Nude Nike Campaigns, Representation & Shots With Rihanna ft. Rowi Singh
Makeup artist Rowi Singh talks the inspiration behind her iconic looks, doing shots with Rihanna and representation in the media.
Sal and Al chat with Australian-Indian makeup artist, style icon and creative Rowi Singh about finding creative inspiration, her most hated beauty trend and that time she took shots with Rihanna.
Rowi also dishes on how she creates her looks, why influencer's need to 'do better' and how we still have a long way to go with diversity in the beauty industry in Australia.
LISTEN TO EP #206
LINKS & RECEIPTS
- Follow Rowi Singh on Instagram
- Follow Rowi Singh on TikTok
- Check out Embellish by Rowi
- Check out @poppyellah and @milliesykess on Instagram
CHUCK US A FOLLOW
- Follow Two Broke Chicks on Instagram
- Follow Two Broke Chicks on TikTok
- Join our Broke Chicks Club Facebook Group
CREDITS
Hosts: Sally McMullen and Alex Hourigan
Executive Producer: Pariya Taherzadeh
Editor: Bamby Media
This podcast is powered by Finder and part of the Nova Podcast Network.
Head to www.finder.com.au/two-broke-chicks for an episode transcript.
Thanks for listening.
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Sally McMullen
Hey chicks, I'm Sal.
Alex Hourigan
And I'm Al.
Sally McMullen
And this is Two Broke Chicks, the show all about sharing life lessons for the gals, from the gals. In today's episode we are joined by a very special guest, we are so excited, makeup artist and creator, Rowi Singh. If you don't follow her, what have you been doing?
Alex Hourigan
What have you been doing?
Sally McMullen
But she's going to talk with us all things makeup, beauty, working in the influencer industry, Rihanna, representation. And she's also going to talk about her all time favourite looks and favourite beauty trends of 2022. So make sure to listen to the end for that one, it's a good tip. Before we get into our chat with Rowi, what's your life lesson of the week, Al?
Alex Hourigan
My life lesson this week is: absolutely nothing good happens after 2am. Go home.
Sally McMullen
I feel seen. Elaborate.
Alex Hourigan
No! That's it! I learnt this one, I've learnt this one multiple times the hard way that there is no situation that I have been out from after two o'clock, that period between two o'clock and that sun starts coming up, there's not one thing that I can pull in my mind that that was a great story, that was so fun, funny, except for the absolute shame of coming home when the sun's coming up.
Sally McMullen
And the birds are chirping.
Alex Hourigan
You don't, like, nothing good happens after 2am. Just go to bed. Unless you have, like, snuck into some celebrity house party and it's like, or a concert or something like that. Go home because there is nothing worse than that part when you're at a house party, or you're at a club, or a bar and your social battery just goes down. And you're there and you're thinking about the Uber you have to get home, and it's gonna take you, like, 30 minutes to get home, it's gonna cost, like, $80, you're thinking about all the things that you have to do the next day, then you're gonna be so hungover. And I'm obviously quite triggered with this because I met up with a friend that I hadn't seen in a really long time. And then he was hanging out with all of his mates and so it was really fun. Like, I kind of just got to tag along for, like, boys night which I was like,
Sally McMullen
Lads! Lads! Lads!
Alex Hourigan
It was so fun and they were all Irish, so they were absolutely crazy in a good way. But by the end of it, I was like, "I don't belong here. I don't fit here and I need to go home". And they were all so lovely, they're like, "Nah, you gotta stay," and then a choice was made and it wasn't the right one. So, unless something absolutely incredible, never happened before, is happening, you need to go to bed. Go to bed, put your jammies on and go to sleep.
Sally McMullen
Leave at 1:30. That gives you a good half an hour buffer to get home. Okay, my life lesson of the week is very serious. Spotify has launched a new karaoke feature and our pregame drinks are never going to be the same.
Alex Hourigan
When did they launch this?
Sally McMullen
I don't know. I googled it and I saw that they announced the launch late last year.
Alex Hourigan
How does this work?
