LAMAV EMPOWERING WOMEN SERIES
At LAMAV we’re all for empowering and celebrating women. Our new blog series focuses on Inspiring Women who are all doing their part to help others and make positive change. Grab a cuppa and take some time for you to sit down and read along while they share their experiences and advice to enjoy a happy, healthy and successful life. We know you’ll enjoy reading their journeys and insights as much as we do.
AMANDA RAMSAY
Amanda Ramsay is on a mission to help women over 40 feel fabulous about themselves, and she has the skills and experience to do it! Amanda is a professional makeup artist and an award winning Age Well Beauty Expert, with an impressive client list including collaboration with some of Sydney’s best creatives and high profile celebrities. She is unapologetically real with a zest for life that sparks a light in everyone she comes across. We recently caught up with Amanda to find out more about her journey to Age Well Makeup and of course to discuss all things beauty!
Can you share a bit about your journey to the beauty industry and what inspired you to focus on women over 40?
My mother never left the house without her lippy on and from a young age she taught my sister and I how to look after ourselves - introducing us to a regular skincare routine and how to look after yourself. I remember at the time loving it but also feeling like it was quite superficial as it was all about you presenting an appealing version of yourself to the world. I didn’t understand at the time the gift that mum actually gave us, which was valuing yourself and understanding that skincare and makeup was a way of nurturing yourself and can make you feel great rather than the focus being on how you face the world.
I was working as a professional makeup artist within television, advertising, commercial, fashion and all the fun projects and I remember when I was in my mid 30’s my mother in law said to me that after menopause she felt invisible. She felt as though she was looked over. She might be in the pharmacy and she’s overlooked or trying to order a drink and she’s looked over. It’s like people didn’t see her anymore. Hearing that absolutely shattered me. No women should ever feel that way, and I thought this is a real problem.
By the time I got to 40 I was nursing a new baby, and all of a sudden as someone who’s been in the beauty industry and has all the tools, tips and tricks, I found myself feeling a little unsure of myself. I was questioning what I had to offer the world. Who wants to hear from a makeup artist who’s breastfeeding a baby and is so bogged down in babyland? At that moment it really dawned on me that no-one in my industry was talking to women over 40 with a positive lense. It was all about scare mongering and how to prevent or reverse ageing. You’ve also got women walking into cosmetic stores feeling invisible and being served by staff who can’t relate to them and don’t have the skills to help someone with mature skin.
They are all the pieces of the puzzle that lead me to the realisation that this was my calling, this is what I’m meant to do. On my watch no women aged 40 and over should ever feel invisible, undervalued or unseen. It’s my intention that every women gets the opportunity to feel that light go on inside.
As a business owner offering multiple services you must be busy! How do you balance your own well-being while also supporting your clients and customers?
The truth? I don’t balance my own wellbeing. Balance is a bit of a fad word - we are sold this story that we can have it all. We can, but it means compromising yourself. I also think that there’s this pressure to be doing all the self care things which adds even more pressure and we feel like it’s another area we’re failing in.
I’m all about supporting my customers, my clients and my kids but it means I’ve been terrible at looking after myself. So, I have one recent no-negotiable. I make sure I walk every single day and that I see the ocean. I’m lucky to live a 5 minute walk to the ocean which makes it very doable. I also have a daily smoothie which I throw as much nutrition into as possible and I make sure I have a beautiful herbal tea every day.
What are your favourite self-care practices? Do you have any skincare rituals that you include in your daily or weekly routine that you find beneficial for your overall health and wellbeing?
My daily non-negotiable is a regular AM and PM skincare routine. This can be as simple as cleansing, serums and moisturising. Once per week I also do a Sunday Maintenance Ritual. This usually includes a body scrub, self-tan application, painting my nails, exfoliating my skin and applying a face mask. I also sit my Gua Sha, hand cream and lip balm on my bedside table to fit in a little self care as I’m falling into bed!
As a professional makeup artist and consultant, how do you encourage clients to embrace their age and natural beauty?
I love the saying “comparison is the thief of joy”. Not comparing you at 51 to your friend at 51 to your mother at 51. We all age in our own special and unique way. Comparing robs you of feeling great about yourself and is made even more difficult by social media. I tell my clients and community to be really careful about who they’re following on social media and ensuring the content you’re viewing makes you smile, laugh or feel good about yourself. Unfollow everything else. I also feel that it’s my privilege and intention to provide women with a place to call home, feel welcome and feel seen at Amanda Ramsay Makeup. I talk a lot about ageing being a privilege, not a disease and I think that mid lifers are slowly beginning to get this. Enjoy the fact that you’re here and find those little glimmers of joy and happiness.
Nothing is perfect and I make sure that I show up for my clients as I am, leading by example that nothing is perfect.
What are your top 3 tips regarding makeup and skincare for women over 40?
- Prep your skin really well before you reach for makeup. Make sure your skin is hydrated. Don’t use makeup as a bandaid.
- Focus on skin health rather than quick fixes. Play the long game for skin health. Think about it like you would feeding your body nutrient rich food, your skin needs the same. The glow will come.
- Focus on what you love about your face rather than what bugs you and what you want to change. Women are so mean to themselves. Enhance the features that you do love.
What are your goals and aspirations when it comes to pro-age? How do you hope to make a difference in the lives of your clients and followers?
Empowering women to be kind to themselves while empowering the next generation at the same time. Your daughters and nieces are watching you. I take that responsibility very seriously.
Having a business offering online and in-person services must keep you on your toes! Is there one particular area of your work that you enjoy the most? What areas of your work fulfill you the most and why?
I love the buzz and the energy of a live event. I love educating through personal beauty consults and in person workshops. Sharing my knowledge and knowing that it’s helping women really lights me up!
What’s next for Amanda Ramsay? Do you have any projects or workshops coming up that our readers can look forward to hearing about?
LAMAV Readers can enjoy my Ageless Beauty Makeup Masterclass for women over 40 at a reduced rate using the Discount Code LAMAV80VIP here:
https://shop.amandaramsay.com.au/discount/LAMAV80VIP?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fgold-membership
And make sure you're on the mailing list, so you're the first to know when my Ageless Beauty Workshops are coming to a city near you!
https://shop.amandaramsay.com.au/pages/subscribe
If you could turn back time and offer advice to your past self from five years ago, what words of wisdom or guidance would you provide?
Let go of what other people think about you. Other people’s opinions are not your problem. Care more about you being a good person and being true to you. I think as women and mothers we focus so much on the needs of others and we’ve been sold this story that to focus on ourselves is selfish. I’m learning to let go of that.
What does a day in the life of you look like when you’re not working?
I walk my dog, hit the beach, have a sundowner with a girlfriend, have lunch with a friend and fill my cup up surrounded by other women.
Lastly, what are some key messages or takeaways that you would like our readers to remember about staying positive and embracing their natural beauty, regardless of age?
It’s not your fault that you feel the way you do about ageing, that there’s a problem with it. It’s the language that the beauty industry uses - fighting, combating, erasing signs of ageing. You have the power to change that and to really think about the joy of ageing and the wisdom of ageing. Your health and wellbeing are everything, without those things you don’t get the privilege of ageing. Enjoy the age you are, you never get to be that age again, you never get to have this day again. Stop giving energy to things you don’t love. Watch how you’re talking to yourself, especially when you’re doing your skincare or makeup routine.
My online makeup masterclass empowers you to love what you see in the mirror and radiate. You can learn more about my masterclass here: https://www.amandaramsay.com.au/
