeless design. I'm Nicole Fisher, a Hudson-based interior designer working with the region's most exclusive properties. Each week, we sit down with top brokers to explore the stories, insights, and inspirations behind the most remarkable homes on the market. This is your front row seat to the art of elevated living. Let's get started. Hello, and welcome back to The Interior Perspective. Over the last several episodes, we've been pulling back the layers on what it really means to design a life, not just a home. We've talked about real estate, the power of storytelling and spaces, and how thoughtful design can really shift the way we live, gather, and connect. But if there's one thing I've realized in these conversations, it's that design isn't limited to our walls and our windows. It's the choices we make every day to shape how we feel, how we show up, and how we express ourselves. Today's episode is about that next layer of design, designing for well-being. Just like our home, our bodies and our confidence can be curated, not to change who we are, but to bring forward our best selves. It's not about perfection, it's about intention. My guest today knows this better than anyone. She's the founder of The Curated Aesthetic English Black, where her mission is to help women feel confident and refreshed through natural, subtle injectables. With more than 20 years of experience as a practitioner, speaker, and trainer, she's built a brand that's much more than what it seems. It's about empowerment as it is about aesthetics. I love this conversation because it bridges interiors and personal. So we'll talk about the artistry of subtlety, the psychology of confidence, and why investing in yourself is never vanity, it's wellness. So let's step into this idea of designing confidence, designing health, and ultimately designing a life that feels as Gosh, thanks, Nicole. I love this intro. I love I'm so happy you're here. Besides the fact that, you know, we know each other from our coaching, I have been drawn to this idea of aesthetics, obviously, because of my wonderful forehead over here, but also because this is really something I believe in, just investing in yourself to be the best version of you and how that opens up all of these opportunities and doors as we grow. So what first inspired 100%. Yeah, well, it's so interesting because it actually wasn't an inspiration. I was actually very aesthetic averse because of an experience that I had with someone I love dearly whose insecurities had really been exploited and taken advantage of. So instead of aesthetics being something that empowered her, it kind of fed that hungry ghost of never good enough, right? So I was actually offered a job in a dermatology practice. I'd been practicing dermatology for over a decade, and they said, well, we don't really need a dermatology provider, but we need an injector. And I thought, well, I'd love to, I love a job. I had a newborn at home, five minutes from the house. And I thought, well, I'll take this job, and then I'm sure they'll like me, and then they'll let me get back to my medical derm. But what I learned, what eventually became the inspiration is that all of these women did not want to be exploited. They already knew their worth. And they were very intelligent CEOs, academics, professionals that were maturing. And they just wanted to be treated the same. And I thought, I mean, it gives me chills every time I talk about it because I'm like, I can get on board with this. I was like, this I can sign up for. So that started this sense of purpose of helping align women on the outside with how they feel on Amazing, I love that so much. How much do you feel confidence plays a part of this journey and seeing Yeah, so it's such an interesting question because when we talk about confidence, we all know that it comes from the inside. Confidence does, well, technically confidence comes from external validation and worth comes from the inside, but we really can't have solid confidence without the worth piece. And yet, we know that when we feel great about how we look, then that helps us show up better for that confidence for ourselves, and it helps boost our worth. I mean, because the reality is, as humans, you know, we're such social creatures. There's data that tells us we make a decision within seconds about whether we think someone is attractive or not. And then the reality of those statistics is that it's easier to get a job. It's easier to be chosen in whatever context when we show up as more attractive. Now, I'm a big believer that we exude that feeling. And so whatever it takes to stay true to that is what helps us show up and build that confidence. And I'm also always careful to say that when we talk about aesthetics, we don't want to reject any of our patients. We don't want to reject who we are. We want to stay true to that. And really, speaking to what you do, I tell everybody, I'm like, look, you showed up with the house. I just come in and decorate. And we're not doing a whole renovation Yeah, totally. But it goes back to this idea of approachability, which is such a big part of what we do also. Combining this idea of luxury and approachability, where it doesn't have to only feel for the top 1%, it also doesn't have to only feel for a certain type of person. It really is something that could be brought to the masses if you position yourself in the right way. So what do you think is that kind of balance between brand building and creating something that's really luxurious, but also trying to Yeah, so for me, it's again, weaving those two threads together with the precision of medicine, the vision of design and staying true to the patient. And so for