Sally McMullen
On your desktop, it pops up, like, next to the volume button, it's a little microphone symbol, and you just click on that and it pops up. And you know how they had, like, the lyrics by Genius or whatever before? It's like an extension of that, but it's fully a karaoke feature so it highlights and moves down.
Alex Hourigan
What song would we sing first?
Sally McMullen
I was thinking about this and naturally I already had the set list created. I feel like we would start we would warm up the crowd, just you and I, with If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher, it's always our go to. And then we love to, like, bring the energy up with some Bon Jovi. And then, you know, we'd like to toast to the lovers out there with some Celine Dion, My Heart Will Go On.
Alex Hourigan
Oh yeah. There's actually a video that our boss took of us, which we'll put in the Facebook group, and Sally and I are not holding back. Like we are going for the note, whether we hit it? Different story, you gotta go watch the video. But like, we're there, like, holding each other and our bosses, they're like Kris Jenner like, "That's my baby!". And it was just incredible. We were like, "Jay, this one's for you!". It was incredible.
Sally McMullen
He's like, "You're both fired but keep going!". But yes.
Alex Hourigan
Good life lessons this week, I think!
Sally McMullen
I think so too! We've got tips for the beginning of your night and the end.
Alex Hourigan
Yeah, just stay with karaoke, stay home.
Sally McMullen
All right, now we've got the life lessons out of the way, let's get out gal Rowi in here.
So, as we mentioned, we have the incredible Rowi Singh on the show with us today. She is an Australian-Indian makeup artist and creative. If you haven't seen her already, she does, like, absolutely breathtaking makeup looks, but her talents don't just end there, which is rude. She also has impeccable style, like her interior home design game is off the charts and her transformations, the looks that she does, like, it is like a full body theatrical experience. Her talents have led her to work with incredible brands like Mac and Fenty Beauty. She even took a shot with Rihanna, we'll go into that on the show. She's co-hosted her own podcast, It's A Creators World. She had a collaboration with jewellery brand, Mountain and Moon, which was stunning.
Alex Hourigan
Beautiful.
Sally McMullen
And she also has her own makeup-jewellery brand, Embellished by Rowi, coming out this year. So, we are very inspired by her. Seems like her talents have no limits. And we're really excited to get her on the show. Welcome to Two Broke Chicks, Rowi.
Rowi Singh
Thanks for having me.
Alex Hourigan
We're so excited.
Rowi Singh
Me too.
Sally McMullen
Seriously, we are like fangirling.
Rowi Singh
I'm just excited to not be at home.
Alex Hourigan
It's a good time. Also, y'all can't see Rowi right now, but she looks beautiful. She walked in and I was immediately upset.
Rowi Singh
I did a five minute beat today which is good.
Alex Hourigan
Just shut up!
Sally McMullen
I'm gonna beat you!
Rowi Singh
I have to flex because it's my, it's like my superpower now. I can do, like, a put together look in, like, under five minutes. And I'm like, yes!
Sally McMullen
Gorgeous.
Rowi Singh
Time myself, like, yes!
Sally McMullen
If you're not watching this on YouTube, jump on so that you can see Rowi's beat.
Rowi Singh
Yes.
Sally McMullen
Absolutely worth it.
Rowi Singh
You need the visual and audio experience.
Sally McMullen
So we're gonna jump into the most important question first. Can you tell us the tea about that iconic TikTok of you and Rihanna, taking shots? In inverted commas, taking shots.
Rowi Singh
Let me tell you what happened. I was already, like, quite drunk, because first of all, you know, I was jet lagged. I was jet lagged and I was like, Ooh, nervous as hell, I didn't know anyone there. I was like in a room, not only with Rihanna, but like, the top influencers in LA. I felt very out of place, I'm not gonna lie. And like, the introverted aspect of me kind of came out, so I was like, having a fit, I was like, just. And then someone was like, "Do you wanna do shots?". And I was like, "I don't do shots. Okay!".
Sally McMullen
You're like, "Now's the time to do my first shot".
