Luminosa

Our Insider Session Room is closing in 10 days!!!!

We have 1 spot left this Saturday at 10am for 1 final kids pamper party - This room has celebrated so many moments and from the bottom of our hearts we THANK YOU for making this little dream possible!!

We are also taking private makeup lessons in the space with availability up until 30th July

There's something special about being able to be a part of a person's wedding day - and even MORE special when it is a regular client 🥹 Carina has been a Lumi client since 2018, and we were so honoured she chose us to be her bridal glam team!

We have a little soft spot for this one...

The ModelRock Hydrating Lip Butter Balm is one of those products that quietly becomes an everyday essential. Rich in Shea Butter, Squalane and Vitamin E, it nourishes, protects and leaves lips feeling buttery soft with the most beautiful glossy finish.

Pop it on bare lips or over lipstick for that effortless glow. We are completely obsessed.

What is your fav flavour?

Ellie x

It is with a really heavy heart (and a lot of mixed emotions) that after 5 incredible years, we’re announcing the upcoming closure of our Insider Session space.

There hasn’t been one dramatic reason or one big thing that led us here and honestly I think that’s what makes decisions like this harder.

This hasn’t come from failure and it hasn’t come from not loving what we do.
If anything, this space exceeded what I imagined it could be.

But over time I’ve learnt that successful businesses still need to evolve and just because something can keep going doesn’t always mean it should keep going in the same way.

The reality of small business right now is that it feels heavier than it used to.
Costs have gone up in every direction, customers are spending differently, teams need support, margins are tighter and there’s this constant pressure to keep improving, creating, showing up and giving more while trying not to pass that pressure onto your clients.

We’ve adapted, changed, added revenue streams, simplified where we could and continued finding ways to make it work (which I’m actually really proud of).
But eventually I had to get honest with myself and ask not “can we keep doing this?” because the answer is probably yes…

The better question became “is this still the best use of our time, energy and heart?”

And for me, the answer became clear.

More than anything this came down to capacity.
Not capability.
Not because we weren’t good at it.
Not because people didn’t support us.
But because I’ve realised I can’t keep giving 100% to every area of life and business at the same time.

When I opened Insider Sessions in 2021, I had just lost a baby earlier that year in February and also lost my only remaining fallopian tube.

Looking back now… opening another space was probably a little impulsive. Definitely fuelled by hormones, grief and maybe a little (ok a lot) of sadness. My thinking at the time was probably… if I can’t have another real-life baby, then I’ll do what I know how to do and create another business baby.

Insider Sessions had actually existed for years before that. I always dreamed of giving them their own dedicated space, somewhere more private, calmer and away from the beautiful chaos and clutter of salon life.

At the same time, while searching for birthday ideas for a very special little person in my life turning 5, I realised there was a gap in the market. And just like that… kids pamper parties were born too.

Not long after signing the lease, we discovered a Medicare-backed IVF clinic in Toowoomba and went along “just for a consult”… and next minute medication had arrived and we were doing IVF.

TBH I was still really traumatised and honestly expected it not to work. I thought we’d struggle and weirdly I was okay with that because I wasn’t fully ready.
But then after a successful egg collection and our first fresh transfer… Tallulah stuck.

So there I was trying to grow an actual baby while renovating and opening a business at the same time!

And honestly when I write it down now it sounds completely ridiculous. There were moments I questioned myself constantly and moments I thought what on earth am I doing. But there was also so much hope tied up in that season.

I was building something while also growing someone.

And despite all the craziness, some of the most beautiful things in my life came from that chapter.

I had this space I was so proud of and I was so excited to see what it could become.

And wow did it become something.

A rough look at the stats:
100+ kids pamper parties.
50+ makeup lessons.
11 weddings (including one I did in the space at 38 weeks pregnant because apparently I don’t know how to sit still).

And then there were countless workshops, collaborations, self-care sessions, team meetings, team bonding days and moments that never made the camera roll.
This space became so much more than four walls.