me, bridging that gap is really being authentic. which sounds so simple, but it is not easy to do these days in the land of social media, in the land of filters that set a standard for how we think we should show up. And so my, it's kind of cool and crazy that while we are enhancing beauty and also building confidence, that we can attract both, building a brand around the authenticity of embracing ourselves and yet acknowledging that aesthetics or interior design is no different than choosing the brand of clothing that you wear, than choosing the brand of car you drive. It's all in how we want to show up in the world, but also acknowledging that this contributes to our confidence and all of that is Yeah, I totally, totally agree. How do you weave in the subtlety? Is It's everything. And what I tell patients is, look, I'm here for you. When you walk into a room, we want you to get the compliments for whatever it is that you're doing. Oh, you look amazing. Oh, you look beautiful. You look rested. We don't want anybody to walk in the door and say, who's your injector? Who I tell everybody, I'm like, look, if those are the questions you're getting, you're in the wrong chair. You're in the wrong chair. You're I love that. Also, but there's this stigma because I am so guilty of it. I'll look at someone who I know for a fact is in their 60s and they look like they're in their 40s. I'm like, who is their doctor? I need to figure out who Yes, and every patient that's ever walked in my room that looks way too good for their age, it's like, who was your surgeon? Who was your injector beforehand? Who have you been seeing? As I tell everyone, you know, these days, if you look far too good for your age, now, women of color get a little bit of exception here because you age so much better, and that's a little bit more of a wild card. But the reality is that Caucasian women age faster. And if they look far too good for their age, we know you didn't win the genetic lottery. So it's like, who is it that is helping you? Now, the other side of that coin is that it's very easy to spot subpar aesthetics. We can all see duck lips. We can all see not great lip filler. We can all see not great under eye filler. That's a flag. And the sad part is that that lends a stereotype that's just not real because what you can't tell is the beautiful work that's been done very tastefully, subtly, but massively impactful. And that's the sweet spot. That's what Okay, so if they look too good, you think we need to slow down the so that they look their age or like what's that kind of sweet spot? Do you think? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what I mean by too good is it's like there's no way you can look so smooth, your skin is in such great condition, you're having a glow, you're not having jowls and sagging. It's like all the things are where they should be from an aesthetic perspective. And for me, that's, you know, we're not trying to look 20. So I love this question because it's an excellent, what is too good? And what to me, I use math as a guide. So, actually, pi, there are ratios in different parts of the face that dictate true beauty. And I love that as a guide. I don't love it as the standard because then everybody starts to look the same. Then we obliterate ethnicity. We obliterate how patients look in their individual way the way they were born. So, I like that as a guide to enhance, but not to make this a black and white thing, because then it loses its art, right? If it's a black and white thing and everybody can deliver the same result, well, where's the beauty in that? So, the too good part is when you have reached those mathematical, the distances, the ratios, generally speaking, that is when patients start to look distorted. And that's a little different for everybody because some petite women, those proportions may be different and or larger women, you know, tall, petite. Some people have very small faces. Some people have very wide faces. And so when we start to violate the laws of beauty, the pie really, and That's when things start Interesting. It really reminds me of this just timelessness concept that it works no matter how old you are. It really just goes with you as you age. And I think about homes and how I design things the same way, right? So we're not designing for the now. We're designing so that it could be loved in Yeah, I love that. I love that concept. You know, I never I've never thought of this idea that it can look too good. It's always this North Star we're reaching for. Right. As especially as women. Right. But it is never this concept that even crossed my mind that it could really distort how others perceive you, how you will likely perceive yourself, and how this never-ending carrot almost dangling in front of you is just not the right way to do That's right. And when we're getting the history, when we're trying to figure out the goals, it's important to do a deep dive there. Because if we don't, and you don't have a true goal, we talk about this in business, if we don't have goals and we don't know where we're going, we don't know where we're going. So there's no end in sight. So it's like, what are the end points that we want to achieve here? What is the feeling that we want to feel along with this work? And in the perfect world, we want the feedback to be received within ourselves. Because sometimes patients are like, you know, no one else can tell, but I can. And I'm like, yes. And the sad truth is, is that a lot of us women don't hand out attagirls nearly enough. And it might not even be that they don't notice. It might just be that they're the types of people that aren't comfortable handing out compliments, which