Rowi Singh
But anyway, I was at the bar, like, and I was like, had, you know, I had a shot. And then, you know, Rihanna makes her appearance and everyone was kind of positioned in, like, little corners of the room for, like, the Fenty Beauty activation. So I think she must have had like a certain, like, way she needed to go. And so they were kind of just like, "You stay here", and it was kind of coordinated. There was no tea, they were just like, do a little cute shot with Rihanna. It was very, like, this was what you should do, get a cute photo. But like, it was more just like, let's have a couple of drinks together. And I'm just an idiot, I was like, "Yeah!". Like downed it, didn't realise that she, obviously, like she's working, and she just like goes.
Sally McMullen
It's so iconic.
Rowi Singh
It's so funny. It's so funny. But at the same time I'm like, "Oh, she didn't have the shot", when I looked at the video afterwards. It's like, of course, she didn't have the shot. Like she's working!
Alex Hourigan
What do you mean? You're working too!
Rowi Singh
Yeah, I know. But she's like, she had like, it's very, like, you know, methodical in what she had to do. She had to, like make, do her thing and then probably she had a couple of drinks afterwards, but it was just funny. Because then I was like, I'm gonna post this because this is so dumb.
Alex Hourigan
It's so good.
Rowi Singh
But it's amazing. I didn't even get a photo with her. I just had that one video.
Alex Hourigan
Did you, like, chat at all? Did she say anything? About me?
Rowi Singh
Yeah, she actually told me personally. Like, we had a really, like, gossipy conversation about you, I'll tell you later.
Sally McMullen
So did you chat to her?
Rowi Singh
Yeah, she was, she's really really nice and has a very, like, warm energy, like, very inviting. And she's so intimidating because she's so hot. So like, in her presence, like, a little bit like, oh my god, but she's just, like, smiling and sweet and she like, complimented my makeup and like.
Alex Hourigan
You can die now. Like, sorry, that's it.
Sally McMullen
Literally, that's it. That's your highlight.
Alex Hourigan
That's the peak.
Rowi Singh
I met her a year before that as well when she came to Australia for the Fenty Beauty anniversary. So I don't know, I was, it was really set up for me that
Sally McMullen
You're like, "We're besties".
Rowi Singh
No, I hope she forgets me. I'm like I really, I want a fresh start. Round three of meeting Rihanna and be a different person.
Alex Hourigan
No way, if, like you can say you've done shots with Rihanna,
Rowi Singh
I guess half. Kind of. 80% there.
Alex Hourigan
So, you're literally like the definition of a creative. What does the creative process look like for you, like the ideation, and what kind of tips do you have for other creators?
Rowi Singh
I use Pinterest a lot, to like spark an idea, but a lot of it is just, like, in my day-to-day. And I was thinking about this earlier, I always see repeated colours in my day-to-day and I use those in my looks. And so if I'm seeing, like, green everywhere, like a very particular type of green, it kind of just, like, registers in my brain and then I'm more perceptive to that type of colour because I've like, noticed it. So it's just about being really, like, perceptive of your environment and taking in, like, colour combinations and just, like, seeing what works together. And then I'll just take, like, colours and, like, meld it with, like, abstract shapes. And, you know, maybe I'll see like a, you know, like an old Bollywood actress with like incredible 70s makeup and I'll use that as, like the, the soundboard and it just kind of develops. So sometimes I'll plan it out and like, I have this specific look and other times I'm just like, alright, let's see what happens. We'll start with one colour, and a second and see what happens.
Alex Hourigan
So you've done a jewellery collection and worked with some incredible brands like Fenty and Mac, what's been, like, the most exciting or the wildest thing that, like, your career has taken you to?
Rowi Singh
I think the one that stands out for me is when I shot with Nike and it was really cool because they're just, like, such an inspiring brand. Like that's just, like, definitely on the list as like an influencer/creator to work with Nike. And it wasn't just like, "Hey", like, "We'll send you some shoes. Can you shoot some content for us?". It was a full shoot with a really incredible, like, team and photographer that I, like, knew. I was like, you know, this is gonna be so sick and they painted me head to toe silver. They turned me into an alien and like, crazy hair. And then, like, the final shot, they like, morphed my head. I was like a weird alien. It was so cool!
