
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Send us Fan Mail
This week: getting personal with Ashleigh Carpenter, Melbourne makeup artist and hairdresser.
Predominantly working on commercial and editorial shoots, Ashleigh always wanted to be a makeup artist.
Using a mood board, she curates looks she’s obsessed with, keen to master and to influence her style. She also lets her creative side flair working Melbourne’s Spring Fashion Festivals and Sydney’s Fashion Weeks.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
TEST, TEST, TEST > SHOOT
Have you ever gone to a modelling agency with a photographer and asked their clientele, ‘Hey do you want to do a shoot?’... Seems crazy, right? Well, that’s exactly what Ashleigh did, only she calls these test shoot memories, ‘Little fun things!’.
All artists, models, photographers, etc. need images for their portfolio. So, what better way to increase your network and build your portfolio all at once than through connecting these worlds?
Slowly over the years, Ashleigh found photographers through Instagram or her networks and joined forces to create test shoots based on looks she wanted to build, and showcase. Her biggest tip? Choose photographers that complement your vibe, get creative and curate the shoots in the direction best suited for you.
PUTTING THE [ASS] IN ASSISTING
It’s important to know your style and what value you bring. For Ashleigh, her style reflects being in flower fields with flowy dresses (cue Australian Ballet, Channel, this season’s clothes) and the value she brings - over 14 years in the industry, with 97% of her jobs encompassing hair & makeup.
Same goes when you’re assisting. While you may have a distinct style, you’re there to assist a lead mua, lead hair stylist or the director of the shoot. We often hear, ‘it’s better to be seen than heard’ and as harsh as that is, it’s the way of our industry. You need to learn how to assist correctly and what value you bring.
“I would go and do assisting jobs before I started work. They were massive days, but I knew I needed the experience and to build my portfolio... Each job I was sent on had a different vibe, and a very different style to the commercial jobs I had experience in, so I’m glad I put all the hard work in along the way.”
Ashleigh Carpenter
TRUST YOUR GUT
If Ashleigh had to pass on any information, she swears it would be to really trust your gut. She took a big leap and had to trust her gut and know that what she was doing was the right thing… and thankfully, it paid off. While we recognise this isn’t always the case, trusting and validating yourself is always important.
Ashleigh also encourages listeners to try and find an agent that’s like a mentor. You shouldn’t have to sell yourself to have them represent you - because if you have a solid portfolio and online presence, they should be able to accurately see your work and know whether they want to represent you before they meet you.
“I’m a big believer in goal setting. At the start of the year, I write my goals for the year ahead and for the next 5 years. I always check-in throughout the year to see where I’m at, or what I could be doing differently to meet my goals.”
Ashleigh Carpenter
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
This week: getting personal with Ava Belle, Australian makeup artist of the year.
From face painting at children’s parties in Dubai, to glamour studios in London and nightclub body painting in Soho, Ava is a Byron-born Aussie creative star! With over 15 years’ experience, Ava’s makeup journey started when she was just a little girl watching her mum face paint at School fates.
Are you interested in performing arts, bridal makeup, assisting, editorial shoots, fashion week and runways, creating headshots, glamour shoots, freelancing or working across diverse client portfolios? Then Ava’s story is for you!
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
HUSTLE
Did you know Ava booked her first gig before she’d even bought her first kit?! How’s that for hustlin’.
Ava’s skills grew exponentially when she started assisting and travelling back and forth from Sydney to London, working on high profile jobs….
Attributing her success to constantly learning, being in the right (positive, educational) environments and putting herself out there, Ava encourages mua’s to create opportunities, have persistence, leverage your networks and just show up ready to go.
ADAPT
It’s been a hell-of-a-year, again. And for our industry, this couldn’t ring truer! If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s to be agile and savvy enough to adapt.
Ava pivoted from bridal to content, recognising the need to ‘adapt’ to the market around her. But also talked to us about an expensive lesson she learnt early in her career about trying to launch a product and business model in another country without doing her research.
“It’s been interesting times and I think that adapting has been the keyword over the last two years… My predominant business (pre-covid-19) was bridal, which had to take a backseat while I focused on producing lots of content during lockdowns and restrictions.
Through this time I also won Australian Makeup Artist of the Year, it was a nice surprise and a lovely title to hold.”
Ava Belle
COLLAB
You will have clients with different nationalities, different nuances, from all around the world. The important challenge is finding that common middle-ground, making your client on your seat feel comfortable and making sure you kick a$$ with your work.
While some collaborations happen organically through your networks, or from your business listings online - there are important steps you can take to assist this process.
1. Build your portfolio, always be open to creating new content from your existing bookings or through new opportunities
