THE GREEN EDIT

Cathy Tolpigin is the founder and curator of The Green Edit, an innovative B2B and B2C event series and platform dedicated to explaining and promoting the best in clean beauty and lifestyle products. The organic makeup artist shares why she is passionate about working with better-for-you beauty, lifestyle and wellness brands.

-By Michelle Ruzzene

My career spans over 25 years, having worked in various creative fields all of which have led me on the journey to create the Green Edit. I studied fashion at The University of Technology (UTS), Sydney and graduated in 2000 before working as a fashion stylist in television for many years. I later studied Advertising Media whilst working in creative services for a fast-paced boutique branding agency.

I love the power of makeup and the ritual of skincare to nourish and enhance, so I studied Makeup Artistry in 2014 when my children were young, as I was looking for a career change with flexible working hours. Since then I have worked as a freelance makeup artist on fashion, advertising and beauty shoots for many beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands. To complement my work as a makeup artist I also worked with green beauty brand founders to create bespoke imagery and content for their beauty campaigns, managing all aspects of shoot production and of course, creating a glowing makeup look for models on the day of the shoot. This is where all of my experience working in the industry came together. My passion is bringing brands to life and working with brand founders who share the same values when it comes to natural, ethical, sustainable and cruelty-free beauty.

The Green Edit exists to support the evolution of the beauty industry towards one that is better for us and our planet. We champion high performing, ethical beauty and wellness brands and connect them with top tier media, influencers, spas, clinics, international and Australian retailers and conscious consumers to provide promotional and distribution opportunities.

In 2018 I produced and created the glowing makeup looks for The Edible Beauty Face Forward Campaign, which was all about celebrating women of all ages, skin types and ethnicities. Founder Anna Mitsios planted a seed by sharing that that there really wasn’t platform dedicated to showcasing, connecting and promoting clean beauty brands in Australia. This prompted me to reach out to many other clean beauty brand founders such as Cindy Luken founder of Luk Beautifood, Trudi Jaye, co-founder of Retreatment Botanics and the Inika Organic Team to really determine what type of a platform would be of service and after many conversations and research I created The Green Edit to meet that need.

Event 1, 8am - 12:30pm: The Beauty Breakfast Summit EventTicketed event. All beauty brands welcome. Beauty and wellness brand founders, their PR and marketing teams are invited to purchase a ticket to attend a beautiful breakfast together with other founders for a morning of connection, inspiration and insight. Guests will gain knowledge from three curated industry panels featuring 14 key media, retailer and industry experts on the trends and insights influencing beauty brands and the beauty industry in 2023.

Event 2, 2pm - 5pm: The Green Edit Beauty Brand Showcase Event - Exclusively for clean beauty and wellness brands. A highly edited, curated, limited by-invitation-only event featuring 20 beauty and wellness brands who will showcase their products and connect with a curated guest list of key media, decision making beauty retailers, spas and clinics, looking for the best in green beauty.

The Best Of The Green Edit Award is back for it’s third year and our 2023 winners will be announced at our Showcase Event. Guests will experience the latest beauty innovations, hero products and immerse in 1:1 beauty consultations with industry experts and founders all while being treated to organic wine, beauty elixirs and delicious canapés.

As a makeup artist, I have loved supporting Look Good Feel Better over the years by creating the makeup looks for various LGFB promotional campaign shoots and by running skincare and makeup workshops for women undergoing cancer treatment. I have seen women enter the workshops with sadness and apprehension, but quickly transforms into a sense of relief and comfort just by being in the same space with others who understand what they are going through. I will again support LGFB with our beauty breakfast summit event on the 16th of March 2023 by donating proceeds from beauty summit tickets sales. The LGFB team will join us at the event with an activation so they can connect with those working in the beauty industry. I have also created a gifting collaboration where summit guests (beauty brands) have the unique opportunity to gift their products to the beauty media and retailer summit speakers whilst supporting the work of LGFB.

I believe that clean beauty in its truest sense will become the norm. Consumers are driving this change by demanding transparency in formulation and packaging that is more sustainable. Larger multinational beauty brands are now paying attention and moving in this direction.

That not all beauty products that are marketed as clean, green or sustainable stand up to those marketing claims. As the beauty industry is mostly unregulated, we have seen and continue to see green washing. Consumers are aware of this now more than ever and brands are held to account and pressured to re-evaluate their formulations and production processes.

Consumers are looking to support brands who are honest and transparent about how they operate, what their corporate and social responsibility looks like including a clear breakdown of the ingredients included in their products. To help consumers navigate this confusing space our Loved By The Green Edit Stamp, which entails a certain set of criteria I mapped with trusted health experts and product formulators.

This is designed to communicate our definition of clean and to help our community make an informed decision about the products they buy. We don’t subscribe to green washing or fear mongering. We just want to give our community the tools they need to make an informed decision.

The one product I use several times a day on repeat is the Ipsum Lip Oil Balm. Founder Janet Hayward has created the most luxurious and unique texture, a lip balm/oil hybrid which is so nourishing and hydrating. This product won Best Lip Product and People’s Choice award for The Best of The Green Edit Awards in 2022. I have one in my car, in my hand bag, bedside table and on my desk, it truly is a stand out product.

* The Beauty Breakfast Summit

* The Brand Showcase Event

* The Best Of The Green Edit Awards

* The Green Edit Podcast

* The Green Edit Digital Site

www.thegreenedit.com.au