It’s held secrets.
It’s held tears.
It’s held celebrations.

It’s been somewhere to connect, learn, feel safe, try something uncomfortable and walk out a little more confident than when you came in.

We celebrated our epic 10th birthday in this room too, one of my favourite nights ever where so many incredible local businesses came together and helped create something really special.

Although if I’m being honest, I remember that season differently now. After T was born I got really sick. I developed Graves disease an autoimmune condition which attacks the thyroid, and it also affected my left eye.

My body changed in ways I didn’t recognise, and for a long time I struggled with how I saw myself.

You might have noticed I stepped back from stories and posting during that time, and there are very few photos of me and Tallulah from that season.

But what it also did was deepen something that has always sat at the core of Luminosa.

That beauty isn’t about looking a certain way. It’s about feeling safe, seen and accepted exactly as you are in whatever season you’re in.

That experience reinforced why I started this in the first place… to create a space where people don’t have to show up perfectly to feel beautiful.

Trying to celebrate 10 years in business while navigating a newborn and being really unwell was… wild.

But even now I look back at those photos and think wow… 10 years in business is no small thing.

I was, and still am, immensely proud.

The last few years honestly feel like a blur.

Sickness.
Another baby.
Relationship breakdown.
Solo parenting.
Running multiple parts of a growing business.
Weddings.
Travel.
Trying to be everything to everyone.

And I’m not going to sugarcoat it… it’s been really hard. Which brings me to the biggest reason for this decision.

My babes.

This thought has been floating around in my head for a while now.

Like I tend to do, I ignored the gentle nudges and kept pushing through because that’s what business owners do… right?

Until eventually life gives you a pivot you can’t ignore.

As Tallulah starts her first year of school next year, I want to be the mum who shows up.

I want to do the drop offs.
I want to go to the things.
I want to not always be dividing myself in ten directions.
And I’m really looking forward to more one-on-one time with Romeo too.

I know big change is coming.

This is the first step in creating a life that feels a little softer, a little more manageable and allows me to show up where I’m most needed.

You’ll see some changes over the coming months.

Some exciting.
Some emotional.
Some really challenging decisions that haven’t been easy to make.

One thing I do know though… this isn’t necessarily goodbye forever.

What I’ve realised through all of this is that I still absolutely love what Insider Sessions has created. I love the connection, the creativity, the confidence building, the workshops, the celebrations and seeing people walk out feeling better than when they came in. What I’m questioning isn’t the heart behind it… it’s the scale.

I’m learning that growth doesn’t always mean bigger spaces, more offerings and doing more.

Sometimes growth actually looks like simplifying, bringing things back home and creating something sustainable that still lights you up.

So while the dedicated Insider Session space will be closing, this may not be the end of Insider Sessions altogether.

Maybe this looks like smaller workshops within our existing space.

Maybe more intimate events.
Maybe less often but with more intention.
Maybe something completely different.

Right now I’m giving myself permission not to have all the answers.

But before we close this chapter, I would absolutely love to fill this space with the things it was created for.

Supporting small business right now has honestly never mattered more. Every booking, every workshop ticket, every party enquiry and every person who chooses local over convenience makes more difference than you probably realise.

So if you’ve ever wanted to book a Kids Pamper Party, do an Insider Session, learn something new or experience this space before it closes… this is your sign.
Bookings for Kids Pamper Parties and Insider Sessions in the space will remain open until the end of July and I would genuinely love to see it buzzing with life right until the very end.

And to close it all out, our final workshop in the space will be our Makeup + Colours Workshop which honestly feels kind of perfect.

Ending where it all began.

Helping people feel confident, inspired and connected.

Thank you for every booking, every lesson, every party, every workshop, every collaboration and every memory made in these walls.

This space has meant more than you’ll ever know.

And while I have absolutely no idea what this next season looks like… for the first time in a long time, I’m excited to find out.

This isn’t goodbye to the dream.

We’re just making space for the next version of it!

Ellie # # #