The Makeup Insider

Blog post

Richard Kavanagh is back for Part 2, and this one is all kit.

Richard is a session stylist. He started hairdressing in Auckland in 1986, worked around 300 shows as part of Guido Palau's team and still directs hair backstage. He layers product like nobody else I know, and he reads the back of the can, not the front.

In this Insider Edit, Richard takes me through the hot tools, brushes and pins he can't work without, the five products he reaches for most, and the science behind how he picks them.

If you missed Part 1, go back for his career story.

What we covered:

How Richard picks product

• "Think like a colourist." Why the hair in front of you decides the product, not the label
• His one question for every head of hair: harder or softer?
• Reading ingredients: what acrylates do, and what silicones and glycerols do
• The volume mousse he never uses for volume
• The seven products behind hair that looks like nothing

Blog Post

Richard Kavanagh calls himself an odd jobber. Fair enough. He's a session stylist who started hairdressing in Auckland in 1986. Since then he has directed hair backstage at Fashion Week, worked on around 300 shows as part of Guido Palau's team, hosted a prime time home renovation show, written a hair book, run a tech company and coached other creatives for more than a decade. He still trains and competes in jiu-jitsu.

I met with Richard about two and a half years ago, heard his career story and thought, this is a podcast. We talked for so long I've split it in two. This is Part 1, his story. Part 2 is his hair kit on The Insider Edit.

What we covered:

The career

• The post-punk haircut he got at 13 that made him choose hair over biochemistry
• Door knocking every salon on Auckland's North Shore at 15 to find an apprenticeship
• What a strict, old-school apprenticeship taught him, including the Mason Pearson brush that came flying over his boss's shoulder
• Why his apprenticeship took seven or eight years, and the years in the middle when he lived on the street
• The question he asked himself at 24: what if I applied the same focus to my career that I apply to martial arts?

• Getting in the right room with the right people, and finding mentors

• How helping out backstage in New York led to Guido Palau saying "I'll see you in Milan"
• What working for Guido taught him about leading a team

Episodes Blog Post

Nicola Johnson has done makeup for 23 years, and she's worked in beauty her whole working life. She started as a beauty therapist in England at 16, worked a health farm, a resort spa in Turkey and a cruise ship, trained in makeup in London, then moved to Australia and built a freelance career across TV commercials, magazines, tourism campaigns and bridal. She's worked with Emma (yes, Emma from The Wiggles) for ten years, and she now has an agent at Vivien Creative.

What we covered:

• Makeup school in London in 2003, where working artists taught the classes and took calls from their agents mid-lesson

• Cold calling photographers from a sheet of paper to book her first tests
• Falling into TV through a family friend, including Grand Designs
• Ten months on a cruise ship out of LA with no wage, only tips and commission

• Ten years with Emma, and negotiating an eight-hour day on a three-month TV series so she could make school pickup
• The agency that told her to come back in six months, and why she never did

• How she books weddings: a separate bridal website and Instagram, ads when she needs bookings, and an automated Dubsado setup
• Signing with Vivien's, and the goal she's putting out there: a Vogue cover
• Content creation at 44, no filters, and the pro-age niche she sees

• Her advice for newer artists: back yourself, and ask for the two minutes

@the.makeupinsider

@vanessabarney

The Makeup Insider

Weekly Newsletter

Follow Nicola: @nicolajohnsonmakeup | @nicolajohnsonbridal | www.sydneymakeupartist.com

Episode Blog Post

Makeup artist's Vanessa Barney and Nicola Johnson share the products they reach for in their personal routines and professional kits, and how they use them.From skin prep and foundation to blush, concealer, lip combinations, powders, and tools, this is an in-depth chat packed with product favourites and practical insights for makeup artists and beauty lovers. They discuss products from brands including Dermalogica, By Terry, Hourglass, Fenty Beauty, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Tower 28, Merit, and MAC.Hear how Nicola preps skin for makeup. Vanessa and Nicola also share their thoughts on texture, finish, coverage, and what makes a product useful in a kit.Whether you’re refreshing your professional kit or looking for new ideas for your own routine, this conversation is full of beauty recommendations and firsthand tips.

⁠@the.makeupinsider⁠

⁠@vanessabarney⁠

⁠The Makeup Insider ⁠

⁠Weekly Newsletter ⁠

This month's Insider Diary is just me. I'm talking about the limiting beliefs that held me back in my career for decades, and what shifted for me.

