When I arrived at Ciappetti’s to interview Diane Nikolic she was looking at the menu and speaking to her personal trainer on her mobile to ask her what she is “allowed” to eat.

“You must think I’m crazy!” she says to me, laughing and half-embarrassed.

But no, I understand perfectly what it means to have to constantly watch your weight, even if it means being monitored by someone else. After a few grimaces when she is told, no, she cannot have any wine, she finally decides on her lunch.

The strict regime she is on, which includes working out three times a week and a healthy diet, is certainly showing. Her short blond crop frames her attractive face and she is positively glowing.

“I get more attention as a blonde,” she says with a twinkle in her eye, with reference to her constantly changing hair colour.

Diane chose Ciappetti’s for the “good memories” it holds when she used to come here with her friends.

“They make the most wonderful bread, and their salads! Plus I love Mdina because it’s quiet and when I want to relax I want quiet.”

I have been bumping into Diane for many years now, here and there when I’ve been a guest on TV programmes and I always tell her I wish I could keep her in my pocket to always do my make-up.

I’m sure she must get this remark all the time.

Diane has just finished work on YADA’s latest production, Christus and is exhausted, but very, very proud to have been part of such a wonderful show.

“I think they were all so amazing and I’m really missing all of them at the moment. Unfortunately, a few of the performances weren’t well-attended and I can only say to those who didn’t come that they missed an incredible production.”

I can only agree with her. Although I had my doubts as to how YADA could do anything different with such a well-known story, they once again proved that they could come up with an innovative dance show which was truly moving.

Apart from the usual make-up, Diane’s expertise was called upon to create the scenes where Justin Roy Barker in the role of Christ, was lashed mercilessly with whips.

“I had never worked with that amount of blood! Felix Busuttil, Vivienne Fielding Refalo, Justin Roy Barker and myself met up to discuss how we would do it. I brought all my blood and at first we attached the sachets to his back. The idea was to conceal them with make-up and when they started lashing him, they would break and the blood would come out. But since Justin is constantly dancing and there’s no time, the sachets would fall off with sweating. We decided that we would have to sort something out with the whip. We attached the sachets to the whip so that they would break on impact. But obviously, you cannot hit him hard, so that didn’t work.”

After a lot of trial and error, a special whip was created with sponges at the bottom. Diane would soak the whip in blood, timing it exactly until all the dripping had stopped. The desired effect was achieved because the blood on Justin’s back came from the whip itself. Another effect was the sachet attached to the crown of thorns which broke just as it was placed on Justin’s head.

“You should have seen us back-stage, the panic! The most difficult part came when we had to clean Justin in minutes in time for the Resurrection scene; it took three of us to get him ready.”

Working on such a large-scale production involves months of preparation which starts as soon as Felix comes up with the idea of what he has in mind. “We’ve been working together so long that we understand each other perfectly.”

She has worked on countless theatre productions but when I ask her what her biggest challenge has been so far, she doesn’t hesitate: it has to be Frankie.

“When Ray Calleja approached me for Bomba, it was a challenge to create all those characters. He used to come to me and tell me, right, I want a Chinese man who’s like this, an old man with a big nose, and so on.”

Frankie is definitely her triumph, involving two hours’ worth of make-up application.

“Ray and Josef Bonello (the scriptwriter) had a vision and just knew what they wanted: a man who was bald, rough, with protruding teeth.”

Despite her skills at creating this character make-up, she still loves fashion make-up and making women look “gorgeous”.

She has made up of some of Malta’s most familiar faces: Ira Losco, Claudette Pace and now Julie Zahra. With Claudette she had the added experience of going to the Eurovision, which she is doing once again this year with Julie and Ludwig, thanks to a sponsor.

For Diane, Claudette is more than just a “client” but a good friend.

“It was Claudette who introduced me to television; she ‘found’ me in a way. She insisted I come to work with her at Max Plus where I ended up doing a bit of everything, even being a floor manager because I got fed up of waiting around doing nothing.”

So far we’ve spoken about where Diane Nikolic is today, but to really understand her, we have to go back to the very beginning. Her father was in the Air Force and from the age of six to the age of 14, Diane lived in England. Diane’s fascination with make-up started at the age of six, and it all happened when she met her mother’s boss.

