The Makeup Insider
The Makeup Insider is a fortnightly one-on-one podcast exploring the life and career of makeup artists, hosted by freelance mua Vanessa Barney.. Finding your community of other likeminded mua’s – the creative, artistic, talkative, flexible, adaptable with a good eye for colour kind-of-people, can often be daunting. Like, where do you start? The Makeup Insider is designed for just that. To build a collaborative online community of artists to build their confidence, connections and help drive their career to the next level.If you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for a long time, tune in now, check out the key takeaways in the show notes and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Find Vanessa @vanessabarney @the.makeupinsider
The Makeup Insider
"From Receptionist to Agency-Represented MUA to Brand Founder: The Inspirational Journey of Sydney MUA Nadine Monley"
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Hi and welcome to the Makeup Insider. I'm your host, vanessa Barney, makeup artist, hairdresser, educator and all-round beauty junkie. If you've ever felt lost or lonely in your makeup career, this podcast is for you. I'm here to interview makeup artists and other industry professionals, to give guidance and be the mentor I needed early in my career. With a new episode every Tuesday, don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss a trick, and if you like what you hear, please rate and leave a comment. I hope you enjoy. Today I'm joined by the lovely Nadine Monley from Sydney. She's a makeup artist, hi, thank you. So makeup artist, hi, thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for having me on board.
Speaker 3:I'm very excited.
Speaker 1:Pleasure. I can't wait to hear all about you and your story. Are you happy just to introduce yourself to the audience and tell them what you predominantly do in the world of makeup now?
Speaker 3:Okay, sure, okay, I'm Nadine Monley. Um, as beautiful Vanessa said, um, I'm a makeup artist. I think my realm of makeup is I love to do natural makeup, um, and I've kind of fallen into that and I've embraced it. I mean, I can you know, I love doing um full-on makeup, but I think, for me personally, I think people look more beautiful without makeup, which is ironic because I'm a makeup artist. So I just kind of followed that where it would end up and and this is where I am, and I kind of feel that I'm very in alignment with what I do yeah, oh, that's great.
Speaker 1:And if people wanted to see your work. What's your Insta? Where could they find you on Instagram?
Speaker 3:Just at Nadine Monley Insta my name and also I have products which I'll go into later as well. What's the product that we don't use? Okay, so my brand's called Beauty Department and I started it quite a few years ago and the main one is biodegradable oil pads, which I know that you've used and I sent you some, which I know that you've used and I sent you some, and the whole intention was actually doing those and developing those is that I couldn't find a product that I could give to my clients and models, that they could take off makeup at the end of the day and leave this beautiful oil finish and not have to do anything else. So that's how I came up with the idea and, um, yeah, it's, it's just an extension, basically, of what I do really takes the makeup off and leaves you with like it's already moisturized you yeah, it's.
Speaker 3:It's these beautiful oils which I worked for two years developing with developers, and it just leaves your skin feeling really hydrated, really cleansed, and I don't know. It's just a really beautiful. I'm very proud of it. It's a really beautiful product yeah, no, it really is.
Speaker 1:I think the first time I used it, which was last week, I think, and I used it. And then the next morning I used it, which was last week, I think, and I used it. And then the next morning I woke up and I was like why does my skin feel? So good.
Speaker 1:Why does it feel so soft? And it was because of your pads. And then it took me a while to like, oh, I used those amazing oil pads of Nadine. So, yeah, no, they are fabulous, but we'll chat more about that later on. How did you end up as a makeup artist?
Speaker 3:It's kind of a crazy story. I love a crazy story. I kind of never wanted to be a makeup artist. It was never my intention to be a makeup artist. I basically had a gay friend of mine and he used to put makeup on me every Saturday night to go out Yep, well, on lashes and hair which is so funny, because it's so not me and I don't wear makeup and I just hung out with him for a while and he left, actually to move overseas and it seems, whereby I literally had a dream and I was like this is what I wanted to do and I I went and booked myself into night school the next day.
Speaker 3:It was like that yeah, so I sort of worked full-time and I studied to be a makeup artist for a few years and then I assisted and do that whole thing of assisting. But I think when I was doing makeup and also assisting, I would do anything for free. I didn't care, I didn't care if I got paid, I didn't care if I was there for like 10 hours for free. I just wanted to learn. That's all I wanted to do, and money for me at the time wasn't an intention for me to do.
Speaker 3:It is because I loved what I did so much and when you did the night school stuff, was it in Sydney yeah, it was in Sydney and it and it was literally because I was working at a gym at the time, in sales at the gym, which is so far away from where I am now, but it was literally in Bondi Junction, the school, so I'd finish work full on and then go and study for like two hours every night, okay, so was it an every night sort of thing um studying.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I think so.
Speaker 3:It was so long, maybe three times a week, but it was quite intense.