here's a shout out to all the women. If you see something nice, somebody looks great. Please It goes such a long way. Holy shit. That is like, it changes my day. The second I get, you know, a compliment, um, It's like instantly the shoulders are put back. It's Instantly. Instantly. And I am a big believer that there is always something about another human that we can find attractive. that we identify with that we like that you can put out there and that has nothing to do with aesthetics just that's just flat out in the joy of living and connecting with other people is to find something that we you know I like Yeah, I love it. And I love this idea of feeling because that's something we try to do every day. It's create this feeling when you walk through the door, right? So it's this concept that is, that's why I'm so happy we're having this conversation because there's so many elements of what I do and what you do that are completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but that we're trying to achieve the same thing for a client. Which brings me to my next question, which is really about self-investment. doing all of our business coaching, I have fully changed how much I am working out, how much I really care about myself and investing in myself so I can be the best boss, so I can be the best person for my clients. And it really all goes, you know, back to confidence. So I'm trying to figure out what is that full service experience that could be translated to what you're doing. How does confidence and appearance spill Yeah, so confidence and appearance, they fall into the rest of our life because, again, it's just how we walk into a room. And as you and I are learning, again, through our coaching together, so much of this is about mindset. And yet, when it comes to aesthetics, we have mindset in one way, but if the reflection that we are seeing in the mirror is screaming, you're exhausted. you're tired. But actually, I'm really not. But boy, you sure look it." And all of those things. I mean, and yes, sure, there is a cultural norm in our society that certainly puts beauty up on a pedestal, and women throughout their lives are told, you're pretty, you're lovely. Anything that's associated with beauty, as a woman, we are used to hearing at some point in our childhood, coming up from relatives and from other people, And at some point, we stop hearing that. And so, I will be 50 in November, and I feel like part of this evolution, as a woman in particular, but as a person in general, is the shift goes from understanding that that external validation was really never needed. What we needed is from the inside. So again, getting that exterior aligned with how we feel on the inside and owning it. You know, just like in coaching, in business, in selling anything that we have, and let's be honest, even if you're not a businesswoman, let's say you're a stay-at-home mom, you may be selling to your family to eat their healthy meal. You may be selling them to follow certain rules within your family. And if we aren't willing to invest in ourselves and believe our own worth, why should anyone else around us? Right. So it's such an important piece to put all those things together and understand you really are a priority. And when you make it the priority yourself, then everybody else can buy in. Yeah. And that's just it's giving yourself permission to feel that way, too. We don't allow ourselves as women to do something for ourselves, you know? For sure, for sure. And it's honestly, it's not even selfish. It's just a, it's just a part of, you know, how we need to start weaving it into our lives. And it's really, it really Yeah, exactly. But as women, a lot of times we are conditioned to believe that because we are nurturers, we're usually caregivers. And this isn't perfect to women, but it's just, I think, it's more common. And so understanding that, yes, we can still be nurturers and give to ourselves and that we are better nurturers when we've been giving to ourselves. And that just letting go of the stereotype that doing nice things for yourself, like getting nice things for your home, that was a hump I had to get over myself. Or giving to yourself aesthetically, you know, it's all a matter of priority. I invite patients to look at their takeout budget, look at their Starbucks budget, because a lot of times when you add those things up, it will cover whatever else it is that you feel like you need or want in your life. Interesting. I Actually, I don't want to I'm not changing any of those budgets. Sorry, we're just adding to it. That's what we're doing. We will find more money for the fund. We'll find a way. All right, I'm shifting gears a little bit just because I want to pick your brain about a little bit more on the business side. You've been in the industry about 20 years. What do you think has changed the most in how women approach beauty and Yeah, I love this because I had to give myself a shout out maybe several months ago because I was like, girl, you've been helping people look like this since the very beginning before it was a trend and before it was cool. I was like, it's too bad. I was, you know, dealing with my own stuff of wanting to just stay under the radar and not be seen. Whereas now, that was not the case when I started doing it. Everybody was like, just fill the line, just do this. And we were very impressed and happy with what now we would consider very subpar results. The techniques have come so far in being able to deliver even better results than we could have ever dreamed of when I started injecting 17 plus years ago. So I would say that it's come from a place of, you know, just being more limited and small. And now