2. Don’t be afraid to have sponsored brand collaborations
3. Know your worth - make sure your costs are covered if you have to travel, stay the night, etc.
4. Be the best version of you. Show up, do the best work you possibly can and network with those around you.
I’ve always been business minded and entrepreneurial… when I realised I could run my business on my phone from anywhere in the world, it just gave me this freedom to go travel, explore (and work).
Ava Belle
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
This week: getting personal with @Gemma Elaine, one of Brisbane’s top mua’s who has been working in the industry for over 16 years.
PUT YOUR HANDS UP IF YOUR MAKEUP KIT CONTAINS… sounds like the start of a drinking game, right? But curating your kit is one of the key ingredients to success as a makeup artist. We got the low-down from Gemma on what she puts in her kit, the questions to ask ahead of time and what she really loves about her job.
Gemma says at the end of the day, we all just have to see each other as a community, as opposed to competition. So if you can help another artist out, you’re actually doing yourself a favour in the long run. One of the best things about being a mua is the people you get to meet and friendships that you form.
If you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for a long time, tune in now, check out the key takeaways and subscribe for future updates below.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
BUILDING CONFIDENCE.
When Gemma first started out as a mua, she had little confidence. ‘I felt like I could do the makeup, but then when a 16-year old tells you they hate what you’ve done, your confidence is crushed’. Her biggest struggle was trying to get people to like what she’d done – until she learnt the human element: how to interpret people and understand their end-goal (oh and a sh*t load of experience too).
“People would bring in a photo of Miranda Kerr, and say make me look like this… It took me years of experience and learning to read people to know that they don’t actually want to look like her – they want to feel as good as she looks. It’s tricky to break down what makeup translates to different people and understand what they actually want to look like. But once you have the experience, your confidence grows.”
Gemma Elaine
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.
As a mua, we look at every client/job as an opportunity to learn. Whether you’re working retail, have an agent or are freelancing. You need to practice, practice, practice until your skills are perfect (or damn near close!). Learning how to work on different skin types and eye shapes, across different ages and very different personalities too – is largely beneficial for your career. Learning in a team environment is always really good for education, because you can see how other people do things, pick up tips and ask questions along the way.
If you’re happy and kind to work with, everything flows better. Gemma is a big believer in putting positive vibes into the universe and getting them back. So, she always looks at things as an opportunity to learn. “I learnt how to do makeup on everyone. On kids, on models, on me. You just have to learn that whoever sits in front of you, you’re there to make them happy, to make them look beautiful.”
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
This week: getting personal with Ebony Kay, film, TV and special effects mua and prosthetics specialist.
From a creative arts background at school to falling in love with special effects artistry and anything involving character-creation, Ebony had over 200 hours of work experience when she finished studying and launched her freelancing career.
Are you interested in special effects? Not sure what’s involved or where to start… listen as we dive into the details with Ebony, as she shares her work experience, when she realised this is what she wanted to specialise in and how fellow artists are your biggest teachers and best contacts.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
LET’S TALK PROSTHETICS.
Companies need special affects for campaigns, such as anti-smoking, pool safety, hospitals, fire brigade, world vision, etc. They need injury simulation and training activities, but it also gives you creative freedom to build quirky characters, develop character plots and bring to life the unimaginable.
Moving to LA to understand prosthetics, Ebony studied an advanced prosthetics course where she learnt creature prosthetics, like Men In Black style. From there she got an internship in the special effect’s lab, working with Universal Studios and Monster Palooza.
Later in her career, Ebony collaborated with fellow artist, and together they launched Australian Effects Studio (no longer in operation).
FUN FACT: Ebony had to build a prosthetics workshop in a makeup bus for a film she worked on in NZ. She transformed one side into prosthetics and special effects and used the other side as her makeup studio.
INSIDE FILM.
From independent films, short films and student films to TV film and universal studios – there are different avenues for artists to learn the ‘rites of passage’, and each company has their own system, but it’s all similar.
Inside the world of film it’s important to learn your place, when to step in and what’s expected of you. You can expect to do lots of paperwork and photos. The photos help with continuity on set, for example how the hair will move when the actor/actress walks through the door, where it’s going to land. It’s these minute details that are critical to character development, and many artists don’t anticipate the paperwork that is involved with it.
You’ll be printing the photos and writing the notes. If you’re lucky you’ll have an iPad to record it all, but if you’re working on a small set or indie film you might need to practice reading your scribble!
