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Beauty / Small business

Side hustle to thriving pro-age warrior 

Amanda Ramsay Makeup logo

YEAR

2020

CLIENT

Amanda Ramsay Makeup

INDUSTRY

Beauty

SERVICES

E-commerce, marketing strategy, email, video, content creation, website content, copywriting, small business support

Amanda Ramsay smiling and holding makeup brushes, representing professional beauty expertise, mature skin confidence, and authentic beauty brand storytelling.

The challenge

Our challenge? Grow a small side hustle into a proper grown-up business that pays the bills. On a shoestring budget.  

Amanda Ramsay Makeup isn’t just another makeup store. It’s a brand with a purpose – to make women over 40 feel seen, in a youth obsessed industry. No anti-ageing here. Amanda is all about ageing well and feeling beautiful at every age.  

The interesting twist here is that the e-commerce store was set up to support her courses rather than just sell makeup and skincare products.   

Amanda Ramsay Makeup began as a side hustle to support Amanda’s educational courses, not just a standalone e-commerce enterprise. Positioned in a fiercely youth-obsessed beauty market, Amanda faced a daunting task: to make women over 40 feel genuinely seen and celebrated—without the “anti-ageing” narrative. With limited time, a modest budget, and a sea of competitors, Amanda needed a way to turn her online store into a thriving, sustainable business that freed her to focus on what she truly loved: teaching and inspiring. 

Illustration of a marketing email with a megaphone icon and mascara, symbolising beauty brand promotion, email marketing, and influencer-driven cosmetic campaigns.

Discovery 

We dug deep into Amanda’s existing data. We identified her core customers, uncovered a dormant mailing list ripe for re-engagement, and realised that authenticity and storytelling would be at the heart of her brand’s revival. Women wanted a beauty brand that acknowledged their journey, one that championed ageing well, not erasing it. 

Design

Armed with fresh clarity, we crystallised the brand identity and voice. We mapped out an e-commerce plan on a shoestring. As a small business, you always need to be able to make a quick change yourself, so we created easy-to-use email, social, and design templates. This empowered Amanda to manage marketing tasks while keeping her focus on education. 

Amanda Ramsay smiling at a desk with beauty products and a laptop, representing professional skincare guidance, digital beauty education, and authentic brand engagement.
Amanda Ramsay demonstrating lip products from Runway Room, showcasing authentic beauty tutorials, influencer-led product marketing, and confidence for mature women.

Delivery

Through strategic, cost-effective marketing, we executed targeted promotions – Black Friday campaigns, giveaways, gifts with purchase, and collaborations with like-minded brands. By consistently engaging her audience with valuable content, thoughtful email marketing, and a revitalised Instagram presence, we nurtured community growth and trust. 

Results

Over three years, customers surged from 525 to 7,600, with a 56% returning customer rate. The mailing list expanded from 3,000 to more than 14,000 subscribers, enjoying a 40% open rate. Instagram followers rose from 6,000 to 25,000. On a limited budget, Amanda Ramsay Makeup evolved into a vibrant, purpose-driven brand that truly resonated. 

All on a shoestring budget.