Speaker 1:It was quite intense yeah, and was it all sorts of?
Speaker 3:makeup. No, it was just. It was just, um, it was just, uh, doing you know, um, contouring base and and all that kind of thing. And I look back and and I used to get into trouble all the time because I used to like using my fingers and you weren't supposed to use your fingers, so that was like a no-no. And then I, I think I did a bit of hair too and I would drag my sisters they were so brilliant and I'd drag them along and they'd have to sit in the chair and I'd put on makeup and also do the hair, and they would just sit there and I would see it. And now I look back at it and go, it was so terrible. They'd have these barrel tongs and this wonky dark eye and they were so supportive because they would just sit there and go oh my God, nadine, it looks so beautiful. Oh, that's so nice.
Speaker 1:How long ago was this that you started.
Speaker 3:I keep saying 10 years, but in my bio it keeps saying 10 years and it never sort of goes up. I think it's probably. It's probably going on probably 15 to 20, maybe 20 yeah, 20, so early 2000s yeah oh yeah, cool, cool yeah um, okay, you did.
Speaker 1:Your course. You're working at the gym and then you decided to assist anyone that would have you. Really Basically, yeah, how did you find people to assist?
Speaker 3:At the gym. Actually, okay, I would be working on reception and you put them in to come into the gym and you could actually see what they did. So I kind of befriended all the makeup artists that came in the gym and you know, I'd love a chat, as you know, and I would just start chatting to them and then I'd just say I wanted to be a makeup artist and I'd end up going on shoots with them and yeah, I mean, people always want you on board. If you say you do it for free, they're like quite happy to have you on board, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I love that myself. I just think it's this whole thing of really wanting to learn off people and really wanting to. You know, it's almost like an internship, where you kind of don't really care but you just go out of your way to learn what you're doing yeah, and how long did you, would you say you assisted for? Oh, a good, few years, a good few years.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I um I ended up getting an agent really earlier on in my career, like I didn't sort of assist for that long and then I was basically got an agent straight away, um, which which was a good thing, which was amazing. I mean that that's what makeup artists want is an agent. But also I always say to the people that work with me assist as many people as you can and go overseas and do the shows which I did anyway but just do as much as you can and then join an agent. You know, with all this knowledge, because you can pick and choose, basically an agent if you're at a certain level, um, that that that's what I always say.
Speaker 3:I think for me it was my path, but I joined an agency way too quickly okay yeah, for the experience that I was at the time so what would you have said you should have done?
Speaker 1:should you have have tried more things?
Speaker 3:Probably assisted longer because once I joined the agency it's like I didn't assist. So that took away that whole thing of to keep learning. But I would go over and do the shows in New York and just sort of make that happen, which was amazing for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how did you make that happen? Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 3:I just would cold call people and I just ended up, would fly over there and sometimes I would have all these shows booked in and then I'd get to New York and all of the holds would come off and I'd be in New York going oh my God, I've paid all this money to go over. But then I was like I'm just going to Instagram and I'm just going to, you know, and what would happen is I'd suddenly meet these people through other people I hardly even knew in New York and I'd end up on teams. I assisted Daniel Martin, a makeup artist a lot who did, actually, Meghan Markle's wedding. She did the wedding and it's quite big now, but he was one of the very amazing makeup artists. Beautiful, beautiful man that sort of gave me a helping hand and put me on his team when nobody else would at the time, and I think he was. Yeah, I love people like that yeah.
Speaker 3:I love that. Just see a certain value in what you do yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So so how this? I love all these kind of stories because I feel, like you know, back in the early 2000s and really it's only really recently, that things are a lot easier to maybe access people, whereas once upon a time you had to sort of really put yourself out there a lot more like buy a ticket to New York, fly there and then take your chances. Um, yeah, do you think?
Speaker 3:sorry, no, you go oh no, I was just gonna say that that's half the beauty of it, I think, is just putting yourself in the middle of the unknown and seeing what happens. I mean, what's the worst can happen? You have no shows and end up coming home again. But at the same time you end up going to New York for a week or so and end up experiencing all that beauty and stuff surround in New York. So I think it was very much for me. I get there and I'd be so disappointed, but at the same time it's quite empowering doing something like that for me. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Do you think at the time you felt it was empowering as well, or is it in hindsight? That it was empowering.
Speaker 3:No, no, I'd get there and I'd be in tears because I had no shows and my friend who's a makeup artist, I'd stay with him and you know I was like I couldn't believe, you know, but then it just was all fine and it was all better and then I'd end up, you know, doing that. But it was the hardest part of my life, probably that that it was very difficult but at the same time very rewarding, because it just kind of and you know what, to be honest with people don't know if you're doing the shows or not. You're in New York, who cares?