Ebony explains what ‘continuity’ is, it’s the continuation of makeup to make sure it matches from scene to scene. As most shows and films aren’t shot in sequence, you always need to make sure that the makeup, hair and special effects match. Maintaining the look so that the viewer isn’t distracted by something that’s visually incorrect on set.
TEACHING & LEARNING.
Ebony didn’t realise how much work would come from other makeup artists. The industry, although huge, is also actually really small. It’s who you know, in terms of landing jobs. Yes, skill is super important, but treat building your networks and learning from others with the same emphasis. And share your skills, and your knowledge with other artists. Learn to be open and have no ego, value other artists in the industry.
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
This week: getting personal with Sue McLaurin, Brisbane makeup artist and educator with over 20 years’ experience.
Ever wanted to change careers, but thought… I’m too old to start over? Not for Sue McLaurin! Sue was working in the travel industry in Europe for most of her twenties, travelling and loving the feel-good freedom that the lifestyle brought. It was only when she returned to Australia working in a corporate job that she had the yearning to be back working with people, in a fun, creative way.
In an age where social media is critical to building and maintaining your networks, Sue talks us through how networking was key to her success as a freelance mua – and how the skills can still be applied to artists now.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
NETWORK.
As a freelance mua, you’re running your own business and should treat it as such.
Sue’s top tip is to network. Get on the phone (hit the socials) and organise face-to-face catch ups.You will get knock backs, but the ones you land, and do well, will be the ones to further establish your business and build your networks.
A lot of people don’t see being a mua as a legitimate job, more like a ‘hobby’. So, the knock backs, they can be hurtful. And we fully understand it can be tough. But that’s what you have to use as fuel to keep you going. When you land a job or have a client that is REALLY HAPPY with your work – you know, and you get that good ole’ pat on the back kinda-feeling, that this is what it is all for!
Networking to meet other artists is just as important, something TMI aims to achieve. We want to build our community of artists, so that everyone has someone to lean on, learn from and grow with. If you’re interested in assisting, you can pop your details down here.
“I got so many no’s, so many knock backs. In the first year I did five weddings… but then in the second year I did 56, and the third and fourth years I did over 150 each of those years.”
Sue McLaurin
FIND YOUR NICHE.
Something Sue really impresses on her students is to find your niche. In an oversaturated industry, you need to find your niche, your ideal clients, your own style and way of doing things.
What sets you apart as an artist? Think about your style, what would someone say about you when recommending you to a future client?
Sue suggests working to a two-year timeline. ‘It takes about two years to establish yourself’, and while it’s not all bright lights, if it’s your dream and you’ve set clear goals to achieve – then you’re going to work your hardest to get to that point.
You can be the most talented makeup artist in town, but if nobody knows about you, you’re not going to get booked. Keep your networks up-to-date, keep your skills up-to-date and stay true to yourself.
SHAPING SUCCESS.
What not to do? Don’t focus purely on the makeup, to the detriment of relationships. Half of what is going to get you booked for that next job or next client, is collaborating with other artists and being part of a community.
Being a successful freelance mua is only about 20% focused on the makeup you do.
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
This week: getting personal with Kylie O’Toole - mua whose work includes ‘dead’ bodies, intimate boob scenes and more.
Ever wondered the type of artistry that goes into making a body look ‘dead’ in the movies, on TV, etc. First you learn how they died, what that wound would like look, how the skin would look, etc. For Kylie, she found herself painting ‘dead’ bodies at the tender age of 19 – ‘mind you, this was before the age of the internet. So, our research was reading the autopsy report from the corner, looking at the photos in the files and trying to mimic that’. Crazy!
If you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for a long time, tune in now, check out the key takeaways and subscribe for future updates below.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
LEARN YOUR BOUNDARIES.
It’s hard when you’re a pleaser… but I’ve learned some pretty hardcore boundaries since then, says Kylie.
Boundaries are important to set early in your career. I hope if there’s younger artists out there listening now that they know it’s okay to say no. There’s so much talk about all of this right now in the media, especially if it’s a woman doing it to you, it can feel very different. It’s your right to say no, no matter the circumstances.
When the stakes are high on a job, it’s a lot more stressful. Often the thing that stresses you out, makes you feel so good after you do them. As you get older you learn that it will be okay, that if things don’t work out, it will still all work out.
“I was wondering why I had IBS… but it’s from all the stress. It’s like, OMG I’m not bloody saving lives, but you feel like you are, you feel like if you make a mistake, you might as well, run away and live on an island somewhere. (but) I learnt the importance of setting boundaries and saying no.”
Kylie O’Toole
