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 is a arts podcast hosted by Vanessa Barney, with 117 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Vanessa Barney hosts The Makeup Insider, a arts show with 117 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #117

  Growth Wins And Gifting: My Instagram Update Plus A 5-Step Checklist to Gifting

  Aug 17, 202615 minS5

  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

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  Episode #116

  Rejection, Reinvention And Taking Back Your Career

  Aug 10, 202657 minS5

  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 Follow TMI on IG Follow Vanessa on IG The Makeup Insider Blog The Makeup Insider TikTok

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  Episode #115

  From Sephora to Touring with Kesha: Alana Lucky on Building a Career in Makeup

  Aug 3, 20261h 19mS5

  Send us Fan Mail Link to blog - all products mentioned linked. Alana has been doing makeup for 12 years. She started fresh out of high school, worked the floor at Sephora's Broadway store, moved to London at 21 with zero plan and a backpack full of kit, built a career doing campaigns for Jaded London, came back to Australia during COVID, assisted the incredible Gillian Campbell, and has most recently been touring the world with Kesha. Oh, and she's now signed with a talent agency for her content. The girl moves. In this episode we get into: Why working retail at Sephora is the best foundation you'll ever get (and why it's also exhausting as hell) What it's actually like to do hair and makeup in London for an Uber-style beauty app The Jaded London campaign that changed everything COVID killing her momentum right when things were starting to move — and coming back from that Assisting Gillian Campbell and why feeling valued on set matters more than people admit What a day on tour with Kesha actually looks like (spoiler: you can't poo on the bus) The longevity routine she used to make Kesha's base last through a full concert How a TikTok she almost didn't post got her 27,000 followers in a month Why people don't care who you are on TikTok — they just want to learn something Everything being an exchange and why that's not a bad thing What's next: Europe, Canada, America and a product line in the works Website Talent The Hair Edit Waitlist Follow TMI on IG Follow Vanessa on IG The Makeup Insider Blog The Makeup Insider TikTok

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  Episode #114

  Inside Edit with Katie Moore's Kit: Merit, Westman Atelier and more.

  Jul 27, 202653 minS5

  Send us Fan Mail This week I'm joined by Sydney makeup artist Katie Moore . If you follow her work you'll know her style straight away, soft, skin focused, never overdone. We talked career, bridal work, and how she keeps things running without burning out. Then we did what we always do and pulled apart our kits. Katie Moore is a Sydney-based makeup artist, trained in New Zealand about 17 years ago at a four month full time makeup course focused on film and TV. She started out on the MECCA Cosmetica counter in Ponsonby, Auckland, then freelanced on music videos and worked on the TV series Spartacus in New Zealand. She moved to Australia in 2014 and broke into TV commercials after meeting a fashion stylist while waitressing in a Surry Hills cafe. Her work now spans fashion campaigns, lookbooks, e-com shoots, special events and bridal. Bridal work really kicked off for her after she had her son, and she's represented by an agent Kellie from The Future Mrs who handles her wedding bookings, trials and admin. Most of her work comes through referrals and word of mouth, plus Instagram, which she treats as an unofficial portfolio. She doesn't set hard goals, she calls it "manifesting" instead, and this year that included a wedding that landed in Vogue. July is her quiet month. She uses it for admin, taxes and catching up with other makeup artists before things pick back up around October with regional weddings. Her advice for makeup artists starting out: stay connected to your network, ask questions, say yes to hard jobs, and know there's no union for makeup artists so open conversations between artists matter. Katie and Vanessa go through their kit favourites, kit tools and personal skincare and haircare picks. Full list with notes in the blog post . The Hair Edit Waitlist Follow TMI on IG Follow Vanessa on IG The Makeup Insider Blog The Makeup Insider TikTok

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  Episode #113

  25 Years, Two Continents, One Agency: Heidi Scarlett King on Building a Career That Actually Lasts

  Jul 20, 20261h 23mS5

  Send us Fan Mail From Mac OG to Agency Founder with Heidi Scarlett King This week I sat down with Sydney-based makeup artist and King Co Creative founder Heidi Scarlett King — and yes. Heidi has one of those careers that sounds like fiction. She started at Mac in Sydney when the brand had just launched, assisting Fashion Week shows a season. Then she packed up and moved to London with no plan, started again from scratch, ended up at the Mac Pro Store in Soho, ended up on ITV This Morning as a beauty expert, got on Pat McGrath's runway team in Paris, and came home in 2014 to build an agency with 45 artists on the books. This one covers the full arc. The exciting bits, the lonely bits, and the hard-won truths that only come from doing this for a really long time. We cover: Starting at Mac in the 2000s and what Australian Fashion Week looked like at its peak Assisting legend Dottie and why those early years were the making of her Starting over in London and what six years there taught her about resilience Getting onto Pat McGrath's team at Paris Fashion Week and what that world is really like Accidentally becoming a TV beauty expert on ITV This Morning Why she moved back to Sydney in 2014 and how hard it was to restart — again How the industry shifted post-Instagram and why events became where the money went Directing Australian Idol and The Voice — and how that gave birth to King Co Creative Managing 45 artists: what she values more than talent, and why integrity can't be taught The Cartier Opera House event: 63 hair and makeup artists across 10 Sydney hotels The best advice she has for artists just starting out Plus Heidi shares her current kit favourites — the By Terry powder she's been using for 15 years, her new Tarte tubing mascara obsession, and why the Half Percent lip liner is her ride or die right now. The Hair Edit Waitlist Follow TMI on IG Follow Vanessa on IG The Makeup Insider Blog The Makeup Insider TikTok

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