Speaker 1:you know you're a part of it, you're a part of it and it goes on yeah, no, um, I agree, I agree. I think you are a lot harder on yourself when you're younger and starting out. I think you feel like you have to I don't know get all these yeses and have all these amazing things look like they happen to you. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, you just as you get older, you don't really get. I don't really, it doesn't really bother me anymore, like I just like have a whole thing of, say, competition, where it's like you can't compare yourself to someone because you're completely different and you're a completely different artist. And to compare yourself with someone how busy you are and how busy they are just doesn't make sense to me. It's just like we have different clients. Yeah, you know, that's why it's funny when all that happens. So yeah, but you just learn that and you learn to embrace where you are, you know, yeah, yeah, did you ever do weddings and events and things in your earlier career?
Speaker 3:oh, I did, you did. Yeah, weddings for me were very difficult, very, very full-on. I wasn't. I didn't really enjoy weddings. Yeah, it was just too too many lashes and too many too much base and you know, you get this like unrealistic photo of what these brides want to look like and, um, you know, if they don't look like that, then I'm sure they yeah, no, I did and and it served a purpose. I did do weddings and I'm very grateful for the weddings I was able to do, but that that wasn't my path. For me, I, it was something I didn't really enjoy. Um, and also, for weddings, you have to give, you know, people like um, nine months or six months in advance of, and I just haven't got that time to actually commit to that. So I'd rather say no than actually let someone down if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, now I understand like some people weddings doing. Weddings sometimes aren't people's path. So that completely makes sense. Who was your first agent that you were signed with?
Speaker 3:They're no longer that agent, but they were actually. It was called Names Agency, okay, and which then went on to be Union, which is Union.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've been with a few agents actually, but that was only you know, because I changed. You change as a person and also a makeup artist, and what your needs, what you had at one stage, move on to something else. So I love where I'm at right now. My agent will be stoked to hear that, but I do. He's. He's such a, he's such a great person.
Speaker 3:And and when I went to my agent now and this is for everyone to, to just keep an open mind of who they go to as an agent um, I was working with a business coach at at the time and and I was in the process of leaving my agent and I was kind of unhappy and I thought I'm just going to represent myself. And I sort of went and saw my business coach said to me go and see everyone. Go and see everyone and have meetings with everyone. Everyone, go and see everyone and have meetings with everyone. And, um, gary at the time, um, the agent was called Talent Land and he knows.
Speaker 3:But I was like, oh my god, that's so daggy. And I was like, right, nadine, you have to have as much practice as possible and go and see everyone. So I made an appointment to go and see Gary to practice, to have the conversation with him, and I loved him so much as a human being and a person and I just didn't care Like I didn't care it was called Talent Land, I didn't care, I just loved him as a person. So I've been with him now, yeah, ever since, you know, three or four years, probably more actually yeah, because it's not called that anymore no, it's called.
Speaker 1:It's called saunders and co yeah, yeah, um, have you got any advice for people who maybe are looking for an agent, as in like, what are some things you should ask, or is it just more of a feeling and a connection?
Speaker 3:I think it's a feeling and a connection, but also it's also saying to them what is your intention? Like this is my intention. What is your intention? You know, going through that whole process of like because you're going to work as a team with somebody and you need to know where they're going to take you. I mean, agents are amazing, but 80% of it is you At the end of the day. Your agent can put you on jobs, but you're in charge of whether you get booked or not onto the next job, a rebook. So I think it's a very it's a heavy medium with both an agent and I think. So that's it. It's a real team thing. For me it's working as a team, but it's also asking what their intentions are and to be very strong that both of you align with that and you don't go to an agent just because you're being asked to go to an agent. You know, being with the wrong agent can make you very unhappy as well, you know.
Speaker 1:When you say, like what your intentions are, yeah, what do you mean? Do you mean like, what kind of clients do they have, or what? What do you mean by intentions?
Speaker 3:yeah, I mean you can ask all that. And also having having a plan, you know, having a plan to nut out Like I mean intention. For me it's kind of similar, like what intention, what do they have planned for you? Where can they see you as a makeup artist and what are the steps that you think I have to get there. I mean basically and I love this because this is what my agent says to me treat it like a full-time job.
Speaker 3:Treat it like when I was starting out and I was trying to assist people and get new clients and do that, I would literally sit down and contact five people every day that I could either have coffee with or a meeting with or whatever, or a photographer I wanted to, you know, test with, and a lot of them said no. You know, a lot said no, but at the end of the day, you know, years later, they say yes. So that's the coolest thing, years later they say yes. So you know, I just think, and and now the beautiful thing is is that I get to um, help and I feel that I mentor people as well to to really nurture them to the next step of their career, because I youth is where it's for me, like I love seeing people develop and slowly becoming makeup artists and getting their opportunities, that they work so hard towards.