In this episode:

• The 3 limiting beliefs that held me back for at least 13 years: fear of rejection, waiting to be "discovered," and not wanting to be annoying
• Why people rarely actually say no to you. Most of the time they just don't get back to you, and that's not the same thing
• 3 quotes from past guests that changed how I think about rejection and follow-up (linked below)
• The Facebook message that sat unread in someone's "other" folder for weeks, and how it ended up leading to a job on Neighbours
• My rejection challenge: trying to get to 100 no's (I made it to 33)
• Why following up isn't annoying, and how often is actually okay
• What I'd tell my younger self, who was doing weddings on the weekends and had no idea how to make this career work.

Guests quoted in this episode :

• Ava Bell
• Harriet Hatfield, Harry Makes It Up
• Nicole Thompson, Pinky

Ellen's Blog Post 
From the Opera House to Viral TikTok, with Ask Ellen.

This week I sat down with Ellen Malone — makeup artist, beauty content creator, and reigning Australian and New Zealand Beauty and Fashion Creator of the Year. She's also, quietly, a trained opera singer who's performed at the Sydney Opera House and played the lead in Carmen. Yes, really.

We got into everything. Her start on a Mac counter at 20, the year she completely flopped online before anything took off, the real numbers behind influencer pay, and the makeup technique she thinks the whole industry has been teaching wrong.

We cover:

• Winning Creator of the Year and why the win itself hit different to the metrics
• Why "creative careers choose you," and Ellen's double life as an opera singer
• The real earnings gap between male and female influencers in Australia
• Why "natural" is the most useless brief a client can give you
• Her first ever wedding, done via six buses and a train with a metal fold-out kit
• Getting hired at Mac at 20 with no formal training and having to prove herself
• Her hot take that 80% of artists can't colour match properly
• The real history of underpainting, and why she thinks a whole generation of artists were taught it wrong
• The wedding that got called off mid-makeup (and why it had nothing to do with the makeup)
• Why she'll never tell you her best client stories
• How COVID, a redundancy, and a full year of flopping led to her actual career
• Her current kit favourites, from an underrated blush trio to a foundation for mature, textured skin.

Send us Fan Mail

Michael Brown is back on The Insider Edit, and this time it's not a chat, it's a full face, live, start to finish. Michael's been in the industry since the early 2000s (he started at Estée Lauder back in 2000), trained under Gucci Westman during her years as Lancôme's creative director, and now works mostly red carpet and event glam: Melbourne Cup, the Logies, Farmer Wants A Wife, Today Show appearances, and a week of 6am glams at Royal Ascot in London. In this episode he puts a full face on our model Kate and talks through every product and every step as he goes. 

To watch this episode head to Youtube. 

Head to The Makeup Insider Blog for a full list and links to all products used. 

What we covered:

• Skin prep with the reformulated Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream (peptides and niacinamides now in the formula, built not to pill under foundation), plus Naturium as a lighter, no-actives alternative
• Tarte's new mattifying ball primer, used just in the centre of the face
• Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter as a glow and blur step, used under the eyes, above the lip, and down the centre of the face
• Trying the brand new Make Up For Ever HD Foundation live for the first time, in shade 222N Neutral, applied with an Hourglass foundation brush
• Why Michael's whole kit runs neutral shades, and how that compares to Hung Vanngo's all-neutral foundation range
• A rundown of the long-wear foundations Michael rates: Double Wear back in the day, NARS Longwear, and YSL All Hours on his to-try list
• Concealer with Charlotte Tilbury's Airbrush Flawless, applied sparingly with a tiny Kitology sponge
• Contour with a Westman Atelier stick (shade Truffle) and why Michael's placing contour higher for lift rather than lower for sculpting
• Bronzer with Haus Labs (no shimmer, ever) and the one spot everyone forgets: the neck
• Blush with the Haus Labs Glassy Blush Balm in Ginger, used high on the orbital bone as a blush-highlighter hybrid
• Eyes with three of the Charlotte Tilbury Exagger-eyes sticks: Cashmere Sculpt, Mink Sculpt and Ballet Quartz
• Tight lining with Fenty eyeliner, and why Michael's doing more tight line and less top eyeliner these days
• Taking the look from day to night with Make Up For Ever's Limitless Brown liner along the lash line
• Brows with the Anastasia Beverly Hills ArchiBrow pencil and Brow Freeze Wax
• The Charlotte Tilbury Magic Vanish as a final brightening step under the eyes
• Lips with the Make Up For Ever Artist Pencil in Anywhere Caffeine, buffed out with an eyeshadow brush, topped with the new Haus Labs Lip Lacquer
• Setting the whole look with a touch of Fenty powder and MCo Beauty's brand new All Day-a spray, an official Skindinavia collaboration built on the original All-Nighter formula, not a dupe

