Carla GS with Josie Maran. When Josie Maran gives you a beauty tip, you’d better listen up.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’ll hear a beauty tip that will change your life.
It’s a tip you’ll end up implementing day after day until your hair/skin/lips/everything improves. You will adopt it for the rest of your life, and you will be forever grateful.
I must have fallen asleep in a bed of four-leaf clovers or something, because in 2015 I was the luckiest girl alive when it came to beauty tips. Read on for the tidbits that changed my life this year, thanks to the brilliant experts who share their secrets with The Glow.
Lipstick
Lipstick is my desert-island makeup choice, which means that I’m wearing it and reapplying it constantly. I love the look of my lipstick when I swipe it on first thing in the morning… but by late afternoon I’ll have reapplied it probably twice (and things will be looking a bit crusty).
Sarah Marie Khahil, makeup artist for IT Cosmetics (available at Sephora) had this genius tip: wipe all of the remaining lipstick off with a tissue before reapplying your lipstick. That way, your lips will be a clean, smooth canvas for your new layer of lippie.
Here are some more tips for creating a lip colour that lasts, thanks to Benefit Cosmetics. (Post continues after video.)
Teeth
Dr Wyndham Hui from Just White Dental gave The Glow some sage advice: never, ever use a whitening toothpaste. Why? Well, because they are too abrasive and end up stripping the enamel off your teeth. While your teeth will appear temporarily whiter, they will eventually become more yellow as the enamel wears away. Um... no thanks! Instead, stick to whitening strips.
I really took Dr Hui’s advice to heart, because when my husband accidentally bought some whitening toothpaste I was like, “What is this trash?!” (Post continues after gallery.)
Beauty products which get compliments.
Hair
I was struggling with a flaky scalp this year, until hair stylist Rebecca Coffey from LHD Organic Hair came to my rescue. Her advice? Stick to shampoos, conditioners and hair products that are free of sulphates (the foaming agent) and silicones (for smoothness) to improve the condition of the scalp.
I’ve done that and my hair has never looked better. I am never using cheap supermarket shampoos again. It’s just not worth it.
Hair removal
I’m a fan of leg-shaving – it’s convenient, cheap and (usually) painless. But one thing was bugging me — I was worried that shaving was actually making me hairier. Every now and then, I’d spot two hairs growing from the one follicle. What had I done?!
A quick chat with Dr Jodie Silleri, a GP and cosmetologist, revealed those double hairs had always been there — it’s just that the shorter regrowth made it more noticeable to the naked eye. Phew! So now I can keep shaving my legs without worrying that I’m turning myself into a yeti.
Bronzer
Before 2015, I was a total bronzer dunce. I yearned for that 'sunkissed goddess' look, but every time I tried to use bronzer my face looked either brown, orange, glittery... or all of the above.
Finally, Valerie Giraud, makeup artist and founder of Antonym Cosmetics (available at Sephora) gave me the one tip I needed to get my bronzing game on: choosing a bronzer that's only one or two shades darker than your skin. This changed everything for me – suddenly, bronzer looked good on me.
And here’s my tip for you — before buying a bronzer, test it out on the underside of your forearm as the skin there is similar to the colour on your face. The right bronzer will be almost imperceptible at the first swipe, but when you build up the colour it should be a slightly more golden tone than your own skin.
A speedy, pretty face.
Pop on some face oil and lipstick and you’re good to go, according to supermodel Josie Maran. She’s a fan of using her own Josie Maran Cosmetics 100% Pure Argan Oil ($23 for 15 ml at mecca.com.au). I’ve been using this glowy, fresh look on the days I’m with my daughter and it always makes me feel pretty.
What was the best beauty tip you heard in 2015? Sharing is caring!