Speaker 1:Now, do you do hair as well? I do hair, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you do hair and stuff, but I'm not a hairdresser, I do hair yeah. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 3:So you do hair and stuff, but I'm not a hairdresser. But I think that can be a good thing for me, because I don't look at hair from a technical, I just do it, because I do hair on a feeling, if that makes sense. I do it because it feels right to me and I've learned on set by watching incredible. You know incredible hairstylists and I sort of asked them lots of questions, including Ellen who you assisted, who I'm so grateful. We met on um. You know the crazy shoot that we had um a couple weeks ago. Um, and I I love the way he does here. He's very technical, he's very, very clever, but also he has this thing that he does with the hair that I just watch and I've I've sort of been fortunate enough.
Speaker 3:We used to be at the same agency, so, um, I used to do a lot of jobs with him and this would ask I mean, I drive hairstylists crazy because I ask so many questions. I'm always like what product are you using, how? How does it, how? What's the best product to use for a wet look? So I'm constantly educating myself on hair, because it's not my makeup is my first thing that I do. So for me, I like to educate myself the whole time. I'm always researching different products and hair and all that kind of stuff. Actually, yeah, my mother was a hairdresser, which is, oh, I get it. Yeah, she was a hairdresser, so I think maybe I get it from that, maybe I'm not sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well, she probably always could do your hair and yeah. You sort of pick up little things from that and did you say you've got sisters?
Speaker 3:I'm a twin, I've got a twin sister, and then I've got another sister who's a business coach. Oh, cool yeah. And then a brother as well, okay.
Speaker 1:You're the reverse of me. I'm the only girl and I've got three brothers.
Speaker 3:Oh no, that's all good. Yeah, you don't know any different, right? So it's fine, you don't?
Speaker 1:you don't know any different. Um, so do you still test and everything? Now, do you? Are you still actively testing and um?
Speaker 3:I do, I do, yeah, I do. I do a lot of personal, personal work. I do love doing that when I get time, like it's a very time I'm trying to sort of. I came in this year wanting to balance my life a little bit more because I was travelling so much last year and I'm starting to travel again and I think you've just got to say no to a few things and um, yeah, I've become a lot better at that. I I wasn't so good at it, but but I jobs, all it comes around again, always, always, you know um, and saying no can be also very, um, powerful.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, for sure. When you say you were travelling for work, were you travelling overseas or within Australia?
Speaker 3:Overseas, so I went to quite a few places last year. I go to Bali quite a lot for work, and so I'm about to go to Bali in a couple of weeks for another 10 days.
Speaker 1:Oh, amazing for a job.
Speaker 3:Yeah, with an Australian crew Fun, yeah, it is fun, it is fun. It just kind of changes it up really.
Speaker 1:It's still exhausting at the same time. Oh, it's still exhausting, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3:But I do. I pretty much make sure I know exactly. I'm very prepared so I know exactly what I'm doing before I go. And with hair and makeup I'm very. You know, I do a lot of creative boards and I like being part of the whole creative journey of the hair and makeup. Okay, so I end up doing my own creative boards and stuff myself which. I love doing.
Speaker 1:So are these brands that you've worked with for a while. You've got a relationship with no.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, some of them are, but I also do it to everyone every job I do yeah, so what do you do? Do you actually just make your own? I just get a feeling for the job and then I just go through and, and and look at her hair and makeup.
Speaker 3:If I'm doing both um, and then I just for what's what, I just have a look at the brand and see sort of what sort of aesthetic the brand is, what sort of um, you know, hair they like, what sort of. If I'm doing both um, makeup they, and then I sort of do it like that, I just research.
Speaker 1:And then you just put together a few images and then you're on the right page of what you're doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I send it to them and then I get a response of what they like and what they don't like. So I kind of know a happy medium of yeah, I've always done that and it just kind of gives me, it makes me part of the whole process of doing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a really great thing to do.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because then you can be really sure about what you're doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that comes with experience, though, you know that sort of comes with being confident in what you do and also, you know, saying no to something when you really don't think that it will suit the girl or guy or whatever, but also being open to the happy medium and listening to the client of what they want as well, because in your mind you may go, oh my God, this is going to look terrible on her. But I think what I've learnt with time is to really listen and have a happy medium and then come up with options for them. You know, and if they really want to try that look, then do it, and then they'll understand what it looks like. It just takes time, you know.
Speaker 1:Do you still do any Fashion Week kind of work? No, that's okay.
Speaker 3:You tried it, so it's all good. Oh, no, going over to do the shows and stuff, yeah, no, no, I mean, I just I wouldn't say no to going over again. I just, um, I really love where I'm at. I really love the time I get to spend on my products and my brand and developing that and doing beautiful things like this. That's where I'm at for me in my life now. But never say never. You know, if something comes up, then I'm not going to sort of. Sometimes people, it's insane because people this is where instagram is amazing people reach out um quite a few times, you know, over overseas um to do jobs and stuff like that, but I just send them to gary and then, and then you find out whether they're legit or not, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, fair enough yeah, that makes sense Gary's the agent, if you're listening and you're wondering.
