Lessons from Local Leaders:

Kim & Mimi

Kim & Mimi: From ER Nurses to Aesthetic Medicine Pioneers—Building Beauty on Clinical Excellence and Deep Friendship

When Dr. Kimberly Nicoll (Kim) and Mimi met in the ER over 15 years ago—she as an ER physician, Mimi as an ER nurse—they had no idea those “rough night shifts that are to go down in the memory book” would eventually lead to business partnership. But when you work side by side through healthcare’s most intense moments, you learn who someone truly is.

Fast forward through a pandemic, a mobile Botox service launched at the worst possible timing, two years of employee-employer collaboration, and one serendipitous Lansdown location that made them both say “holy sh*t”—and you get Radiant Aesthetics and Lifestyle Medicine, where clinical expertise meets genuine friendship and every client becomes “like our best friends from the first visit.”

“We’re like sisters,” Kim says simply, and the dynamic between them proves it. They finish each other’s sentences. Their thoughts align 99.9% of the time. When they don’t agree, they’re comfortable enough to say so directly. After nearly two decades of knowing each other through good times and bad, running a business together “almost comes intuitively to us.”

Their combined 40 years of clinical experience doesn’t just make them skilled injectors—it makes them the kind of practitioners who carry EpiPens in every room, can place IVs with their eyes closed, and know instantly when a medication might contraindicate a treatment. They speak 4-5 languages collectively. Kim’s 6-year-old son fights her every morning because he’d rather go to Radiant Aesthetics than school (he has his own scrubs and name tag).

And they’re both excited to be aging—Kim turns 50 next year and can’t wait—because they’ve discovered the secret: aging gracefully means doing it confidently, with wisdom, and with your head held high.

The Mobile Botox Launch That Couldn’t Have Been Worse Timing

About five years ago, Kim and Mimi started noticing they needed help with their own aesthetics and lifestyle. Kim saw an opportunity and launched a mobile Botox service.

The timing? COVID hit simultaneously.

“People did not want to go and get aesthetic places done,” Mimi recalls with understatement that barely captures how challenging that moment must have been.

But Kim persisted, leaving the ER shortly after COVID to focus on mobile aesthetic services full-time. Mimi, still working in the ER, asked if she could join as an employee. She did that for a couple of years, learning the business while Kim established the foundation.

Then an opportunity emerged to open a brick-and-mortar location in Lansdown, Virginia. Mimi made a bold ask: could she become Kim’s business partner instead of remaining an employee?

Kim’s response? “Obviously delighted to have me. Of course I was.”

They opened their second location in July, and the partnership that had been building for 15+ years officially became Radiant Aesthetics and Lifestyle Medicine—a practice serving “anyone who wants to look and feel better from the inside out.”

The Intuitive Partnership: When 99.9% Agreement Isn’t Luck

After nearly two decades of working together through difficult circumstances—both in families and at work, through good times and bad—Kim and Mimi have developed what they describe as wisdom and insight that makes running a business together feel intuitive.

“We know each other so well,” Kim explains. “I don’t need to tell her how I feel. She can just look at me and see how I feel, and our thoughts are almost 99.9% agree or on the same page.”

When that remaining 0.1% disagreement surfaces, they’re comfortable enough to voice it directly. “Hey, you know what? I don’t agree with you,” or “No, it should be this way.” The friendship foundation allows honest professional dialogue without damaging the relationship.

“We’re just really lucky in that way to know each other so well starting out,” Mimi reflects.

That knowing translates into client care. When you’ve worked together in an ER for 15+ years, you develop shorthand communication, shared instincts, and the ability to function as a seamless team under pressure. Those skills transfer beautifully to running an aesthetic practice where clients need to feel heard, understood, and cared for.

More Than Aesthetics: Creating the “Best Friends” Experience

Walk into Radiant Aesthetics and you’re not entering a traditional clinic. You’re joining what Kim and Mimi describe as a family where clients feel welcome, relaxed, and at home from the first visit.

“We’ve had people tell us, ‘When I come through here, I just feel welcome and relaxed and at home,'” Kim shares. “That’s exactly what we want.”

The experience centers on realistic honesty and realistic expectations. In one-on-one interactions, Kim and Mimi make clients feel great while acknowledging that looking in the mirror and not liking what you see is normal.

“We’re here to help you feel confident and not only make you look great but also help you feel great,” Mimi explains.

Within an hour, clients have shared everything—how many kids they have, what’s happening in their lives, their concerns and dreams. Kim and Mimi become therapists as much as aesthetic practitioners.

A recent Google review captured it perfectly: the client called them “my best friends from the first visit.”

“That’s just what makes our job worth it,” Mimi says. “Not necessarily the way they look, but even the way they feel and the way they talk about us.”

The multilingual capacity (4-5 languages between staff members) ensures everyone feels welcome. Kim’s son wearing his scrubs with his “I work for Radiant Aesthetics and I like to do facials” name tag adds to the family atmosphere.

