Mamamia understands that Australians have diverse views when it comes to events like the Melbourne Cup. You can read more about the facts around horse racing in 2019 here, a defence of the industry here, and the perspective of some animal rights activists here.

Today, there’s no doubt your Instagram feed is full of women dressed up in bright dresses and hectic headwear for the 2019 Melbourne Cup.

Wearing really, really high heels and holding clutches with perfectly manicured nails, Aussie celebs and influencers look pretty immaculate in their race day getups, all flawless skin, fluttery lashes and lipstick somehow not halfway down their chin.

Side note – check out some races beauty inspiration in our Style Street: Races Edition video below. Post continues after video.

But don’t think for a second they all just rocked up looking like that.No.

Preparing to attend the Melbourne Cup is a pretty big operation. Think: spray tans, manicures, celebrity stylists, facials, hair and makeup artists. It’s a lot.

To find out exactly what goes into those glam Melbourne Cup photos all over Instagram, we asked five Aussie celebrities, businesswomen and influencers – Rozalia Russian, Michelle Battersby, Steph Claire Smith, Olympia Valance and Tegan Martin – to give us a behind-the-scenes look into how they got ready for the 2019 Melbourne Cup.

1. Rozalia Russian, influencer and brand ambassador ( @rozalia_russian).

How brilliant is Rozalia's 60s race day outfit? Image: Supplied/Ashleigh Larden.

Rozalia on choosing her Melbourne Cup outfit:

Rozalia's Melbourne Cup outfit was a neutral, monogrammed 60s-style shift dress designed by Louis Vuitton.

She toldMamamia, "For this years Melbourne Cup, I was very fortunate to receive a phone call from Louis Vuitton who were keen to dress me.

"I still remember taking that call from my stylist Elliot Garnaut and squealing. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would contacted by the Louis Vuitton head office. About two weeks later, Louis Vuitton sent over some samples form their head office from Paris and Elliot and I had a little dress up session.

"All the pieces they sent over were amazing and we ended up choosing a beautiful shift dress with their signature monogram all over it. We paired it with a Louis Vuitton micro trunk hand bag and a simple brown Alice headband."

Rozalia's beauty prep leading up to Melbourne Cup day:

Spring racing carnival prep for Rozalia looked like manicures and spray tans, as well as a pretty hectic-sounding facial.

"There is always a lot of prep that goes into the races, which includes everything from workouts to skin treatments and nails," she said.

"In the lead up to the races, I will try and get to the gym three times a week for at least the month prior. A couple of days before the races, I will get a spray tan, fresh nails and also a facial. For my facial, I go to the Doc Studio where I have a hydra facial and it is amazing! It's this tiny little vacuum that sucks out all the congestion and my skin is super softy and glowing afterwards."

Rozalia's Melbourne Cup makeup look:

Rozalia's Melbourne Cup beauty look was simple and sophisticated. Image: Supplied/Rozalia Russian.

Rozalia's hair and makeup look was simple and sophisticated with a touch of old school glamour.

She said, "For my hair we went for an old school blow wave with a modern twist by using a large ghd barrel to bend my ends. My hairdresser Hermiz used a range of different products from Eleven including their Eleven shine serum which added a beautiful sheen to the ends."

"In terms of make up, Chantelle Baker used my favourite foundation by Giorgio Armani which really gives my skin a beautiful glow. It provides great coverage but is day appropriate so my skin is nice and fresh. We kept my eyes pretty simple and emphasised them with a smudged wing gel liner and then blended it in with eye shadow. For my lips, Chantelle used her signature lip liner, Oak by MAC, and Honey Love lipstick by MAC. It's my go-to lip combo!"

Here are some of the products Chantelle used for Rozalia's race day look:

2. Michelle Battersby, Director APAC Marketing at Bumble Australia ( @michellebattersby).

Michelle on choosing her Melbourne Cup outfit:

Michelle's Melbourne Cup outfit was a custom-designed one shoulder floral pink dress by Eliya The Label, styled by celebrity stylist Lana Wilkinson. With an 80s power shoulder and a fuchsia Stephanie Spencer headband, the look was feminine but edgy (I mean, the shoes have studs on them!).

"I have worked closely with Lana for the whole Melbourne Cup Carnival to create looks that make me feel confident and empowered," Michelle toldMamamia.

"I’ve always loved fashion and for this year I wanted to put an edgy take on the dress regulations of the track. Lana makes dressing for the races easy as she’s so aware of what’s out there - it is really a partnership to ensure the best looks are achieved.

"This year, I have been lucky enough to have a custom look made by Eliya The Label. I wanted to tie the colouring in to the Bumble marquee so my dress is pink, with shoes by Lana Wilkinson."

Michelle's Melbourne Cup Day look. Image: Supplied/Bumble.

This is a vibe. Image: Supplied/Bumble.

Michelle's beauty prep leading up to Melbourne Cup day:

For Michelle, prepping for the Melbourne Cup started months ago as she's not only going to the race for fun, but also as the head of marketing for Bumble Australia, who have a marquee in The Birdcage.

"Being responsible for Bumble’s build and overall strategy of Melbourne Cup Carnival is high pressure, a lot of work and can be quite stressful - we begin planning in April! This year, I have really turned to hot yoga as it's a solid hour for me to check out and still work up a sweat," she said.

"I try to have my hair sorted early, I see Marie Uva at Uva Salon – she is so talented at what she does and anyone who knows me knows I change my hair a lot so she takes great care of it! A tan is also an absolute must for me, the ladies at Spray Aus are amazing and so flexible, they tan the whole team and I!

"In the lead up to the racing carnival, I can't go past Kristin Fisher Eyebrows for getting my eyebrows sorted - I am also a big believer in a strong brow. I keep my eyelashes natural as I prefer to use false eyelashes on race days."

Michelle's Melbourne Cup makeup look:

Makeup artist Sylvia Ura created a natural but elevated beauty look for Michelle on Melbourne Cup day.

She toldMamamia, "Michelle’s skin is incredible and she is such a natural beauty, so we usually add a little highlighter to it and ensure we can still see her smattering of freckles, her skin absolutely glows."

"Her eyes are such a feature on her face, so my job is to just to frame with natural colours. We always favour subtle gold and bronze to frame her striking green eyes. Her preferred look is always really natural."

Here's a list of the products Sylvia used for Michelle's Melbourne Cup makeup look.