Speaker 3:Oh yes.
Speaker 1:I really want to talk about your products, but before I talk about that, I'd love to talk to you about assisting and assistance and what you like and like the way you like people to approach you, because I feel like sometimes, when you're new and you, you know what you like and like the way you like people to approach you, because I feel like sometimes, when you're new and you're starting out, you don't know how to ask somebody. Can I assist you you?
Speaker 3:know, yeah, look, I just think, be bold and do it. I mean you did it, you know you did it and I just, and then you showed up on a shoot and then I saw how you were. What I'm going to do, I'm going to use you as an example. Oh, okay, because I was so and it was quite funny because Ellen and I were both fighting over you. At the end of the day, we were like Ellen's, like no, she's mine. I was like no, I just think there's a beautiful softness about somebody who assists and they just watch, but they know where their place is.
Speaker 3:They don't talk to the clients unless they're talked to by the clients and they're not too familiar with them and they just have this knowing they're not on the phone. Being on the phone for me drives me absolutely crazy. Like it, just not crazy. You know, if you've got stuff going on at home, but go outside, don't text in front of the clients on my shoot Honestly, that's just. Or, you know, do behind-the-scenes photos and then put it up on Instagram and claim they're yours. I think that for me, I've actually not had assistants on board. There's an assistant that's been assisting me for a long time and now she's at an agent. You met her. Ja, yeah, she's just divine, like she is kind of really quiet, does her thing. She's really clever.
Speaker 3:I kind of pretty much know straight away where somebody's strength is and I tend to do put people in the deep end of and I, pretty much by intuition, know if they can do it or not, and I never, ever go mad at somebody. I'll just put them onto someone something else where they're strong and just watch how they work and where their strengths are. I'll always come in and do my bit, um, at the end of the day, because I just I'm obsessed with the way I do skin and I just kind of put my and most makeup artists will do that. But yeah, I just think, and I think a really good way. What I do is I test makeup artists. They clean my kit, basically, and it gives me a real knowing of how keen they are. Yeah, because I know I know if they if that's what they want don't want to do, then I know pretty much, yeah, if they're keen or not.
Speaker 3:And I don't get them to clean kits all the time, but just into, like intuition, if they clean up. They see, I'm frantic, just just think for me, right? Just you know clean up after me or clean my brushes, or just you know straighten everything or whatever, and you did that really well. You were so across everything. You were on set. Nothing was a problem for you. You just and it was really hectic and busy the job that we were in, but you just got on with it and you asked questions and when you weren't confident doing something, you actually said you weren't confident you know.
Speaker 1:So that's yeah. Or if it was something I thought you had, yeah, I think there's different things on jobs, too, that different people need to do as well. Like you know, check things with you. It's your job, like, yeah, like the lip or the hair or things like that. Um, yeah, I think that's really important. But I think, yeah, it's like an energy, isn't it?
Speaker 3:it's like a flow yeah, it is like a flow and I think you kind of you, you get to know, you get to know someone's flow, you know and get to know someone's flow, you know and get to know whether they really want to do it or not, or whether they're on set to take behind-the-scenes Instagram photos, and yeah, so I'm quite old school with all that sort of stuff. Um, you know, just meaning instagram photos, meaning, um, you know, taking photos of of the shoot when it's not your shoot, when you're not supposed to do that. Have you had people do that? Oh, my god, I've had to tell them to take stuff off off.
Speaker 1:Yes, wow, okay, I just didn't realize that people did that. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 3:Look, it's the time we live in, you know, and it's all good, but I think I also clients don't want that, you know. No. And it's fine. I'm all up for like behind-the-scenes videos and stuff and my assistants help me do that, but you still ask permission. You know when you can use that and all that kind of stuff. Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1:Absolutely no. I think that was really great advice, especially to, yeah, being on phone, your phone, on set also, with the client as well. You know and knowing your place Like sometimes that sounds a little bit old school to say, but it really is true you sort of it's not your party, you're just there to help out. So just yeah, standing by and knowing when to talk and things like that. All right, let's talk about. Is it the beauty department, if I got the name right of your brand?
Speaker 3:Just beauty department. Beauty department.
Speaker 1:Okay, so how long ago did you come up with it? Come up with the idea, yeah.
Speaker 3:Gosh, probably 2011, that long ago, okay, yeah, yeah. So I started making oils in my kitchen, okay, and then I sort of, yeah, started oil, and then I sort of found a developer and I have a natural tanning product. So, um, I started doing a natural tanning product with them, developing that with them, and then that became my first sort of product, um, and it kind of it's gone on a journey like I've, I've I mean, it's amazing having your own product, but it takes a lot of money. And I think I've got to the stage now where, um, I'm, I'm sort of ready to go to the next step, like I'm working with a business coach and doing all that part of it, um, to sort of come on seriously with the business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. How many products do you have?