The Journey Philosophy: No Instagram Look in Two Days

Many clients arrive at Radiant Aesthetics having never done aesthetic services or used proper skincare. “All of a sudden they wake up and they feel like their face is falling apart,” Mimi describes.

That’s when the journey conversation begins.

“We give them a real expectation that, listen, it’s not just one visit where I can fix this,” Mimi explains. “It’s a journey where you’re gonna start with me and we could even start with basic facials.”

Teaching proper face care—vitamin C, SPF, pharmaceutical-grade skincare—becomes step one. “I can’t get you to your Instagram look in a couple of days. It’s gonna take me at least six to seven months of consistency.”

The gym analogy resonates: you don’t build muscle and look awesome from one hour workout. It’s a process requiring sustained effort.

“You didn’t come here looking like this. It didn’t take you one day to feel like this. It’s not gonna take one day to get back to feeling like yourself,” Kim emphasizes.

This is where their integrated approach shines. Mimi handles facials, skincare protocols, and aesthetic treatments. Kim brings hormone replacement therapy and lifestyle medicine. Together, they look at the picture as a whole—not promising quick fixes but delivering sustainable transformation.

Clinical Excellence: Why ER Experience Makes Better Injectors

When asked how their clinical backgrounds shape client care, Mimi practically explodes with passion.

“I am not trying to bring anyone down, but I do see a lot—many are graduating, going straight into aesthetics without having that experience,” she begins.

Working at bedside makes her a better injector today. When patients come in for Botox, she can identify if they’re suffering from autoimmune conditions or taking medications that might contraindicate treatment. That solid medical knowledge provides confidence even with Kim right there.

“Coming from the ER, we’re literally equipped. We see it all. We do it all. We’re comfortable with everything,” Mimi continues. They carry EpiPens and have allergic reaction boxes in every room—not out of fear, but preparation.

“We can put an IV with our eyes closed.”

Her advice to every new graduate wanting aesthetic careers? “Go work at the hospital first. Get your experience. That is going to make you just a better injector in the future.”

Kim emphasizes another benefit: meeting patients where they are. “Having all those years—what, we have 40 years combined experience between the two of us—I think it serves us so well and I’m so proud that we have it.”

That experience allows them to feel out where clients are, what they’re ready for, what they’re ready to discuss. Instead of jumping straight into clinical treatments, they take time to build trust and understanding.

“If something goes wrong, we are ready,” Mimi states simply.

The Shift: From Fillers to Biostimulators and Lifestyle

The aesthetic medicine industry has shifted dramatically, and Kim and Mimi are at the forefront of that evolution.

“One of the things that jumps out quickest is really a shift from treatments such as fillers to augment the way the face looks or restore lost volume to something called biostimulators or regenerative medicine,” Kim explains.

These treatments help increase skin quality and thickness, building foundation to make skin look better rather than just filling repeatedly.

“Ever since the Kardashians dissolved their fillers, everyone started on that train,” Mimi notes with a laugh. “And it’s great.”

Fillers still have their place—both Kim and Mimi use them personally—but they’re not the first intervention anymore. “I need to make sure that my skin is producing that collagen and elastin every day,” Mimi explains.

Even more significant: people are realizing lifestyle matters. “We can do a facial on you, we can hydrate you, we can put some fillers in your face,” Kim says. “But if you go home and drink a bottle of wine and don’t get enough sleep and you’re stressed out, you’re not gonna look as good as you want to look.”

Clients increasingly understand that how you take care of yourself holistically affects how you look. That aligns perfectly with Radiant’s integrated approach to aesthetics and lifestyle medicine.

Technology That Passes the Test: Personal Experience Required

Technology in aesthetics evolves rapidly—”every two months there’s a new device,” Kim notes. The challenge is keeping up while choosing proven technology that stands the test of time.

Radiant currently offers two key devices: a CO2 laser (proven technology that’s been around 30 years and evolved significantly) and an Evers machine (monopolar radiofrequency for skin tightening that’s painless with no downtime).

But here’s the rule: “We will never buy any device if we both don’t try it and fall in love with it.”

Nothing gets offered that Kim and Mimi haven’t personally experienced. “We want to be able to speak to it—how did it feel? How long did the bruising last? How much did it hurt or not?” Kim explains.

When Mimi tells clients, “Hey, you know what? I did it the day before Christmas. This is what my face looked like on Christmas”—that personal testimony resonates powerfully.

One particular client with serious FOMO asks every visit: “What did you do this time?” When Mimi mentions a treatment, she immediately responds: “Sign me up.”

Sometimes Mimi has to pump the brakes: “You know what, we’re gonna back up on this month ’cause you’ve done enough. Let’s wait another couple of months.”

But the principle holds: if they haven’t tried it, they won’t offer it.

Meeting Clients Where They Are: Budget, Fear, and Patience

Not everyone who walks through the door has unlimited budgets. In today’s economy, financial constraints are real, and Kim and Mimi refuse to make people feel excluded because of budget limitations.

“You don’t want to make them feel like just because they have a lower budget that they can’t get any service or they can’t feel and look great,” Mimi emphasizes.

