Harriet Hadfield, behind the red carpet & much more!

Send us Fan MailThis week: getting personal with Harriet Hadfield, makeup artist, business coach and founder of freelancewithfreedom.  Hands up if you’re an all or nothing kind of person? Harriet admits she sure is! And there’s nothing wrong with giving it your all, in fact – we highly recommend it. “One day stays one day, if you never make it real ~ H.H.”Understanding how to find your place in this industry is really, really important, and a key motivator for Harriet changing careers from makeup artist to business coach. She’s now able to now help other artists understand their worth.KEY TAKEAWAYS:FIND YOUR WILLPOWER.Do you have that inner voice (or best friend, business, partner, life coach, etc.) that helps you plan ahead, avoid temptation and believe in yourself? That’s all helping to strengthen your willpower.Willpower is the ability to resist skipping steps, or giving in to temptation – in order to meet your goals.Finding your willpower and believing in  yourself, what you can achieve and how far you can go in your career is really important, and often overlooked in our industry.Growing up, Harriet was determined to save dolphins and be an astronaut – a little different from makeup artist and business coach, but guided by the same tenacity she has since launched a thriving business helping artists find their why.  “I’m an all or nothing person... There was no middle ground, it was like, if I had to do it, I had to be really full on. “It took a lot of willpower, to be honest with myself that ok, maybe my journey is going to look a bit different.”Harriet HadfieldBEHIND THE RED CARPET.Assisting, testing, working every job and making every connection you can to land your dream job... Sound familiar? And let me be clear, I mean the crème de la crème of celebrity and fashion runways. The red carpet in LA and NYC, and Fashion Weeks in Milan and London.Behind these big shows are dozens of makeup artists working their magic on models. Is there a celebrity or brand you want to work with? Harriet’s tips are investigate the publicist/s who represent them and be strategic about the photographers, makeup artists, directors you’re working with. THE RIGHT MINDSET.The narrative in creative industries is work, work, work. Literally, work until you drop – but when you’re constantly in a rush, life is not so enjoyable anymore.Harriet is working to change this narrative, but understands it takes time to undo what generations have been taught. We work in an industry that praises (and often expects) the ‘hustle culture’, that working four jobs in a day is what success looks like. But you need to be in the right mindset, prioritise your mental health, time with family and friends, and time for yourself. We need to start normalising slowing down, being OK with saying no and understanding looking after yourself is just as important as your career.“I was a people pleaser… and it got me so far, but it affected my mental health… now my choices are made from a place of freedom, not fear, which I feel really happy about and encourage my clients to find the same path.”Harriet HadfieldThe Hair Edit Waitlist Follow TMI on IG Follow Vanessa on IGThe Makeup Insider Blog The Makeup Insider TikTok