Sally McMullen
So you did an interview with the publication, Refinery 29, a little while ago and you were talking a lot about the influencer industry and how it's changed. But you were talking about how there is, you know, a lot of power in being an influencer and being a good influencer in 2022. What does that mean for you?
Rowi Singh
It's such a tough question, because there is no one way to influence and people are doing it so differently. But I feel like as a person of influence, I hate saying the word influencer, there's just this like, weird connotation.
Alex Hourigan
We don't like it either. We say key opinion leader.
Rowi Singh
Yes!
Sally McMullen
Or creatives.
Rowi Singh
Key opinion leaders, brand creatives, like as a creative, like, there is a certain responsibility because you are talking to an audience and you have like, people or, you know, role models who really admire you. So I feel like, whilst you don't, there is no right way to do something, I think that responsibility should be taken into consideration. And you should be very aware of like how, like, you know, what you say has impact, and you think it doesn't, but you know, people are receiving that and consuming that. So I think it's just about like, just understanding your place as an influencer. I think people like to reject it so far, like, "I'm not an influencer, I'm just living my life". But no, you do have some sort of responsibility and just taking accountability for your actions is like, the bare minimum that you can do, I think, as an influencer. Like the bare minimum. I think people get lost in the world of influencing, because I think they're like, "All eyes are on me", and like, "People are watching me live this fabulous life", or whatever. And then, yeah, there's just like no regard for like, what their actions are doing to other people.
Alex Hourigan
I think we're also losing the space for people who aren't going to do better and aren't going to be conscious of that. Because like, influencing, being a creative, okay, well, however, we want to call it, is no longer taking us an aesthetically pleasing photo and posting it to the gram. Like, that's now oversaturated, you can't do that. Like you have to be able to teach people something or take your creativity, like a step further than that and teach people something?
Rowi Singh
I think it's really down to like, are you inspiring? Are you educating? Are you entertaining? It kind of falls into like, those three categories now. You kind of can't just like, post and go. I mean, you can and people still get away with it but there has to be something that's drawing people in and you have to like, it's kind of a give and take relationship Like people are consuming your content and getting something from that. Vice versa.
Alex Hourigan
Yeah, you spotlight a lot of amazing creators on the Artives account, but who are some creators that you are especially inspired by right now? Give them a little shout out.
Rowi Singh
I think her name is Poppy Ella, I think? She does like, really bright, colourful graphic looks. And she is one of those types of people who does the look in like, one swipe?
Alex Hourigan
Wow!
Rowi Singh
You know what I mean? Like she'll draw a circle, and it'll be like, and she like, speeds it up and it's really, really entertaining to watch because it's just like, woah, it's mesmerising. And you know, there are really cool like, creators like Millie Sykes, I don't know if you follow her, but she's just so, her content is so, so unique and funny, and like, camp, and like, she's just so great. There's so many cool creators who have just, like, found their niche and are like, really good at it and like, committing and it's like, you can see that passion shine through. So I really respect that and I think the reason why I started that account was because, I just, so many people are getting overlooked. Like, so many people are being overlooked. And I used to work in the media industry and I used to work at like, with influencers, and they'd be like, "Okay, find an influencer for this campaign", and it would always be the same people because like, brands are lazy and they can't really, like, reach outside their network because it takes too much time. So I was like, why don't I like collate, like a network of like people of colour, like I can do the work because I've seen it. And so it's kind of just like a portfolio of like, really beautiful content, whether it's like, music artists or like, actual, like sculpturists, like all, you know, collated up in one place, I think.
Alex Hourigan
I think that's so key as well, because especially now brands can't afford to not be diverse and inclusive. They're getting called out like, when they're shooting campaigns on boats with all white girls that are blonde and one brunette and a redhead. You're like, you all know who I'm talking about. Do better!
Rowi Singh
Do better! Here's the bare minimum, do better. Like literally that. But you can just tell when brands don't know how to naturally think and be in that diverse space, because they don't actually have someone on their team higher up that is of colour. So no one's actually thinking about it from the get go. It always seems like the strategies built and created for white people, and then they kind of tack on people of colour as like, an afterthought strategy.
