Aug. 24, 2025

🌴237. Makeup + Money

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Show Notes

What this one’s about:

I riff on a killer Diary of a CEO roundtable (Codie Sanchez, Alex Hormozi, Daniel Priestley) and share a study on grooming, attractiveness and pay—plus my $150 Mecca “makeup school” hack I used before a 350-person talk.

My big takeaways:

You don’t need capital to start — pre-sell, validate fast, borrow audiences, and use relationships as leverage. That was the common thread from all three guests. A
The beauty premium is (mostly) a grooming premium for women. A 2016 paper using a large U.S. sample found attractive people earn ~20% more on average; for women, that edge comes almost entirely from being well-groomed (makeup/hair/style). For men, grooming explains about half. Agency > genetics. ScienceDirect SciSpace
My practical play: I booked Mecca’s 90-min lesson (redeemable on product), filmed the steps (with permission), and now have a personalised tutorial I can replay before big stages. Zero YouTube rabbit holes; pro tips, done.

Stuff I mention:

Diary of a CEO: Money Making Experts: This 3-Step ‘Offer’ Formula… (Codie, Alex, Daniel). Great for no-excuse starters. Apple Podcasts Spotify
Study: “Gender and the Returns to Attractiveness” — Jaclyn S. Wong & Andrew M. Penner, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (2016). Read the abstract/summary here. ScienceDirect Social Sciences UCI
Media explainer on the findings (optional primer). TIME

My POV:

I like this research because it gives us levers we can pull. I can’t change my bone structure, but I can decide whether to “play the game” for a high-stakes day. For me, working with pros (shout-outs to Kate Massey, and my stylist-friends who just see outfits I don’t!) is an energy and confidence shortcut.

Try this:

Book a lesson with a pro, film the steps (ask first), and create your mini-library.
Build a simple stage-day checklist (base, brows, eyes, lips; hair plan; outfit A/B).
Decide your rule: “I turn it up one notch for key moments.” No moral drama.

Question for you:

Where do you sit on this? Is “playing the game” strategic… or does it grate? Ping me—I’d love your take.

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Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.com

P.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help: