The Makeup Insider

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.

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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
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.
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