“Beauty Doesn’t Have a Language – It’s a Feeling”: We Chat to Mitchell Halliday
Main image – Breakout Beauty UK
When Mitchell Halliday talks about inclusion, he’s refreshingly direct. The Made by Mitchell founder and makeup artist-turned-entrepreneur has built one of the most influential brands of the decade – not through polish or pretence, but through a directness that obviously translates to his community over 2 million followers.
“If you’re still launching bronzers in three shades in 2025, that’s unacceptable,” he tells us matter-of-factly as an opener when we caught up with him this week at a launch event for Breakout Beauty UK.
It’s a statement that is not only self-evidently true, but one that captures how much beauty has (thankfully) moved on in recent years – in part thanks to brands like his changing the rules of the game.
Here, we sit down with Halliday to talk community, knock backs, and his plans for global expansion.
Community over competition
Halliday’s journey from a Bolton council estate and self-taught makeup artistry to global brand founder is well-documented – but hearing it from him, it still sounds extraordinary. “For the first two years, I felt like we weren’t really taken notice of,” he admits of the early days of Made by Mitchell. “And that’s hard. A lot of young founders will feel that too – because it’s such a saturated industry. Sometimes you just feel very alone.”
In fact, Halliday previously told Business of Fashion that his brand was selling only around 20 orders a month before the company-altering moment two years ago which saw Made by Mitchell become an early TikTok Shop adopter and the first brand to make $1 million in sales in just 12 hours, catapulting Halliday and his brand to global fame.
Image – Made by Mitchell
Anyone who might be tempted to think that this was a single stroke of luck though, may want to reconsider. Twenty-six-year-old Halliday has a long history of trial and error (he also had early stints as a teen on reality TV shows The X Factor UK and American Beauty US), which make his eventual success anything but coincidental.
And he acknowledges that his personal drive has a lot to do with where his company is now. “I’m a young gay founder who’s made huge moves in the industry – in ways that I feel haven’t really been done before. Even when the odds have been against me, I’ve managed to push through and keep going. I just try to let people see what I’ve done, and that I’ve kept going.”
Now, as Made by Mitchell prepares to launch across 700 US stores though, his focus isn’t on celebration or pulling the ladder up behind him, but connection. “My only competition is myself,” he says simply. “In beauty, everyone’s obsessed with rivalry. I’m obsessed with community.”
Halliday with Live That Glow Contributing Beauty Editor Shannan Sterne at the Breakout Beauty UK launch. Image – Shannan Sterne
That philosophy is what’s brought him to the Breakout Beauty UK programme, where he serves as an ambassador alongside industry icon Trinny Woodall.
Designed to accelerate diverse and emerging UK beauty founders (from Live That Glow 2025 beauty awards finalists Stria Labs to Contour Cube’s viral skincare tool and the mega sold-out Project Plump), the initiative champions precisely the kind of openness Halliday wishes had existed when he began.
“Sometimes we think that in beauty there has to be competition,” he reflects. “But to me, the most important move any successful founder can make is helping the next generation. We’re not here forever – so I want to make sure I keep doors open for whoever’s coming next.”
It’s a sentiment that feels increasingly rare in a landscape where success can breed secrecy. But Halliday, who’s as candid about mistakes as he is about wins, makes a compelling case for transparency.
“We’ve made many mistakes,” he laughs. “But we’ve always managed to pull it back. That’s what matters – not worrying about problems, just knowing how to fix them.”
Still an artist at heart
Despite the global reach and the millions in sales, his creative process still feels deeply personal. “I don’t make products based on business decisions,” he says. “I make them based on how they make me feel as an artist.”
That distinction- between commerce and craft- runs through everything he does, he says. “I’m still learning how to be an entrepreneur,” he admits. “Part of me will always just be an artist at heart… but I think that’s what’s allowed me to build a brand that feels truly inclusive through and through.”
Halliday as a guest judge on Glow Up UK. Image – @mmmmitchell/Instagram
It’s easy to forget then, given his success now, that Halliday started his career in a small Manchester salon, working with limited resources and teaching himself techniques via YouTube. His early experiences of making the most out of the few products he had became the foundation for Made by Mitchell’s multipurpose, accessible product line.
It’s this fight through the beauty ranks that makes him understand the struggles of other emerging brands he tell us. As Halliday puts it, the early years can feel like working and waiting for someone to finally notice.
The global mission
When Halliday talks about inclusivity, it’s not performative – it’s practical. His plans for expansion aren’t about market share, but representation, he says. “I want every part of the planet to be able to see themselves in a beauty campaign,” he says. “Because beauty doesn’t have a language – it’s a feeling,” he adds.
@madebymitchell it’s not hard… ITS A CHOICE. ? #madebymitchell #inclusivity #makeup #bronzer #viral
Next on his list is a launch into Africa, something he describes not as a business milestone but as a direct response to his community. “It’s what’s next for us,” he says.
“So many of our customers are Black women, and they’ve helped shape the brand. They’ve taught me about undertones, about formulas. It’s not just about making product for everyone – it’s about listening to everyone.”
The new kind of founder
Beyond his own success, Halliday is part of a broader cultural shift: a new era of beauty founders who are as open about learning as they are about leading. “When I first started, you never really saw the back end of a business,” he says. “There were faces to brands, but you didn’t get to see what actually went on.”
Image – Made by Mitchell
That’s changing fast – and Halliday is part of the reason why. “Now there’s a real community of founders. We’re not gatekeeping anymore,” he says. “You might need me one day, and I probably need you today. So let’s help each other out. The market’s big enough for all of us.”
Advice for the next wave
Asked what advice he gives as Ambassador to Breakout Beauty UK, he doesn’t hesitate. “Hone in on what you’re bringing that’s different,” he says. “Find your niche and become obsessed with it – then other people will follow.”
And it’s exactly what he’s done. From his days as a salon assistant with a dream to his record-breaking TikTok Shop success, Halliday’s story isn’t one of overnight fame, but of sustained belief in something bigger. “If I can do it,” he says, smiling, “you can do it too.”
The takeaway
As Breakout Beauty UK looks to nurture the next generation of founders, Halliday’s presence as an ambassador feels apt – not just for his achievements, but for his obvious openness. His vision for beauty goes beyond product: it’s about access, dialogue, and leaving the industry fairer than he found it.
What’s striking is how well his philosophy aligns with the programme – that progress doesn’t happen through exclusivity, but through shared knowledge. “Community comes before customer,” he says. “Because the customer will always come to community.”
For Halliday, the lesson isn’t about scaling faster or selling more. It’s about what happens after success – who you hold the door open for, and what kind of space you help create.
As told to Live That Glow Contributing Beauty Editor Shannan Sterne.
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