Speaker 3:At the moment I have four, four Okay. Yeah so we've got the pads the one that I've got, which are a good one, so I've got the pads like Hydrate and Calm, and then I have the man Tan and then what they call Summer Tan. Yeah, oh, that's right, right the tans yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So with the products, do you use them on set as well?
Speaker 3:um, I do, I. It's funny because I, I didn't and this is so bizarre I, I didn't. I'm not very good, I'm confident, but sometimes I'm not very good at putting myself out there. It's like you know my products that were concerned and, um, I, I, I just think it's like talking about, like it's talking about it, and from this year I went on a whole different approach and I kind of use them now on everyone and everyone loves them and I they just walk out the door like I just can't keep up with with sales and stuff now, which is so funny. Oh, that's so good. I know it's amazing, but I just also think it's timing. It's timing like I think something when, when it's born, I think it really has to also have its time as well.
Speaker 3:Everything has its time and I feel that it's reached a point now where the energy is really good behind what I'm doing, because I've been through a few processes, ups and downs with the business, as everyone does, and also it's very hard. It was very hard juggling the two, so makeup and beauty department, because it would be too hard to sort of keep two together. So last year I did a Vipassana meditation. Do you know Silent meditation. I think, yeah, yeah, I know I'm quite big into the passion.
Speaker 3:I've done quite a few and I sort of did one um and I came out of the passion after being silent for 10 days in it and I decided for a year last year to do nothing, like the only thing I was going to concentrate on was my makeup and give myself a complete break from my business a beauty department, which I'd highly recommend anyone to do. It's actually one of the hardest things you could ever do not doing anything, but at the same time it's the most rewarding. And so now I've got to a stage where I'm just like, okay, I'm back again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so she's ready to go. I'm ready to go yeah, um, just with your. With the uh wipes that I've got, I did notice that they were vegan. Yes, and biodegradable, is that right?
Speaker 3:yes, yeah okay.
Speaker 1:I think that's a really good um point that they're vegan and biodegradable yeah um yeah yeah, they're.
Speaker 3:They're, um, my developers, um, who, who actually, like I work with them, um, I knew the scent, I knew exactly what scent I wanted, um, and then it was a matter of sort of coming up with this sort of oils that are really good, because people are so scared to use oils on their face. Um, and I think the way I do makeup, and have always done makeup, is using oils. In my foundations. I always use oils, so I sort of put the application process I put the foundation on and then I put oil over top of it and then I almost take it off and do that whole process again. So it's a real sort of different process how I do it. And so oils for me, I've always used them, so I think they're magic, so I think they're magic, like they're magic. They're magic. They're just kind of what they do for your skin and how they plump up your skin is amazing. They have so many, you know, so many benefits.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yep, and if people want to buy them, is it through your website? Do you stock them anywhere or is this directly through?
Speaker 3:you? Yes, it's through my website, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cool, cool, and that's beautydepartmentcomau or.
Speaker 3:It is beautydepartmentcomau, yeah.
Speaker 1:And do you ship overseas? I do ship overseas, yeah Amazing. And do you do all that side of things yourself as well?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do, yeah, I do. Yeah, there's, there's business. There's a lot happening at the moment as far as where the business is going to go. So, at the at the moment, um, I'm working with a business coach to do that, who's actually my sister. Yes, amazing, yeah, she's incredible, she's absolutely incredible. So, um, it's so funny because we work together and I'm such a creative. Like, yeah, like, I have a whole range of products that I want to do, but Bianca exciting yeah, bianca's like okay, what are the numbers?
Speaker 3:what's that? What's happening here and that to me is is so not my world of where what I do, but it's so amazing to to learn that and being inspired by that yeah, um, do you want to keep your products just skincare, or do you want to go into makeup as well?
Speaker 3:I have got. I I'm not. I don't know, I'm not interested in going in into the full on makeup um thing. I do have an idea for um, something that that may end up. I may end up doing down the track, um, but we'll just see what happens. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool, exciting, it is exciting. I think.
Speaker 3:For me, where we are with beauty products is I want to be in the space of affordable beauty, which is good and people can rely on. I think people are so confused with beauty products and especially skin products, active products, all that kind of stuff, what they should use on their skin and I sort of, and this is why I was inspired to do this. You know, product is because and you would as well I get people sitting on my chair and I go what have you been using on your skin? You know, because it's all blotchy or whatever. And they go I'm using this active ingredient, this, this, this and this, and these girls are about 20, you know. So I just I'm all about simplicity. I always have been with my makeup and skincare, and so I think the less you use, the better your skin is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I actually agree, I used to have like so many skincare products. Now I just try and keep it really, really minimal. Yeah, I just found the more I was using, I just felt like it was all just stripping my skin.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, mean, I used to have acne years ago, okay, yeah. So I I've sort of been through that whole process of, you know, using so many different products on your skin to make it better, but it only makes it worse.
