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SKINFLUENCER: AMELIA SINGSON KEMP
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Sydney based content creator Amelia Singson Kemp is a powerful leader in the industry as a beauty creator with the ability to speak about beauty products and how to partner with brands while building an audience based on trust. Also, the ability to promote, sell and influence purchases within the industry. Ariana Pezeshki speaks to Amelia Singson Kemp about her power and how she educates her online audience on the tips and tricks of the trade.
MY NAME is Amelia Singson Kemp and I specialise in creating informative beauty material as a content creator. Despite the fact that I am also a makeup artist, I now devote all of my time to sharing my knowledge on social media. Warm and Fuzzy is the name of my pop culture and nostalgia podcast.
I originally wanted to get involved in the beauty industry to create beauty content for my social media channels, but also for brands that revolve mostly around educating and also giving my honest opinion on products I’m trialling. I’ve always loved beauty and how transformational make-up can be - not just for someone’s appearance but how it affects their energy and the confidence that can come from that.
Early in my career, I began working as a Christmas casual at Mecca when I was 19 because my mum said I needed a job during uni holidays. As you can imagine, being in a beauty wonderland was far more interesting than sitting in a lecture theatre, so with my parents’ blessing I ditched university to study makeup artistry and my beauty journey began there.
Fast forward a decade later and some change, working in sales for Mecca and MAC, then later in Education and Training for brands within Sephora and finally in Marketing for a skincare brand, I’ve pivoted to sharing all the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years with my online audience.
Entering the beauty world of course comes with doubts, and for me, it was all tied to self-doubt. I’ve been told to share my makeup artistry on social media since 2013 and it took me a long time embarrassingly before I felt confident enough to do it. In my head, there was always someone better than me, someone more skilled than me, so why should I try? I still think that way sometimes and I have to remind myself there’s room for everyone in this industry. I follow so many different people for beauty tips so why shouldn’t I be here sharing my opinions, my knowledge on beauty and my experience?
My content is educational but it’s also, I hope, relatable and easy to digest. I don’t have a biology degree or a dermal therapist diploma, I’ve just worked with and used a tonne of products for many years and want to share what I’ve learned. I try to throw in a little bit of lifestyle from time to time because it is nice to share bits and pieces of my life and who I am, rather than just educational things all the time. When it comes to reviewing products, I have an audience that relies on me for honest opinions on beauty products and techniques.
It is a lot of responsibility but it’s something I enjoy and wouldn’t change for the world. I’m grateful to be in this position. I always test new products before I commit to a partnership with a brand. It’s important for me to know and love the product before I share any information about it with my audience and I really pride myself on my honesty and authenticity as a voice in the beauty space. People look to me for my genuine thoughts on products and how does it help them if I’m always saying ‘I’m obsessed’ with something? I also remind myself that my mum, family and my friends’ mums buy products based on my reviews so I’m not going to recommend something that I wouldn’t want them using. Granted, not every product is going to work for me, I’m aware of that so I do keep an open mind and will still sometimes recommend something that may not have personally worked for me but may be right for them.
I have to already be familiar with the brand and use their products. I’m hesitant to work with brands on something I’ve never tried before because I can’t guarantee that I’ll like the product (or that I can even use it!). Brands are thankfully, really understanding in those situations and will often send me the product far enough in advance for me to try and we go from there. Their values and ethics as a company are also important to me, being cruelty-free and sustainable in particular. But I’m not perfect and I know there will be products and brands that don’t align with my values that I might try just to see what the hype is about.
In my experience with brand partnerships, it’s been about who I know in the industry and then whether the content I create aligns with the brands I want to work with. The beauty industry is small so it’s important to put yourself out there because you never know who’s watching! Posting content consistently, making friends with other creators and engaging with their posts and those from brands are all ways to get your name out there. Don’t wait for a brand to gift you something if you want to try it, if it is within your budget to buy a product you want to try and review - I say do it!
I would post that content, and tag the brand. Of course, that doesn’t always lead to a partnership but it is important to have organic content ready to share in case they do come knocking. When I was first starting out, it helped to have friends who are also beauty creators because they were willing to share brand contacts or put in a good word for me and I’ve done the same for newer creators because I understand that some kind words from a friend to a brand or agency you dream of working with is sometimes all you need to get your foot in the door.
I also have a manager now and it has been invaluable in helping to get those brand deals. She has so much industry knowledge and is incredible at relationship building, so I have her to thank for my recent partnerships because those brands may have never noticed me if it wasn’t for her.
There is a lot of power and pressure that comes with giving a positive review, however, I always try to give products a fair go before I form any opinions. If it doesn’t work for me, that’s fine, it might work great for someone else. I’ll always share this with the brand because they appreciate the feedback, good or bad. I will never say anything hurtful or disparaging about a brand or its product if it didn’t work for me so don’t look for me in the comments of a controversial TikTok!
Luckily for me, I haven’t really experienced a negative partnership with a brand because I didn’t like their product. I’m in a great position where I can be more selective about who I work with. What I enjoy most about creating content for brands is that it comes naturally to me. I love being able to chat to the camera and demonstrate a technique or show a product in action and I’m grateful brands give me a lot of freedom and trust that I’ll create something for them that they are proud to share.
The Skinfluencer market has exploded since TikTok came on the scene. There are new creators popping up every day and they are so smart and switched on and I’m just in awe of how quickly they are able to create, shoot and post content. It looks so effortless but I know as a creator, it is not! The period through the pandemic when the majority of us were in lockdown definitely showed us that the influencer market is extremely valuable to a brand’s growth.
The Influencer market is constantly changing and what was cool a year ago isn’t anymore. Trends come and go in the blink of an eye and I find it important as a content creator to jump on them as soon as I see them and keep evolving content in order to stay relevant. My advice for women looking to enter the beauty sphere would be just to start! There’s never a perfect time and the longer you wait, the harder it becomes. You’re never going to be the best, most perfect, professional content creator in the beginning. It is all a learning game, so you learn and adjust as you go! Before you know it, it’ll become second nature. And there’s room for everyone!
I can’t speak too much on the topic but I have definitely thought about creating my own brand or products, and that’s all I’ll say on that! I hope audiences see my content and learn that I’m easygoing and down to earth. I love glassy, glowy skin and “no makeup, makeup” with a hefty serving of blush. You can come to me with the most obscure makeup and skincare questions and I’ll do my best to answer them in a way that doesn’t feel like information overload. I also love to sledge my husband on social media (all in jest), so if you like a touch of relatable relationship content, I’m your gal.”