The Hair Edit Waitlist 

Weekly Newsletter 

Follow TMI on IG 

Follow Vanessa on IG

The Makeup Insider Blog 

The Makeup Insider TikTok

The Gifting Checklist 

Send us Fan Mail

Michael Brown is back on The Insider Edit for round two. He's a freelance makeup artist with 25 years in the industry, he started out on retail counters for the Lauder Group, then moved in-house at L'Oréal, and he's been freelance for the last 12 years, mostly doing event and red carpet work. We kick off talking about the reality of PR gifting (15 to 20 deliveries a week is his average) before going full kit rundown, complexion through to tools. We're also trialling a new segment where we'll put some of these products on a model's face in real time.

Watch on Youtube. 

What we covered:

• Michael's system for sorting through 15 to 20 PR gifts a week: straight to kit, a gift for someone else, or "I'll see how it goes"
• Why he only posts about a gift when it's genuinely new, like Tarte's primers with roller balls built in
• Brands trusting him with pre-launch samples, including lab samples that aren't even in packaging yet

All products are Listed on the blog. 

The Hair Edit Waitlist 

Weekly Newsletter 

Follow TMI on IG 

Follow Vanessa on IG

The Makeup Insider Blog 

The Makeup Insider TikTok

The Gifting Checklist 

Send us Fan Mail

It's just me this episode. I'm giving you an update on the last couple of weeks in my world, where Project 10K is really at, and a full five-step checklist for makeup artists trying to get gifting from brands.

What I cover:

• Why it's finally busy again in the Sydney makeup world after a slow, quiet stretch
• My last two weeks on the tools: five days of shoots, grooming Shep Rose from a US reality show, and grooming for the Logies
• My Project 10K update: I'm sitting at 5,500 followers, up around 500 in the last week alone
• The one reel that's driving most of my growth, and why I keep reposting it instead of chasing new content
• The five-step gifting checklist: write your wish list, optimise your page, find the contact, write your pitch, follow up
• Why knowing someone's name matters before you pitch them
• How to track your outreach, and why persistence is the whole game (I've had people respond after five follow-ups)
• "Shoot Your Shot Wednesday" and the 100 Rejections challenge
• A possible workshop on gifting, if you're interested, DM me

Grab the checklist: download my free 5-step gifting checklist here.

The Hair Edit Waitlist 

Weekly Newsletter 

Follow TMI on IG 

Follow Vanessa on IG

The Makeup Insider Blog 

The Makeup Insider TikTok

The Gifting Checklist 

Send us Fan Mail

Blog post 

Adam Garland is back on The Insider Diary for episode 116. He's a UK-based session hairstylist who spent five years as the face of global brand Authentic Beauty Concept. These days he's building his own path: mentoring other artists, shooting his own images, and working with heritage beauty brands he actually believes in. His first episode with us got such a good response we're turning this into a monthly chat.

This episode was sparked by a listener question from Australia about brand loyalty, so we went deep on trust, rejection, and how to stop taking it personally when a client doesn't rebook you.

What we covered:

• A listener's question about brand loyalty: a client took a whole team interstate for a shoot and left the makeup artist behind
• Why a first option is never a confirmed booking, especially during fashion week
• The idea of "reducing uncertainty": clients don't book the best artist, they book the one they know won't cause complications
• Vanessa's own story about brand loyalty, and never getting booked again
• Why rejection in this industry is rarely personal, even when it feels like it
• The Guido example: why a top hairstylist still gets ticked for a job before the shoot even starts
• Working from your own essence instead of chasing what you think will get seen
• Hairstylists and makeup artists building their own image worlds instead of waiting on brands: Mustafa Yanas, Joey George, Benjamin Mueller and Anataka Hashi
• Adam's own move into photography, shooting his own models at Workroom Studios in Limehouse, London, with his mentee Zoran
• Why heritage brands hit different: Isles Formula, Keune and Gisou, and what makes their stories genuine
• Why asking for help is harder than it should be, for both of us

The Hair Edit Waitlist 

Weekly Newsletter 

Follow TMI on IG 

Follow Vanessa on IG

The Makeup Insider Blog 

The Makeup Insider TikTok

The Gifting Checklist