Aimee Connolly

So

between riding beauty shooting beauty and then actually making the decision to go and teach in beauty so I actually wanted to be a teacher when I was a young teen and although I wasn't teaching kids it was a nice kind of roundabout way to bring in my love of kind of education and making it a bit simple for people and that was really the light bulb where it was like everyone is asking the same questions everyone's overwhelmed no one has a clue how to do it

And there's just so much choice that it's making them feel really like they can't embrace it.

So that was my kind of, yeah, little pinnacle moment of actually I want to merge business and beauty.

So I love business after my four year degree.

was absolutely obsessed with beauty I knew the customer connection was what gave me energy I loved solving problems and actually that feeling where they look in the mirror and be like oh my god that's amazing I'm like yes um and it sounds really cliche but it was genuinely the truth and that was kind of yeah the moment where I thought let's merge the two together and I think the academy really gave me confidence to go into a brand because you know some people will have an idea about a product that maybe doesn't exist on the market yeah

mine wasn't necessarily like at the very beginning that came after a formula that I was like oh this is nowhere to be found it was more the the ethos and how you approach it to people so building in a kit doing a double-ended brush that makes it simple having your how-to leaflet at the time because digital wasn't as advanced um and that was really yeah the the kind of propeller to starting the brand

And it's not to like toot our own horns.

Toot your own horn, Amy.

This is the space for it.

I feel like we were at the forefront of actually a lot of things that have now become very industry norms.

So when you think about it, like nearly 10 years ago, I was fighting for a more simplified, fuss-free five-minute face in an era where it was Instagram heavy makeup.

It was like more is more.

Yeah, 2016 makeup.

But I was kind of like, it doesn't have to be that complicated.

Come on, guys.

Like there's bigger problems in the world than you trying to...

you know finesse a winged liner and it's taking you an hour and a half and then you're really stressed about it that's obviously a bit dramatic but basically the ethos of trying to say a few products a few tweaks you're going to feel amazing five minutes was a little bit unconventional and I dare say like a bit uncool yeah

And I always said to people at the time, like, say if I was advising people in the academy, it's important to stick to your way of makeup because that's your signature style.

People will book you based on, you know, your social page of what looks you're putting in and stay true to yourself because it can be really overwhelming when there's all these trends happening to just jump on it.