What this one’s about:

I riff on a killer Diary of a CEO roundtable (Codie Sanchez, Alex Hormozi, Daniel Priestley) and share a study on grooming, attractiveness and pay—plus my $150 Mecca “makeup school” hack I used before a 350-person talk.

My big takeaways:

• You don’t need capital to start — pre-sell, validate fast, borrow audiences, and use relationships as leverage. That was the common thread from all three guests. A
• The beauty premium is (mostly) a grooming premium for women. A 2016 paper using a large U.S. sample found attractive people earn ~20% more on average; for women, that edge comes almost entirely from being well-groomed (makeup/hair/style). For men, grooming explains about half. Agency > genetics. ScienceDirectSciSpace
• My practical play: I booked Mecca’s 90-min lesson (redeemable on product), filmed the steps (with permission), and now have a personalised tutorial I can replay before big stages. Zero YouTube rabbit holes; pro tips, done.

Stuff I mention:

• Diary of a CEO: Money Making Experts: This 3-Step ‘Offer’ Formula… (Codie, Alex, Daniel). Great for no-excuse starters. Apple PodcastsSpotify
• Study: “Gender and the Returns to Attractiveness” — Jaclyn S. Wong & Andrew M. Penner, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (2016). Read the abstract/summary here. ScienceDirectSocial Sciences UCI
• Media explainer on the findings (optional primer). TIME

My POV:

I like this research because it gives us levers we can pull. I can’t change my bone structure, but I can decide whether to “play the game” for a high-stakes day. For me, working with pros (shout-outs to Kate Massey, and my stylist-friends who just see outfits I don’t!) is an energy and confidence shortcut.

Try this:

• Book a lesson with a pro, film the steps (ask first), and create your mini-library.
• Build a simple stage-day checklist (base, brows, eyes, lips; hair plan; outfit A/B).
• Decide your rule: “I turn it up one notch for key moments.” No moral drama.

Question for you:

Where do you sit on this? Is “playing the game” strategic… or does it grate? Ping me—I’d love your take.

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Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.com

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