Sally McMullen
Yeah, totally. So this is a fun one. I'm excited to hear what you have to say. Is there a beauty trend that you never want to see again? Or do you have like a massive regret when you look back through the archives and you're like, well, I'll never do that again.
Rowi Singh
Do what you want! Like literally, at the end of the day, like do what you want to do what makes you feel good. But like personally, I look back at my brows and I'm like, "Oh my goodness", like when they were really blocky, like, the 2016. It looks really good on some people, like it genuinely does, but it didn't suit my face. I realised I was just kind of like, copy pasting a trend and seeing if it would work. But like makeup, you can kind of dip into trends, but really, it's about like, creating something that is fit for your face. And that's not necessarily like, what's the most trendy thing at the moment.
Alex Hourigan
Yeah, that's such a good tip. Okay, so our last question is, what beauty trend are you most excited for in 2022?
Rowi Singh
I don't think it's a new trend, and it's like my favourite thing, but just like, stick on beauty. Like, it just adds so much dimension to your makeup and it's literally one of the like, Pinterest like, 2022 predicts, like trends. Like bejewelled and like, pearl core and like, sticking things to your face. Like little reusable stick ons just like, add like a 3d dimension to your face. And like, you could have like, no makeup on and just put like, a little diamonte on the inner corner of your eye and you look so put together. Like you look like you put thought into your outfit and into your makeup. So, I like stick on beauty, I think that's a good trend and also like, glossy lips. Always be a fan of glossy lips. They're not new, I don't think. I think they're just like, I think trends like evolve, I don't think they like, come out of nowhere.
Alex Hourigan
Which is why they're fun.
Rowi Singh
Exactly. And it's like, it's fun to try it and yeah, I think it's just fun to like, dabble. Also like, dewy, natural skin and like, poppy eyes. Like, not like full on everything, like pulling back on the skin and yeah, sticking to like a colour block on the eyes.
Sally McMullen
That's so cool. I love that like bejewelled trend because as somebody who isn't a makeup pro, I feel like it's something that I can do without having that technique. And that's basically what you're doing with Embellished by Rowi, right?
Rowi Singh
Exactly. Yeah it's so easy, like, you just stick and go. And then like, a lot of editorial makeup artists, like, they buy you, have to source like a kit of like, rhinestones that are like, good quality and like not like the little plastic ones from Amazon. And then if you're doing a full look you have to sit there and glue, and then pick them up, and like place them and it's quite messy. But if you just want a quick like, inner corner sparkle, like no glitter, no fallout, no mess? Just stick a couple of gems, it's just looks, it looks so good. Everyone can do it.
I love how Euphoria.
I stick them on my partner as well. I'm like, "You look so good!". He's like, "I'm not leaving the house with it".
Sally McMullen
Date night!
Alex Hourigan
He's, like, got a really important meeting and you're like, "Just a little touch".
Rowi Singh
Just a little diamond for your meeting, doll. Matches the tie.
Alex Hourigan
Makes you look like money, darling. Yeah, it looks incredible and I'm so excited for you.
Sally McMullen
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show, Rowi. We just love ya!
Rowi Singh
That was so much fun. Like I said, I'm excited to be out of the house! So, yay!
Alex Hourigan
Love it.
Sally McMullen
Thanks, gal.
Rowi Singh
Thanks.
Sally McMullen
That is a wrap for another fabulous episode of Two Broke Chicks. Thank you so much again to Rowi for coming on the show. We will drop all of the links to all of her socials, TikTok, Instagram, everything in our show notes, make sure you follow her if you don't already. For everything podcast related, make sure to go to finder.com.au/twobrokechicks for a transcript and some other juicy deets. Everything pod related, you'll find it there. And while you're at it, chuck us a follow on Instagram and Tiktok. Show us some love!
Alex Hourigan
Yeah, come on!
Sally McMullen
We'll have some juicy BTS from today's recording and also just like, our hottest shopping tips, and just us. Thank you to our executive producer, Pariya Taherzadeh and Bamby media for editing our audio and video. As always, thank you for having us in your ear holes, we just love to be here. Bye, chicks.
Alex Hourigan
Bye, babies!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
