Mala McAlpin There are only three weeks left until BEAUTY & SPA Insiders! Co-hosted by SPA+CLINIC, this B2B industry event will be a unique summit for spa, salon and clinic practitioners and business owners alike, with inspiring topics and a fresh, interactive platform unlike any other. Registrations are still open and tickets start at just $395.
The programme is available online, where you will find a stellar line-up of industry speakers, and we wanted to give you the chance to get to know them a little better before seeing them grace our summit stage.
Dani Lombard, from Dani Lombard Public Relations, will be our lovely MC for the day, facilitating lively questions and conversations between our incredible lineup of speakers.
Dani Lombard knows the beauty business. From the sublime to the ridiculous, her 18-year Public Relations career has seen her represent a client list that has spanned everything from makeup, skincare, haircare, fake tan, oral care, inner beauty products and beauty devices. Her wealth of beauty knowledge over-floweth – and so too do the shelves in her bathroom cabinet.
She’s toured the country with Julia Robert’s long-time makeup artist and worked red carpet premieres in the snow, but, whether working with innovative start-ups or global juggernauts, Dani only works with brands she truly believes in.
Her passion for understanding the beauty consumer and finding the best ways to communicate with them is matched only by her dedication to finding the perfect shade of bright pink lipstick and trying really hard not to fall asleep during facials.
Tell us why you’re looking forward to MC’ing BEAUTY & SPA Insiders
I’m a bit of a beauty geek, so I’m super excited to absorb a wealth of information from the best in the beauty biz. The line up is sensational and I’m thrilled to be hosting all of the panel discussions and getting up close and personal to ask the questions that we’re all dying to know the answers to.
Tell us your daily routine in a nutshell
Get woken up by my 6 year old daughter around 6:30am. Get her ready for school, get myself ready for work, inevitably leave the house too late and get her to school with one second to spare. Do my makeup in the car. (Is this illegal? Pls don’t arrest me, I do it all the time sitting in traffic). Get to the office around 9:30am. Cater to our array of clients, manage my team of 5, attend meetings, kick goals and influence people. Leave at 5pm. Hit the gym. Home by 6:15pm for dinner with my husband and kiddo. Put daughter to bed. Collapse into bed for Netflix and chill.
How did you discover your career passion?
It was somewhat of an accident. I had studied media and communications at uni and planned to move into TV production or maybe journalism. While traveling overseas after uni, I ended up chasing a boy to the USA where, in order to get a work visa, I had to find an internship related to my degree. The only one I could find that paid anything ($10 an hour) was at a PR agency. That was 18 years ago! I’ve been working in PR ever since and I think it’s hilarious that the career is so perfectly suited to my skills and personality yet I found it so accidentally.
3 favourite beauty products?
There are so many but if I MUST narrow to three:
1) Avene Rich Compensating Cream – I slather this on my face on the daily. It’s created for sensitive skin and is extremely gentle and hydrating.
2) Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Loose Mineral Powder Foundation – Life changing!
3) My Benefit brow pencil – sadly I am a victim of the 1990s over plucking eyebrow phenomenon so this is a daily staple.
Who has been your biggest supporter throughout your journey?
My husband met me when I was 24 and only 3 years into my career. He told me then “You should go out on your own,” to which I laughed hysterically. I knew nothing! A few years later I took the plunge and have been running my PR company for 12 years now. I couldn’t imagine working for anyone else now! He’s always pushed me to do things that I don’t really feel ready to do, and only after I’ve done them, do I realise he was right!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I literally do not see myself in 5 years! I’ve never been much of a planner! I guess I’ll still be doing what I’m doing – no plans to shake things up!
Tell us a key learning you would pass on to other budding entrepreneurs?
Find experts to do the things that you’re not good at. Consider what your own time is worth. It’s often less expensive to outsource than to do it yourself, in the long run. E.g. if my accountant can do my BAS return in one hour, but it would take me three. To me, I’m saving money by paying him because I can spend that time doing what I’m good at!
What is your top tip for separating business and pleasure?
Don’t work from home. I try to keep work to the office only unless I absolutely can’t avoid it. That way when I walk in the front door, I’m OFF work and focused on my family and my down time. Once you start working at home, after dinner, or on weekends, it’s a slippery slope. Obviously it can’t always be avoided but I try to keep that line pretty clear.
What do you do to get motivated?
I find exercise keeps me motivated in lots of areas of my life. I do a lot of running and training for endurance events. Having the focus to maintain your training plan and reach a goal really keeps you on track in other areas of your life as well.
If you were a shoe, what kind would you be?
An impractical, colourful stiletto.
Name a song that has had an effect on your life.
OH GOD this is so hard!!!!! I love music and there are so many songs that are meaningful to me. I’m going to pick “She makes my Day” by Robert Palmer. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I used to listen to it in the car and hormonally weep tears of joy imagining meeting her. A few days after she was born, my husband put together a photo montage of her first days to that song and I literally almost cried my eyes out. It was SO beautiful. I should probably remember that feeling when she’s NOT listening to me and driving me crazy – which is always!
