The Makeup Insider – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Makeup Insider

Vanessa Barney

Arts

Frequency: 1 episode/15d. Total Eps: 121

The Makeup Insider is a weekly one-on-one podcast diving into the real life and career of makeup artists, hosted by freelance MUA Vanessa Barney. Finding your community of fellow creatives (talkative, adaptable, obsessed with colour) can feel daunting. Where do you even start? This podcast builds that community. Real conversations that grow your confidence, your connections and your career. New to the industry or years deep, tune in, check the show notes for key takeaways and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Find Vanessa: @vanessabarney @the.makeupinsider

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https://www.themakeupinsider.com/subscribe
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https://themakeupinsider.kit.com/baf29ffc50
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https://www.themakeupinsider.com
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https://www.instagram.com/vanessabarney
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https://www.instagram.com/the.makeupinsider
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https://www.instagram.com/mbrown_beauty
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Score global : 38%

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The Beliefs That Held Me Back For Decades

Season 5 · Episode 121

Monday, September 21, 2026 • Duration 16:26

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 :

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A Full Face, Live: Every Product Michael Brown Reached For. Watch on Youtube.

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 59:09

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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

Inside Michael Brown's Kit: Charlotte Tilbury, House Labs And A $4 Amazon Find.

Monday, August 24, 2026 • Duration 34:56

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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

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The Makeup Insider Blog

The Makeup Insider TikTok

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

Monday, August 17, 2026 • Duration 14:45

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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

Rejection, Reinvention And Taking Back Your Career

Monday, August 10, 2026 • Duration 56:30

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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

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

Monday, August 3, 2026 • Duration 01:18:39

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Link to blog - all products mentioned linked.

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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

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

Monday, July 27, 2026 • Duration 52:45

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All products mentioned linked in blog.

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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 .

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

Monday, July 20, 2026 • Duration 01:22:35

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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.

I Grew Almost 2,000 Followers in 5 Weeks. Here's What Actually Worked.

Monday, July 13, 2026 • Duration 14:45

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In this episode of The Insider Diary, I give a personal update on how work and content creation have been going. The main focus is my Instagram growth, I've picked up almost 2,000 followers in five weeks by posting reels daily, and I break down exactly which reels worked, which ones flopped, and the workflow behind it all. I also cover my content days and open the waitlist for my upcoming hair masterclass.

Started posting reels daily from 18 March this year.
Nearly 2,000 new followers in about five weeks.
Biggest lesson from the whole run: people only watch for 7 to 13 seconds. The hook decides whether they stay.
My workflow: uses ChatGPT to help with captions, hooks and on-screen prompts, edits everything in the Edits app, posts to Instagram first, pulls the original file from Edits (not a re-download from Instagram) to post on TikTok, then reposts from TikTok to YouTube Shorts.
Next move: repost her best performers again with a reworked hook, using ChatGPT to help tweak them.
Advice for anyone starting out: just start. Mistakes are part of it. You'll find your style along the way. Collaboration helps (like her episode with Max) but isn't essential.
Announcement: the waitlist is open for her hair masterclass. Format isn't locked in yet (leaning look-and-learn), and it'll be offered virtually too, so it's not just for Sydney or Australia.

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The Makeup Insider – Details, episodes & analysis

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