Over the past 10 years, Gritty Pretty has published 40 issues of its digital magazine, attracted over 35 million page views, amassed 400,000+ podcast downloads and hosted thousands of people at beauty workshops and community events across Australia.

Today, Gritty Pretty enters its next chapter – and will cease publishing this Friday 10 May.

When I first started Gritty Pretty Magazine back in 2014 from the tiny sunroom of my shared Sydney apartment, I could never have imagined I would be given the opportunity to share in such an incredible adventure. 

Over the past decade, we have challenged the status quo when it comes to digital publishing, inspiring, educating and connecting with our readers on all things beauty and wellbeing, and we’ve proudly provided a platform to spotlight entrepreneurs and new and emerging brands. 

In our pursuit of remaining independent, we’ve gone head-to-head with mega corporations, always holding our ground with purpose, ingenuity, and an unwavering commitment to our cherished reader community. I take immense pride in what we’ve accomplished—a testament to our dedication and creativity.

However, just like every company, we have faced challenges. In business, we must always continue to evolve and this new chapter will see our growing creative content agency, Gritty Productions, come to the fore. Here, we will continue to work closely with leading beauty, fashion, lifestyle and consumer brands to create captivating digital campaigns and brand stories, which speak to audiences – and I’m excited to have more of a hands-on role when it comes to ideation and creative direction.

As the first-ever digital publication dedicated to beauty in Australia, trying to create something that no one else has done before is a wonderful mix of belief and optimism. Because of this, Gritty Pretty’s visionary editor Danielle Gay, the Gritty Pretty team and I have had the opportunity to build incredible things. 

This unique positioning has attracted some of the world’s most powerful and inspiring women to grace our covers including Khloe Kardashian, Drew Barrymore, Miranda Kerr, Hailey Bieber, Lily Collins, Phoebe Tonkin, Lara Worthington, Turia Pitt, Teresa Palmer and many more.

In 2020, Gritty Pretty sought consult from elders to help us develop an Inclusivity Pledge; ensuring 50 per cent of talent featured across all of our channels were persons of colour. In 2022, we developed Gritty Pretty’s Conscious Code, which was spearheaded by a leading sustainability expert. This framework was designed to help inform our community on how to make smart purchasing and recycling decisions. I will watch with great support and hope as other media brands can pick up where we’re leaving off for the moment. 

Behind every issue, article, and podcast episode lies a vast collective of photographers, motion directors, stylists, hair and makeup artists, editors, producers, writers, designers and assistants who have worked tirelessly to bring them to fruition. Our team—past and present—has comprised some of the most brilliant, creatively gifted, and professionally outstanding individuals imaginable. Every single one of them is destined for greatness and I am profoundly grateful to each of them for their dedication.

Over the past decade, I have personally grown alongside Gritty Pretty and learned so much about myself – both as a woman and a business owner. Looking ahead, I’m incredibly excited about what the future holds: new business ventures (more on this soon), brand consulting opportunities and above all, spending time with my young family and diving into my favourite role of all: mother.

To our community–thank you for being part of such a wonderful ride over the past decade. 

Eleanor X

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
info@grittypretty.com.au