Speaker 3:I think so too yeah, so and and and everyone. You know I just do what I do. I mean, some people don't agree with what I say and how I use it, but I just know, through a whole time I've been doing makeup, I put these you know girls on this little simplicity skincare thing that I recommend and within two weeks your skin's like better, you know if they sort of stop using everything that they're using and just like. It's almost like a detox reset for your skin. We do it in our bodies, so why should we do it with our skincare? You know we do it with all our food. So that's the way I look at it like stop using everything you're using and just reset your skin.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, I feel like I've kind of done that yeah, I think I think it's, and there is like there's so much access now with mecca, you know, with with all the products, um yeah yeah, and all the active ingredients is there's. Well, it's it's.
Speaker 3:I mean it's you know, girl, and there's a place for that, but I think there's a um. It's actually I can't. There's all this stuff um trending on TikTok at the moment and my niece does it. My niece is like 11 and or 12 and she goes on and buys all these active ingredients online. And there's a beautician that I follow. She's overseas and she's very vocal about saying stop your children using all these active ingredients on their skin, because they're actually it's not good for their skin, you know, and they're reaching puberty and their skin's changing and they're using, like you know, these vitamin C's and that actually burns your skin.
Speaker 3:Yeah yeah, don't get me started on that, I know, okay, no, no, I'm so passionate about it. I just think you know it's so confusing for so many people, it's just, and they spend so much money on all these products and they don't need it. They don't need it for their skin, Definitely not, definitely not.
Speaker 1:Have you got any makeup artists that inspire you that you follow now?
Speaker 3:Who inspires me? I think, um, I think who inspires me what's from a business point of view also is, um, bobby Brown, and the reason why I mean Bobby Brown I love her aesthetic in her range of products, but she built her Bobbi Brown and did all her bases. So she brought out her bases and I think this is all. Her bases are yellow based because she likes that better for her skin. And then she sold that business, I think, and then started another business and sold that. I just think that's just for me that's like inspiring, yeah, but she's got Jones Road now, hasn't she? I think she sold that already.
Speaker 3:Maybe correct me if I'm. Oh, she sold that yeah. I think she sold that as well. Anyway, she inspires me, but I just, I have certain people that I look at, different, you know, different things from. You know, and you can get, like Peter Phillips, Pat McGrath, you know, they all inspire me because they're artists, like they're true, you know, to the word artists I mean it's not what I do, but I can appreciate them and I can appreciate the beauty in what they do, you know.
Speaker 1:Yep yep. And how about career highlights? Have you got any moments that stand out? Or any jobs.
Speaker 3:This is always a hard one, because there's so many of them. What were career highlights? What were career highlights, I think, for me um starting my own business? Yeah um, it's not really career. Is that a career highlight?
Speaker 1:that's definitely a career highlight like everyone sort of thinks that career highlights have to be working on the biggest celebrity going, but that's not generally how most makeup artists feel like and I think it's just really interesting when you do talk to people about their career highlights, it's generally just with just regular people yeah, I just, I think for me I can't name one I think I've had so many career highlights with also different people that I've met over the over the time.
Speaker 3:It's more about, it's more about the people I connect with. Yeah, um, that are my career highlights and that at the end of the day, I go along, uh, you know, go away at the end of the day and think, oh my god, they are like so inspiring and so beautiful. I think for me also, going taking myself off to New York um, it, I look back on it was quite bold and and also not knowing whether I was going to get on the shows or not, was a career highlight for me. You know, and it changes all the time, it changes all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, can we talk about some of your kit favourites? Yeah, yeah, sure. So what do you? I know you've got a lot of Chanel. Is that right? Because? I remember I was snooping around your kit, remember, and that's when I found your products. I'm like what's this? Yeah, yeah, um, and I think I remember you was you used um. Have you got a lot of chanel?
Speaker 3:yeah yeah, most of my kits I mean I'm lucky most of my kits, chanel. I've used chanel and I'm not sponsored by them. I've used Chanel for years, since the start of my career, I just think. For me nobody has ever been allergic to it and I just kind of know exactly what it's going to do. Loves the consistency For Chanel. And also bases, the concealer. The concealer bases Bobbi Brown, without a doubt. Like I love her, her bases for me are more about skin. It's exactly the skin tone. I don't really use a lot of foundation. What I did I mean what we did together um, that was probably like the most full-on makeup that I kind of base base. That I do, um, of course, my, my, my products, my pads, without a doubt, and I do have another favorite which I've used for about 10 years is called goey oil okay, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So is that like a skin prep oil?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, it's like you can use it for hair as well, but it's a skin prep oil and you put it on your skin. So I use that as part. I use the pads and also that as part of the prep for the skin, which seems like a lot of oil. But if you let oil sit on your skin, it kind of plumps it up to.
