Ampika Pickston is probably best known as part of the cast of The Real Housewives of Cheshire on ITVBe, where she navigates the glitzy world of fast cars, designer handbags and footballers' wives... 

When I found out she was launching her own range of haircare, Ampika Lox, I jumped at the chance to invite her on the show because, as a fan of Bravo TV's most successful franchise, I hadn't failed to spot Ampika's self-confidence and sense of self, so chatting beauty with one of my favourite housewives was a no-brainer.

Truthfully, I had no idea what to expect from my meeting with Ampika but when she greeted me at the door of her London penthouse with a hug and offered me a glass of water in monogrammed stemware I knew we were in for a good chat.

In this episode of The Beauty Podcast with Emma G Ampika tells me all about her haircare range, her passion for being a businesswoman and where she gets her entrepreneurial spirit. But rather surprisingly the first thing we talk about is meditation, which takes us on a journey of Ampika's childhood and Buddhism, her passion for journalling, how she manages work and motherhood, and her belief that a healthy mind is an active mind.  

The book Ampika is currently reading is: Speeches That Changed the World available on Amazon. 

To get in touch with the show head to emmagunavardhana.com or tweet me @emmaguns using the hashtag #EGpodcast.

Enjoy! 

EG xx

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I've written about my thoughts on Steven Bartlett's life-ruining alcohol consumption here and my Superdrug column can be found here.

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Lee Pycroft (@leepycroft) is a celebrity makeup artist, brand ambassador and business owner. She has been responsible for beautifying some of the world's most famous A-list talent for the red carpet, has made natural-born-supermodels look even more heavenly in front of the camera and is frequently quoted in the press for her incredible makeup skills and brand insight.

Lee invited me round for a pot of Buddha Tears Tea and this podcast where we talk about working with celebrities, love, relationships, setting boundaries and how to stay grounded and find balance - and she shares her pursuit of personal betterment.

Why should you listen to this podcast? If you've ever wanted to make changes, but haven't been sure how, Lee is the woman to listen to. She was perfectly placed, in the midst of Hollywood stars and personalities, to get drunk on the lifestyle that goes hand-in-hand with fame, but instead she gives back. 

Books referenced in the show are:

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom.

Co-Dependent No More, Melodie Beattie.

Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom. 

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Have you seen it? Did we need to see it? Miranda Priestly is back but should she have told the town car to 'Go!' instead of making a soft return?

Also in this episode, details of my beauty column in Superdrug. Read my beauty column here: https://www.superdrug.com/emma-guns-may

Ad info: Paid partnership with Superdrug.

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In this episode I’m joined by the fabulous Terri White, editor of Empire magazine and fellow beauty enthusiastic. 

One of my reasons for inviting Terri onto the show - other than her utter coolness - was because she wrote a feature for Red Magazine last year where she talked about her love of eyeliner. As a fellow wearer of the feline flick I know that those black lines are often less about emphasising the eyes and more about putting a don’t-f***-with-me barrier between me and the world. She said it perfectly and you can read it for yourself here.

Why should you listen to this podcast? For one thing we talk about her time in New York editing Time Out, but more to the point I get her to give me the low-down on Manhattan drugstores and the actual chemical high you can get from being surrounded by aisles of beauty products and skincare that all tot up to under $10. 

She does the decent thing and gives us her guide to what every Brit in New York should pick up from CVS and Duane Reade. Gawd bless her.

In and amongst that we chat about interviewing our heroes and how the golden rule is ‘be cool’, Primark binges and Madonna - who incidentally is responsible for my eternally futile search for Fire Engine Red lipstick...

Terri is definitely worth a social media ‘follow’ so find her on twitter @terriwhite and instagram @terrilwhite 

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If you want an honest answer about pretty much anything to do with beauty then speak to Nadine Baggott. She has an encyclopaedic beauty knowledge and I've never asked her a questions she hasn't known the answer to. You'll see what I mean when you listen to the show...

We cover a lot of ground in this episode, but Nadine references a BRILLIANT article which you can read in full here --> Generation Y. 

We talk about the cult of contouring, what beauty buys you should and shouldn't spend your money on and why being yourself is so crucial. The latter is while you'll never find her images filtered or tinkered with...

Nadine shares with me what it was like being thrust into the spotlight via a hugely popular ad campaign ten years ago - it went viral before we knew what viral was, and what it's like to be in touch with her legion of fans via her YouTube channel The Beauty Know It All. 

We also talk about what it's like interviewing celebrities and what we've learned from coming face-to-face with the A-list. Is it as exciting as one may think..?

You can follow Nadine on Twitter @NadineBaggott on Facebook at Nadine Baggott The Beauty Know It All and she's also on instagram @nadinebaggott.

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Joining me in this episode is Abi Cleeve the MD of Ultrasun UK. On the topic of sun care she is, quite simply, an oracle and if you've ever felt bamboozled by the meaning of UVA or UVB, wondered what on earth 'broad spectrum' means and whether SPF 20 means you can spend 20 minutes in the sun or not, then this is a show you need to tune in to. Oh, and if you worry about those high factor formulas on young children, then you won't want to miss her intel... She even corrected some bad SPF behaviour in this beauty journalist. My wrists were most definitely slapped...

We talk about meeting, and becoming firm friends, in the dressings room of QVC where we went from meeting to sharing concerns about chin hairs in about four and a half minutes. She's an expert in her field, and she's a great dressing room buddy. You haven't lived until you've put the world to rights with Abi Cleeve. Join us, won't you..?

You can also download The Beauty Podcast with Emma G on iTunes and Soundcloud.

Abi and Ultrasun UK can be found at: 

UltrasunUK 

Twitter UltrasunUK 

Facebook UltrasunUK

You can get in touch with me via my website Emma Gunavardhana, where you can also sign up for the show's newsletter or on social media; Twitter@EmmaG_Beauty and Instagram where I'm @emmaguns

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Helen Thorn is a Sunday Times Best-Selling author and comedian who joins me on the show to talk about her new book How to Face Big Change and Come Back Stronger. It's a brilliant and gentle guide, with the help of 50 incredible women, to navigating the crappy things that happy in life without letting you have any less of a good time.

I've always found Helen to be kind, warm and generous and this book, full of advice, wisdom and camaraderie is a book only she could have written. I highly recommend you buy a copy for yourself and for anyone in your life who you think may benefit from its kindness and comfort.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

EG xx

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This isn’t goodbye, but it is the end of a chapter. In this episode, I’m sharing why I’m pressing pause on new episodes (although there will be some surprise mid-week pop-ups) and taking a step back to rethink the podcast and what I want it to become. I’ll be revisiting and republishing past conversations while I figure out what comes next.

Please do follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my Substack to keep up with everything I'm doing...

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This weekend was all about the Manosphere after I watched Louis Theroux's documentary Inside the Manosphere and read Jack Burke's piece in The Times on Looksmaxxing. Both of these phenomena focus on male-dominated online spaces that veer to the far right with extreme misogynistic and anti-feminist sentiments. They are two pieces of media that really made me think and I've unpicked, in part, why in my latest Substack, which you can subscribe to and read here.

I would absolutely love to know what you think - please do go to the comments section and share your thoughts.

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