PERSISTANCE PAYS OFF.
Be persistent. If all you take away from this podcast episode is one thing, it’s that persistence pays off!
When you’re just starting out, it’s hard to know where to draw professional lines in the sand. Sometimes you have to chase up a client, an account, a company. Sometimes the hours are long, very long. It can be intense and ‘feel like camp’ laughs Kylie. Everything is heightened (including your emotions), but being persistent, full of passion and being open to new opportunities is part of the fun.
Kylie understands that putting yourself out there is almost scarier than getting the work. Your first test shoot, your first paid shoot, the first time with a new client. It can be *bloody* scary, but they can often turn into the best experiences.
‘When I arrived in London, all I had was a phone number and (she) never answered… I just kept on trying, kept on calling. I was persistent. And then one day she finally answered the phone… She turned out to be the most awesome human in the world, Scottish tough with a heart of gold. She used to tell me to toughen up constantly, she’s so creative and clever – she’s actually the designer of GoT.’
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
The Makeup Insider is a weekly one-on-one podcast exploring the life and career of makeup artists, hosted by freelance mua Vanessa Barney. This week: getting personal with Rob Povey, fashion and advertising makeup artist who seeks inspiration from the arts, environment, and subcultures.
Makeup artists inspire and find inspiration in the world around them. Models are live billboards advertising products, setting trends, evoking feelings, and creating a sense a desire/need critical for a brand to be successful. Makeup artists are the magicians working tirelessly behind the scenes to transform the models to fit the client brief.
So much in our industry is learnt from each other. Growing up as a CIS boy with a mum and sister who didn’t wear makeup, Rob wishes growing up there was a platform like TMI where artists could find out all this industry info to help our careers.
If you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for a long time, tune in now, check out the key takeaways and subscribe for future updates below.
Subscribe
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
MAKEUP AND HUMAN CONNECTION.
As makeup artists we crave human connection. One of the biggest challenges of the Covid lockdown experience was missing people, and missing hugs! Hugging your friend, your grandma, your hairdresser – this physical expression of gratitude is something we do quite regularly.
Sure, we work with models regularly, but they’re used to getting their hair and makeup done. It’s when you work with personal clients that the real connection emerges. These type of jobs are almost like therapy sessions, you’re really helping them see themselves in a whole new light.
“Human Connection. That’s the thing I always come back to, is that I am an introvert through and through, but I really crave human connection. So I love that my job allows that.”
Rob Povey
MAKEUP AND STORYTELLING.
Every time you do makeup on a client, you’re helping shape their narrative. The story they’re telling in that exact moment – whether it’s for a test shoot, a live shoot, on set, the runway, your makeup will set the tone (literally 😉).
Rob loves storytelling through makeup and what makes his particular makeup skills quite special, is that he marries products to the skin exceptionally well. Drawn to unconventional beauty, Rob brings a unique perspective to the industry – highly focused on the story behind every client.
“I like things that come from darkness and weirdness, and makeup is a very emotional experience for me. Makeup is less about how preachy something is, it’s more about how it makes you feel and what it tells you.”
Rob Povey
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
This week: getting personal with Harriet Hadfield, makeup artist, business coach and founder of freelancewithfreedom.
Hands up if you’re an all or nothing kind of person? Harriet admits she sure is! And there’s nothing wrong with giving it your all, in fact – we highly recommend it. “One day stays one day, if you never make it real ~ H.H.”
Understanding how to find your place in this industry is really, really important, and a key motivator for Harriet changing careers from makeup artist to business coach. She’s now able to now help other artists understand their worth.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
FIND YOUR WILLPOWER.
Do you have that inner voice (or best friend, business, partner, life coach, etc.) that helps you plan ahead, avoid temptation and believe in yourself? That’s all helping to strengthen your willpower.
Willpower is the ability to resist skipping steps, or giving in to temptation – in order to meet your goals.
Finding your willpower and believing in yourself, what you can achieve and how far you can go in your career is really important, and often overlooked in our industry.
Growing up, Harriet was determined to save dolphins and be an astronaut – a little different from makeup artist and business coach, but guided by the same tenacity she has since launched a thriving business helping artists find their why.
“I’m an all or nothing person... There was no middle ground, it was like, if I had to do it, I had to be really full on. “It took a lot of willpower, to be honest with myself that ok, maybe my journey is going to look a bit different.”
Harriet Hadfield
BEHIND THE RED CARPET.
Assisting, testing, working every job and making every connection you can to land your dream job... Sound familiar? And let me be clear, I mean the crème de la crème of celebrity and fashion runways. The red carpet in LA and NYC, and Fashion Weeks in Milan and London.