it is more holistic. It covers our whole face. And there's all new indications, new ways of using new products. I mean, there is a whole new industry being birthed right now in biostimulators and regenerative treatments. And I think in the next five years, we're going to see a dramatic change in that, whether it's through use of peptides, whether it's through use of injectables that help us regenerate our own tissues. It's really, really cool. And that, you know, back then it was kind of more of a divided black and white camp. It was people that really did very little or nothing and then people that did a lot or maybe a little too much. And now we've kind of come closer to the middle where most people are Yeah. Do you feel like you always need to stay ahead of the technology that's coming or do you allow other people to kind of test it before you So for the most part, I like to be an early adopter, but not the first. And the reason being is because I'm kind of out here in Greensboro, there's not a lot of research done around here. And so I feel like the communication is simply not there, nor is the setup for research. And although I find all that very interesting, so maybe one day. So I let the cowgirls and cowboys do the new things in the beginning and then I love it. So apart from technology, where do you see this aesthetics industry kind of headed and Oh, yeah. So I really, I want to shape the future by again, bringing more awareness to the importance and value of worth for women to really be able to embrace their own natural beauty. And again, it sounds like a contradiction, because it's like, well, how can you say that and be an injector? And I'm like, No, they really do go together because when we are struggling with those concepts, this can be a catapult. It's a catalyst. And we are also getting that external validation to help move us along, you know, get us in alignment. And as far as the future of aesthetics, I think that this trend towards people being more authentic to themselves is definitely a piece of it. You know, there are concerns with AI coming into the future. And you know, there's AI personalities around now that aren't real people, but look real. And that I'm concerned maybe for my kids and or their kids, and that becoming a new norm and or a standard for comparison, when Right. Nor do we want it to be. No, absolutely not. That's such an interesting component to the AI in a visual standpoint. I always think about it in a digital standpoint, not anything visually. How much do you use AI in your day-to-day? I use it all the time these days, but mostly for the more business end of my things, how to communicate with people and for tricky subjects, or when I'm dealing with my own issues of clarity. Chat GPT and I, that's actually what I was thinking of. I was like, wow, because you really build a relationship with this AI. But the coolest part about it, if you think about it really, is you're really building a relationship with yourself. This is just, this is a tool for clarity and guidance. But the, uh, you know, where that gets a little confusing to our point is just the visual aspect I know. Yeah, and every Saturday and Sunday, there's usually several conversations I have or things I've been thinking about that it's great to have flesh out. It just makes us more efficient. And that's a dominant quality of my personality. So it's bringing. Absolutely. That's why That's right. I love this conversation that we've been having and designing well-being is not just about home. It's about body confidence and how we curate our daily lives. If you could design the Oh, I think this depends. You know, I am somebody who I have to work, but I also can't be a stay-at-home mom and I can't work 180 hours a week. But I find that when we have that connection to meaning, that is really where the sweet spot is. And my perfect day starts with meditation. And then it's followed by, well, actually I get up with my kids first and I hug all of them and have a few special moments in the morning. Then go exercise. They got to get the body moving first thing every day. And that's become more and more important just to get blood to my brain, get me pumped up. And then seeing some great patients and or getting on some coaching calls and or getting on social to connect with people. You know, a lot of it depends on the day, but nutrition plays a big part of that feeling, helping myself feel good. And, and I personally, I am huge into wellness and supplements and peptides. And so I love it. Amazing. And it's so good to hear a fellow entrepreneur who values well-being for yourself so that you can show up and be the best for your clients, because I think that is the key. And it's just something I continue to have to remind myself over and over and over that I'm not doing this because I'm selfish. I'm doing it so I can be better. And as women, we just have to allow ourselves to do it. So thank you for having this amazing conversation. I love it. Where can Yeah, thanks so much for having me. You can find me at the English aesthetic on Instagram. And if you are a patient or someone that's interested in aesthetics and wellness and or evaluation, you can DM me the word glow. And if you're an injector or business owner and would like to speak more, we can DM me the word consult and I'll be in touch. I love it. Thank you, English. Thank you so much. We'll Thanks for listening to The Interior Perspective. If today's conversation inspired you or you're a broker with a story worth telling, connect with us on Instagram at NicoleFisherInteriorDesign or visit NicoleFisher.com. Until next time, keep creating beauty, living with intention and seeing every space through