They start clients within their means—sometimes just monthly medical-grade facials or pharmaceutical skincare. “Sometimes just skincare,” Mimi repeats for emphasis.

If a client comes in with a budget that could technically buy a little Botox but won’t actually help them achieve their goals, Mimi’s advice is direct: “Save your money. Keep putting more money on the side. When you’re ready, come and see me. But for now, this is what we’re gonna do.”

That approach makes clients feel comfortable knowing they can still be part of the Radiant Aesthetics family. “Whether you work in a gas station or you own your own business, you guys are both welcome into our place.”

When clients show fear or hesitation despite wanting help, Kim digs deeper: “What is it that you’re afraid of?” Then she works with them from that starting point.

“Meet them where they are,” Kim repeats throughout the conversation—it’s clearly a foundational philosophy.

The Lansdown Miracle: When “Holy Sh*t” Became Home

Kim and Mimi had no plans to open in Lansdown. Their goal was to grow the Haymarket location. But a client who owned a property in Lansdown kept insisting they come see it because he was about to retire.

Mimi brushed him off for three months. Finally, during training across the street, she called Kim: “We’re gonna be in Leesburg today. Let’s go ahead and see the place and we’ll just tell the owner kindly no thank you. We’ll come up with an excuse, but at least it shows that we care.”

Mimi had even called other injectors first to offer them the opportunity. “No thanks.”

When Kim and Mimi walked in together, everything changed. Beautiful windows, natural light flooding in—they looked at each other and simultaneously thought: “Holy sh*t, yes. We need to work here.”

Normally during training, they discuss nothing but the training. That night at dinner, they couldn’t stop talking about the location. “Are you serious about this? Oh my God, this is perfect.”

They signed the lease less than a month later.

Mimi’s initial concern about competition in the area was addressed by the client himself: “Look at me. I have so many other places I can go to, but I choose to come to you. You can’t think like that.”

He was right. They signed a five-year lease and haven’t looked back. It was meant to be—another example of opportunity falling into place when you’re open to recognizing it.

Growth Without Losing the Heart

Looking ahead, Kim and Mimi see continued growth—even unintentionally. “Every month we’re thinking of a new service or a new something to add or hiring someone.”

The long-term goal includes potentially opening another location closer to where Mimi lives in the Haymarket-Gainesville area. But expansion isn’t just about locations or services.

“In terms of impact on the community, we just want to be known as the place where everyone is welcome and everyone can come and feel loved and heard and taken care of in a way that they’re not normally used to in a spa,” Kim explains.

That mission—creating welcome, providing exceptional care, making everyone feel valued regardless of budget or background—guides every decision as they grow.

Aging Backward While Aging Gracefully

Ask Kim and Mimi what aging means to them, and you get enthusiasm most people don’t associate with approaching 50.

“I really truly believe in aging backwards and aging gracefully and doing it the right way,” Mimi says. “With all the technology and all the amazing procedures and still looking like you—still yourself.”

Looking at pictures from 10 years ago, Mimi’s reaction is strong: “Oh my God, I don’t want to look at these.” She’s not afraid to age—she’s excited about it.

Kim, turning 49 soon and 50 next year, shares that excitement: “For me, aging well is aging with confidence, with wisdom, and with my head held very high. Every year I gain more knowledge, I meet more people, I have more experience under my belt. I’m so excited to be aging.”

Not many people say that, and Kim knows it. But it’s genuine. The confidence, wisdom, and experience that come with age far outweigh the superficial concerns society emphasizes.

When you understand how to age gracefully—taking care of yourself inside and out, using proven treatments thoughtfully, maintaining realistic expectations—aging becomes something to embrace rather than fear.

A Partnership Built to Last

From rough ER night shifts to business partnership, from mobile Botox during COVID to thriving brick-and-mortar locations, Kim and Mimi have built Radiant Aesthetics and Lifestyle Medicine on friendship, clinical excellence, and genuine care for every person who walks through the door.

They’re the practitioners who say no when treatments aren’t appropriate. Who start with budget-friendly options when that’s what clients need. Who carry EpiPens in every room because their ER backgrounds taught them to always be prepared. Who speak multiple languages so everyone feels welcome. Who won’t offer treatments they haven’t personally tried.

They’re also the business partners who finish each other’s sentences, agree 99.9% of the time, and are comfortable enough to voice the 0.1% disagreement when it surfaces.

For anyone who wants to look and feel better from the inside out—whether you’re starting with basic skincare or ready for advanced treatments, whether you have a large budget or need to start small—Radiant Aesthetics offers clinical expertise wrapped in genuine friendship and the kind of welcome that makes clients say “these are my best friends from the first visit.”

Because when you’ve spent 15+ years working side by side through healthcare’s toughest moments, you know what really matters: showing up for people, meeting them where they are, and helping them feel confident, heard, and cared for.

And maybe having a 6-year-old in scrubs who’d rather come to work than go to school doesn’t hurt either.

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