Behind these big shows are dozens of makeup artists working their magic on models. Is there a celebrity or brand you want to work with? Harriet’s tips are investigate the publicist/s who represent them and be strategic about the photographers, makeup artists, directors you’re working with.
THE RIGHT MINDSET.
The narrative in creative industries is work, work, work. Literally, work until you drop – but when you’re constantly in a rush, life is not so enjoyable anymore.
Harriet is working to change this narrative, but understands it takes time to undo what generations have been taught. We work in an industry that praises (and often expects) the ‘hustle culture’, that working four jobs in a day is what success looks like. But you need to be in the right mindset, prioritise your mental health, time with family and friends, and time for yourself.
We need to start normalising slowing down, being OK with saying no and understanding looking after yourself is just as important as your career.
“I was a people pleaser… and it got me so far, but it affected my mental health… now my choices are made from a place of freedom, not fear, which I feel really happy about and encourage my clients to find the same path.”
Harriet Hadfield
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
This week: getting personal with Rebecca Buchanan, owner of straight up bookkeeping – a virtual bookkeeping service which helps small businesses understand and track their sales, income and expenses to make better business decisions.
If your side hustle has grown into a fully fledged business, or you’re just about to launch your business – you need to manage your finances. Bookkeeping is at the centre of that, and something Bec encourages all listeners to do.
“Bookkeeping is more than just tracking finances; it’s making sure your business is running a profit! “Bookkeeping is more than just tracking finances; it’s making sure your business is running a profit! ”
So, at what point financially does work crossover from a hobby/side hustle to a business? Tune in now to find out!
If your side hustle has grown into a fully fledged business, or you’re just about to launch your business – you need to manage your finances. Bookkeeping is at the centre of that, and something Bec encourages all listeners to do.
“Bookkeeping is more than just tracking finances; it’s making sure your business is running a profit!”So, at what point financially does work crossover from a hobby/side hustle to a business? Tune in now to find out!
If you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for a long time, take a listen, check out the key takeaways and subscribe for future updates below.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
BOOKKEEPING 101.
As makeup artists, we hustle. Hard. Whether it’s doing casual work on weekends, outside our M-F jobs; early morning shoots, late night testing, we cram as much work and experience in as we can to build our skills and portfolio.
In terms of bookkeeping, when you start to make a bit of money (over $18,500 to be exact) and are consistently booking clients and gigs you are running a business. Hey, it may be incidental (congrats btw!), but now you NEED to track your finances.
Bec is a Xero enthusiast. Xero is a bookkeeping tool that links to your business bank account* and extracts all of your financial information into the system – to make it easy for you to see your P&L (profit and loss).
If you only do one thing today – SET UP A BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT NOW. Treat your business bank account with respect, with the end goal of making a profit. Plus, it will make it 1,000 times easier than having to sift through all your late night maccy d runs.
As a Xero partner, you can contact Bec to activate a $10 monthly subscription. While this subscription doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, it provides the basic financial tracking you need for a business.
BONUS TIP: You can access Hubdoc through your Xero account. It’s a digital “hub” that stores all of your documents/invoices and migrates the key data (transactional information) to your Xero account. Think of Hubdoc as your digital shoebox system for storing receipts, pretty nifty actually!
“For the sake of $10 a month, I would use Xero. It saves you having to manually track all your expenses and profits on a spreadsheet (and having to remember where you saved it)”
Bec Buchanan
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
The Makeup Insider is a weekly one-on-one podcast exploring the life and career of makeup artists, hosted by freelance mua Vanessa Barney. This week: getting personal with Ellie Zuker, makeup artist, hairstylist and life-long learner.
Learning is incredibly important. No matter what industry you’re in. The thing about learning is, while you may not take everything in – you take onboard the information you think is important and you go on to develop your own ideas, style and success based on what you’ve learnt.
You should never stop learning. Whether it’s a course, a masterclass or assisting – so long as you’re learning something new. Ellie is a life-long learner. She loves assisting (both paid and unpaid jobs), which has helped refine her technical skills, grow her industry connections, and nail the art of being on set.
And a little reminder from Ellie when it comes to self-doubt, ‘you need to stop comparing yourself to others… just because you’re not booked out every weekend, doesn’t mean you’re not successful. Take a step back and look at all the amazing things you have done or achieved.’
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
From the publisher's feed

8,325 Listeners

87 Listeners

125 Listeners

742 Listeners

146 Listeners

98 Listeners

1,381 Listeners

187 Listeners

25 Listeners

0 Listeners

724 Listeners

17 Listeners