“She was this beautiful woman. She would come to our house and I would just stare at this beauty. Remember Wonder Woman? It was like watching her. I would look at her and think ‘wow, she’s so perfect’. When she said that she’s a beautician, I turned to Mum and told her, ‘that’s what I want to be’. That was it.”

Little Diane was given a toy make-up kit and she would paint all her dolls.

She went on to do all the usual beauty courses, and then followed another course in England.

When one of her teachers met her recently she told her, “You were always so creative, but I can’t believe you have come this far.”

Daine’s first step was to open her own beauty salon which she ran for ten years. Although she loved it, she came to a point where she just couldn’t cope with all the work which started coming her way.

“It started with doing a wedding here and there, then I started doing fashion shows for Hot Couture, then a photographer asked for me. After that I met Claudette Pace, and that was it...”

She came to the point where she had to make a choice, so she took a risk, closed the salon and struck out as a freelancer.

“I believe if you don’t do something with a passion, you shouldn’t do it. The passion to do full-time beauty therapy had just vanished. Thank God the work has never stopped, although sometimes it gets a bit out of control.”

In fact, since I’ve known her, all I’ve ever heard Diane say is how over-worked she is.

A typical day during the Christus production saw her working until midnight and then waking up at 5am for other jobs. She might finish at 4pm, rest for an hour and then would have to be at the theatre at 5pm.

On top of all this she has a six-year-old son, Chris.

“The one rule I try to have is that when he comes home from school I’m there and I stay with him until 5pm doing homework. Quality time is a must. In the evenings I don’t go out anyway unless it’s a special occasion. My parents are amazing and help me a lot; if it wasn’t for them I couldn’t work. My ex-husband takes him at the weekends.”

How does it feel to be a Mummy?

“I love it. I wish I had more time for him, but I’m not going to let myself feel guilty because I have to support myself. I do make up for the time I’m not with him. Apart from that I need to work because I wouldn’t be happy. I have to feel that energy and satisfaction that I’ve done something. If you love your work, your work will love you back. When I stopped for three weeks when Chris was born, my mother was screaming at me to go back to work. I kept working until I was nine months pregnant – as if I’m going to stop! You’re not handicapped, you’re pregnant,” Diane shrugs matter-of-factly.

Born into this world of make-up, Chris has at times been a bit too outspoken about his mother’s work.

“He’ll say, ‘that’s make-up Ma?’ Then he goes and checks it and says, ‘OK, she looks beautiful now’. I tell you there are some moments...!” she smiles fondly.

She describes her home as “her little castle” into which she has poured her heart and soul to create a sanctuary where she can relax and take time for herself.

“I need to be alone, because I’d go nuts. I need that time to chill out. Usually at 8pm Chris is asleep and if I don’t have paperwork or clients, I sit in front of the TV, watching Eastenders with my cup of tea. I think, ‘Ah, my day’s nearly over, thank God’. I’m terrible!” she suddenly adds, realising how mundane this sounds.

Of course, it’s not mundane at all, but perfectly understandable when someone lives the kind of whirlwind life that Diane does, which puts her in touch with so many exciting events.

She agrees that she has a lot of energy and with a shining smile she tells me how she simply loves life.

“I love my job and I love working. I complain because I can’t handle the time when things overlap. But I’m not stuck in an office and it’s always something very interesting.”

Diane’s starter arrives: she has chosen French onion soup (which has been given the green light by her trainer).

Many people call themselves make-up artists. What has made Diane stand out from the rest is not just her professional attitude, but her artistry.

“It’s like painting on a face. It’s not just make-up, it is an art. That is why we are called artists.”

Predictably, because she does make-up all day long, she hates doing her own make-up.

“I wish I could eliminate it; I wish I could just paint it on and it stays like that forever. I don’t wear make-up at home, I wear it to ‘influence’ people so to speak, because I believe women should look their best.”

Of course, you cannot interview a make-up artist without asking her for some tips.

“You’re not supposed to make an obvious statement, even if it’s make-up for television. As for everyday make-up, what bothers me is when I don’t see a good base. Instead of concentrating on the eye shadow, try and make sure that your face looks flawless. It doesn’t have to be full foundation, you can use a moisturiser with a tint in it, or a bit of concealer. Make your skin glow. Take away the redness, blemishes and pigmentation, cover it up. Then some mascara, some lip gloss, you don’t have to look like you’re fully made up, but you can achieve an even texture which makes a difference. In Malta we’re so scared of foundation because we think that means too much make-up. But you don’t have to put it all over, hide the naughty bits and always pat with a sponge.”