Speaker 1:yeah okay, so you do that first and then you put your any any base on that you'd need to afterwards if you. You said you don't use a lot of bases though.
Speaker 3:No, not really I'm very light on base, but I think, yeah, I mean, if your skin's hydrated and not dry, then you know you've got a perfect base to do anything to. But if it's dry, or you know, you've just got to really add to the skin and put moisture into it before you start. Yeah, and that's what I tell my assistants as well. It's like look at the skin, you know, and you can feel. You can feel whether it's dry or not, and if it is, then you know that you're going to have to spend a little bit more time on prep for the skin to sort of, because there's no point in putting foundation on dry skin because it's only going to it's not going to like it, it's going to make it look more dry.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't use powder really. I'm not a great powder person. I use powder sometimes, which you know, but skin needs to look like skin to me, you know yeah.
Speaker 1:And what about? Like your bronzers and your blushes, are you a cream lover?
Speaker 3:Bronzers. I again, that's Chanel.
Speaker 3:I have these cream, great cream bronzers from Chanel, which are yeah, yeah, which is so yeah, which is so easy, easy to use, you know, and, um, I must kind of sell one every time I use it yeah yeah that's the one in the big, the big yeah, like it's cream, they come in three different shades, but I kind of use what works for me, and I get sent stuff as well, which I'm very grateful for, but also some of it I don't end up using, you know. So I tend to whatever I need. I tend to go out and just buy it myself, just because it just it's over consumerism. You end up getting too many products and you never use them anyway. You know you know?
Speaker 1:yeah, totally I. I'm on a huge buying ban. I've got way too much stuff. Yeah, not necessary. I don't know if you mentioned cream blushes because we did cut out. Do you use cream blushes or did you say Chanel for that as well?
Speaker 3:I, yeah, just, I'll often grab a lipstick actually and just use it as a colour, as a cream. I hardly ever, if ever, use powders. I'm not a powder person. I don't use powder, bronzer powder because I just think I don't like makeup to look like it's blush. You know, yeah, like, and some people love that and that it's fine, they're entitled to that, but for me, that's, I don't like that. I've never liked it as um, I just like the whole sort of it's just supposed to. When you've had your makeup done, you're supposed to. The whole thing is supposed to be beautiful. It it's not just about one particular thing. Yeah, it's about, yeah the whole look.
Speaker 1:Yes, have you got any final advice for any makeup artists out there starting out what they could? Just piece of just advice to get to? You know, to have a career like yours maybe.
Speaker 3:It's just time. It's time you have to do your time, like, and when you look, if you do a job you're not ready for, then you won't get rebooked on it again. That's my advice. You've got to be ready Like, you've got to test. You've got to work with as many people as possible and just really really figure out where you fit.
Speaker 3:I think and that took me a long time to really let go of doing full-on makeup and and all that kind of stuff which I didn't particularly enjoy. And there's so many other makeup artists out there. They're so much better than me at doing it and I just realized that this is where I'm at now I'm so happy with. So I think that don't necessarily and don't look at what other people are doing. You know, just stay in your lane, stay in your blinkers on and be happy for other people's success, because yours will come.
Speaker 3:You know Yours will come, but it won't if you're begrudging other people of their success. You know, and that's what you've got to support people and then they support you and slowly you get your people and you get a team and you grow together. And you don't have to everyone doesn't have to like what you do. At the end of the day, they're not your people and that's fine, you know, and sometimes that's not the type of makeup that they're looking for. But I think when you sort of get jobs and other people are up for them, you just got to bow away gracefully that you didn of get get jobs and other people are up for them, you just you just got to bow away grace, gracefully, that you didn't get it and you weren't what they were looking for at the time, you know yeah, that's.
Speaker 1:That's really amazing advice.
Speaker 3:I don't know. You just can't hold on to anything too tightly, you know, because if you do, you'll be disappointed. So this is a thing of like unattachment, and I think that's what I learned through my meditation of how to become unattached to particular jobs and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and be grateful yeah, be grateful, yeah well, thank you so much for chatting with me. Um, I've loved hearing your story and I really liked hearing all your advice actually Really really nice. So thank you.
Speaker 3:I hope so. I hope I could sort of, you know, help any growing person, any person you know wanting to do it. And just do it. Just do it, you know. Just don't question yourself. Some days are going to be hard, some days are going to be easy, but the end of the day it all makes it worthwhile when you put them all together.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining me today on the Makeup Insider. I hope you've enjoyed the show. Please don't forget to rate and subscribe, and I'll see you soon. Bye for now.