Beyou’s founders Charlotte Green (CG) and Nawal Alkhedairy (NA) answer questions about how they are expanding their community of makeup artists and where Beyou is going next?

What do you look for in a make-up artist?

CG:We recruit all our makeup artists either through professional recommendations or by scouting directly from retail venues.  We have a strict vetting process for all new MUAs and insist on seeing their portfolios.

How can make-up artists get in touch with you to join and what can make them stand out for you on Instagram?

NA:We love to hear from makeup artists from across the country. We’re constantly on the look-out for great talent.  It always helps if MUAs on Instagram show their full range of skills, update regularly, and have personal testimonials from existing clients.

What has been your happiest moment since starting Beyou?

CG: Seeing the actual concept come to life from start to finish; it’s such a great feeling still seeing the Beyou app live in App Store.

NA: Also getting client feedback. We are part of so many people’s lives now, whether it’s for their Big Day, prom, graduation or getting them ready for a date, the feedback that we get is one of our biggest motivators. Charlotte and I are so heavily involved in client facing and communication as we don’t want to lose the human touch and high quality of service even though it’s a digital service that we essentially provide.

What’s next for you both and the app?

CG:We’re capitalising on our nationwide success across Britain by launching in Ibiza on 10 May. We’re very excited! The White Island has long been synonymous with some of the world’s most glamorous parties, exclusive editorial shoots and high-end, high-octane, celebrity-filled events. It, therefore, seems the natural next step for us to offer our portable, on-demand, glam-on-the-go services there.

NA:Famously free-spirited Ibiza attracts all kinds of different people from all over the world, of different ages, tastes, looks, skin types and hair – and, of course, with different budgets.

We’re confident that amongst our carefully selected, world-class glam squad located in Ibiza there will be the perfect makeup artist for every client, every occasion and every budget.

CG: And we also have ambitious strategic growth plans to push into other key destinations throughout Europe later this year. This is just the start!

What inspired Beyou’s founders Charlotte Green (CG) and Nawal Alkhedairy (NA) to build Beyou:

What beauty apps had you used before you started building your own and why?

CG:We were living and working for several years in Dubai – a forward-thinking, fast-paced, tech-embracing, social media-loving, anything and everything on-demand kind of city where there are plenty of beauty apps. We tried several of them out.

So it came as a bit of a shock when we moved back to the UK – we missed our slick beauty apps for having a bespoke look for when we were heading to meetings, a night out with the girls, or had a hot date!

NA: :Back then in 2017, beauty apps were still in their relative infancy here in the UK.  We felt there was a huge gap in the market for what we had experienced overseas and that’s why we left our roles [Charlotte in law and Nawal in events for a luxury brand] and launched Beyou in London in Jan 2018.  We wanted a product like ours but it didn’t exist here, so we created it!

What are your favourite treatments to have to unwind and relax?

NA: Of course, we both love having our makeup done; we find it so therapeutic and relaxing.  Besides that, I love facials and Charlotte is currently, being pregnant, loving pregnancy massages!

Beauty products that you have to travel with?

NA: We’re both obsessed with Exuviance skincare products. For us, skincare and prepping the skin before any makeup is applied is super important. Cleanse, tone and moisturise – a good skincare routine is a must!

CG: As we both travel a lot, myself having moved countries several times and Nawal travelling internationally for work, Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream is amazing to keep our skin hydrated, aid in the production of collagen, whilst also having an SPF 15 – all essential things when traveling!

NA: There’s also another thing that I love… it looks crazy, but it works like magic. When I’m on a long haul flight, I always use a Joanna Vargas face mask! One of those that you peel off and put on.

What hurdles did you have to get through at the beginning?

NA: Sacrificing time was a big one – we put our hearts, bodies and souls in bringing to life the concept which meant extremely long hours in the conceptualization and launch process. Of course, with Charlotte having a family and new born, and with me working, this was definitely a hurdle.

CG: Also the branding. We’re both perfectionists and know what we like and dislike. For us this was probably the most crucial part of Beyou as we wanted to ensure that it reflected Beyou in the way that we envisioned it.  Also the app testing – this was such a learning curve for us, understanding the process of how apps work and the technology behind them wasn’t something that we have done before or had experience in.

Ask any professional woman what she never has enough of, the most likely response will be “time.”

Juggling demanding careers, endless meetings, hectic schedules, with a family and social life contributes to that all too common feeling of ‘not enough hours in the day’ for today’s professional women.

However, despite being time-poor, they also want to look their best.  They understand looking good adds to greater self-esteem – and when you feel good, you can be the best version of yourself at home and at work.

But there is also something else to consider. A study has found that women are paid significantly more money if they are well-groomed in the workplace.  Yes, even in 2019 this is the reality in which we live!

Sociologists Jaclyn Wong and Andrew Penner collected data from more than 14,000 employees and found that there is a link between income and effort-based attractiveness.  Naturally, only for women, not men.

Combining personal feel-good factors with the reported economic advantages, perhaps it comes as little surprise then that the number of time-poor professional women in the corporate world using an on-demand makeup and hair service has jumped 100 per cent over the past 12 months.

These are the findings from Beyou, an app that allows you to book make-up artists and hair stylists whenever you want, and wherever you are.

Thanks to the burgeoning on-demand trend, beauty services have advanced into an instant, practical and convenient service at your fingertips.

Indeed, the internet and smartphones have completely changed people’s expectations in regard to these services.

In the same way mobile banking has taken over from traditional branches, due to ease, convenience and the ability to access your banking services anywhere, anytime, having an on-demand hair and beauty service is allowing clients to look and feel great, where they want and when they want, without having to worry about time restraints.

On-demand beauty apps connect make-up artists and hairstylists with people needing their services at a time that suits their frenetic schedules.

Booking a make-up artist and/or hair stylist to come to the workplace proves to be a real time-saver.

As such, the on-demand beauty industry is going from strength to strength, according to a study undertaken by Groupon, on-demand apps currently contribute over $40 bn to the beauty industry.

Therefore, in the same way as Uber and Airbnb are perfect examples of what can happen when you make a product or service instantly accessible to all, the glam-on-the-go trend is taking over the beauty industry.