Are you taking notes ladies?

The latest technique is airbrushing, which really gives you a flawless complexion.

“Just look at Ira’s photos on her latest CD, there has been no retouching, that’s all make-up,” says Diane.

Like so many people who were uprooted from Malta, Diane doesn’t really feel that she is ‘from’ anywhere.

“How do I know where I’m from? I was born in Mtarfa, and have lived in G’Mangia, Fgura, three places in England, then in Malta, Sliema, Swieqi, St Paul’s Bay, Bugibba and now Mosta.”

Phew. I think she’s beaten my record.

Although she enjoys socialising, night-clubs are no longer her scene.

“I like conversation, so if someone has something to say, I enjoy it. If I meet someone new who’s interesting I can spend hours and hours talking. But I can’t stand small talk. Eegghh!!” she shudders at the thought.

Like hairdressers, make-up artists must get a lot of chit-chat from their clients, so I know what Diane means.

“It’s like when I meet someone whom I don’t know very well. They’ll say, ‘hi, how are you?’ and I get stuck. Now what do I say? I’m terrible in these situations. Another thing I hate is conversations like, ‘oh I had so much cleaning to do today!’ Come on, let’s talk about something interesting.”

In social situations, lawyers are constantly asked for legal advice and doctors are asked about medical problems. Diane inevitably has people asking her, “do you think this foundation suits me?”

She rolls her eyes in exasperation and has a special message for her friends reading this,

“I hate it when we’re about to go out, and they say to me, ‘do my make-up’ (she mimics a whining voice). I feel like killing them!”

Diane pretends to be angry but somehow she still retains her wide smile.

“I’m not normally short-tempered except when things get out of hand during work. For example, if someone makes me go late, I get agitated because that makes me look bad. That, and trying to apply make-up on someone while they’re on their mobile. Sometimes you have to because presenters are so busy and they’re trying to do everything before a programme.”

For our main course, Diane had chosen roasted chicken while I had seabream. We have given careful instructions about the potatoes (boiled, no butter) and we both keep our eyes firmly off the bread.

Note to Diane’s trainer: I can confirm that she was very, very good.

“Sometimes when I feel weak I phone her, ‘I’m going to eat a chocolate!’ and she tells me, ‘No! Do you want to see yourself full of cellulite at the beach?’. So she convinces me.”

Another question: can anyone look good with make-up?

“Yes,” she says firmly. “I’m not saying everyone can look absolutely gorgeous but everyone can look good. It’s the base, always the base, which is important. Plus concealing the dark circles under your eyes which make you look tired.”

Diane advises against wearing make-up at too young an age.

“Try to stay looking young as much as you can. I see 14-year-old girls with too much make-up and it doesn’t look nice. Also, the older you get, the lighter your make-up should be. It’s important to apply it according to which lighting you will be in, adapting it to the place you’re going and to what you will be wearing. We tend to go to extremes, either too much or too little.”

I want to clear up another point with Diane: is dark lipliner painted outside the lips a good idea or not?

“No! Stop it girls, it’s not fashionable any more,” is her verdict.

We talk some more about how much work she has: this Sunday she has a big hair show, then she hops on a plane for the Eurovision next week.

“When I come back I’ve decided that I will have two days off a week; I have to. It’s hard because people keep phoning and I don’t like letting them down, but I will try. I have to learn to say no.”

Her final words are about her parents, to whom she owes a lot for their constant support. Diane’s relationship with her father is a particularly close one.

“He was very strict with my sister and I when we were young, but when I was 18 and opened the shop he told me, ‘you’re a big girl, you’re running a business, I’m not going to tell you what time to come home but don’t overdo it. Go out, have fun, I trust you’. And because of that phrase ‘I trust you’ I never did anything wrong. Now we’re good friends; we talk about anything. Sometimes I think, ‘Ma, what will I do when he’s no longer there?’ The thing is when I look at men, I always compare them to my Dad, and someone like that is very hard to find.”