Hair & Beauty

SA Aboriginal makeup artist launches luxe cruelty-free beauty brand

Amplified Beauty Australia, an Adelaide based beauty company founded by Aboriginal makeup artist, Shahna Smith, has officially launched.

Pictured: Shahna Smith (Lip colour Goal Getter). Makeup by Lucy Eustance-Smith.

Amplified Beauty Australia, an Adelaide based beauty company founded by Aboriginal makeup artist, Shahna Smith, has officially launched with the offering of luxurious, liquid-to-matte lipsticks which are kiss-proof, waterproof, cruelty free and Australian made.

Growing up in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Shahna (now 24) lost her mother at the early age of 16 yet continued on the path she had discussed with her mother, Tracey, of one day realising her dream of owning a cosmetics brand, despite countless challenges she faced.

“Losing my mother kickstarted me on my journey towards what is now Amplified Beauty Australia. It simply pushed me with determination of what I knew I wanted to do and it was actually mum who chose the name before she passed away,” said Shahna.

With this passion and no financial backing, at just 17 years of age Shahna moved from Broken Hill to Melbourne to begin her makeup journey at the Academy of Makeup. Supporting herself with multiple jobs at a time while studying, Shahna forever remained focussed on her goal and legacy for her mother, recalling: “I didn’t actually know where I was going to live, I just knew I was going to begin my career no matter what it took.”

As Amplified Beauty Australia’s Founder and CEO, as well as the head makeup artist at SSMITH ARTISTRY, Shahna explains “it was so important as a makeup artist for myself to be heavily involved in the formulation process”, ensuring that the final product was one that she could be proud of from a retail standpoint as well as a personal one.

“At one point the lab was not getting the Nude shades correct which was frustrating, because in my head I knew what it needed to be and I didn’t want to send them another brand’s product with a shade that already existed. I wanted something completely original. So, I actually went to Bunnings and was there for 2 hours asking their staff to mix different paints until I eventually was happy and posted it back off to
the lab. Finally, we got there,” detailed Shahna.

Along with the perfect nude, pink and red shades, Amplified Beauty Australia has released Limited Edition ‘The Tracey’ lipstick, named after Shahna’s late mother in her favourite vibrant orange pigment.

“Creating this lipstick filled me with different emotions, knowing that I could have easily gone down a different pathway after my mum passed and to know that there are youth out there that do,” said Shahna.

This realisation prompted Shahna and Amplified Beauty Australia to donate 10% of all profits from ‘The Tracey’ lipstick to non-for-profit organisation, Youth Off the Streets, each month.

Amplified Beauty Australia prides itself on inclusivity, with Shahna telling “it is so important for all brands to be inclusive, yet, some of our biggest brands in the world are still so behind.” As a result, the launch of Amplified Beauty Australia’s 8 lipstick shades was important.

“I knew it was a lot of shades for a startup business and that it would be expensive, but I knew I would rather not launch than launch a company that did not cater for all,” she said.

Trying the 8 shades of Amplified Beauty Australia will soon become even easier with excitement surrounding an innovative Virtual Shade Try On app that is also set to launch this year. Amplified Beauty Australia is branching out to retailers around Australia, aiming to have multiple stockists by the end of 2022, with their first stockist being in Broken Hill.

Retailers who stock Amplified Beauty Australia will also receive a bespoke floating device powered by magnets to create a floating platform) for product to be displayed upon, which was a concept developed by Shahna and a mechanical engineer who she engaged to bring this idea to life.

Shop the newly launched lipstick range and keep up to date with Amplified Beauty Australia at www.amplifiedbeauty.com.au.

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