My current fav products & a little interview

IMG_9547 I had the pleasure of being interviewed over at Walter Osborne sharing my favourite products and a little more about me. Check out the full post over here and see my current top 10 below:

What are your top 5 (or 10!) desert island beauty products and why?

1) Avene Thermal Water – calms and refreshes the skin no matter how stressed or sensitive it might be.

2) Organic Coconut Oil – because I can only choose five products and this is such a great multitasker, that I love to use to remove stubborn eye makeup, as body moisturiser and as hair mask.

3) The Clearisonic skin cleansing brush – it works with any basic cleanser and performs a cleansing miracle.

4) Zkin Line Smoothing Serum – my favourite eye cream and anti ageing serum in one. Very potent yet organic.

5) A good mascara. I currently love Jane Iredale Longest Lash Mascara, makes my lashes look super long and whispy. I am a sucker for the gold packaging. 
Hopefully if I would bring these five I wouldn’t require any further makeup…otherwise I’d be screwed as I haven’t really listed any foundation, concealer or colour products.

6) Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector – the best illuminator that I have ever found.

7) Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation – this has been discontinued for years, but was an industry and personal favourite and I secretly hope that they will bring this amazing product back.

8) Veil Primer by Hourglass – makes everything used on top of it water resistant, a must for humid locations and long days or teary brides.

9) Jane Iredale Sugar&Butter, lip exfoliator and plumper – a little pretty genius product that exfoliates and then hydrates and plumps, the lip balm also has a very amazing sheer peach tone and golden shimmer to it. Looks great on it’s own or as lip primer.

10) By Terry Touche Veloutee concealer – so light and radiant, never settles in lines a staple in my kit.

The latest in natural high performance zk'in care

4skin 3skin

2skin

skin1 I have a new favourite skin care line! You can get very excited if you have been looking for an high performance skincare range, that delivers proven results and is yet absolutely safe, certified organic to the highest international standard and has an incredible honest marketing approach. It's called Zk'in (pronounced simply "skin")

A effective line of 12 products, offers enough selection for different skin concerns and ages. I have been using the line for a couple of weeks now and was initially planning on writing about my favorite products. This quickly become impossible as every single product was such a pleasure to use and just kept all the promises it made on the box. Seriously, this is something I hadn't experienced with other skincare.

I was lucky enough to meet the very inspiring founder of the line, Grace Culhaci in person and I was blown away; by her knowledge, her passion about the brand but most of all her honesty. There are so many unique facts about this line, I don't even know where to start...

If you are not obsessed with beauty and skincare, I recommend to just head out and start using the line, you won't regret it and I won't want to bore you with all the details. All you need to know is: It's working, it's clean and it's honest. All products feel and smell amazing too, some have natural coffee and cacoa extracts and excel gourmet aromas, while the line overall has very neutral smells that aren't overpowering. All textures are very fast absorbing, leaving a clean, hydrating and fresh feel to the skin. Wonderful!

In case you are more like me, VERY interested in beauty, please read on and be impressed by the details about this wonderful skin care products:

The products are created to the highest sustainability standards. While the package is well designed, looking all pretty and simple, its' also completely recyclable. It's also food grade packaging, ensuring no toxins will be able to get into your gorgeous skincare through the use of toxic plastics (think BPA) Zk'in products are not tested on animals and are vegan, CRUELTY FREE PRODUCTS. This is very important to me personally as I am a lifelong vegetarian and ANIMAL LOVER.

What impressed me as makeup artist was that Zk'in campaign images are stunning without the use of unrealistic photo-shopping, the model is shown as she really looks, with beautiful fine lines and natural flaws. Showing real beauty and realistic images of women is another idea I love and would personally like to see more of. Extra brownie points earned here. The line feels overall very well developed it seems that extensive research has been done to ensure that each product is absolutely safe to use and suitable for genuinely sensitive skin. Often I hear people say that that they have sensitive skin and therefore stay clear of organic products, as they won't usually react to conventional chemically loaded skincare, the reason might be that a lot of the smaller organic ranges don't invest in research, allergy testing and sensitive skin suitability to the extend that the big name brands too, which I always thought is a real shame.

When I do pick products to be used in my professional makeup kit the main criteria is always the sensitive skin tolerance, as I don't want to carry products that a high percentage of people will react too. The Zk'in line is definitely suitable for professional use in a makeup kit in my personal opinion. The hygienic pump packaging is another real plus and the most of the products are travel friendly.

Personal miracle experience: I have lately developed a rash on my fingers, some form of eczema due to the frequent hand washing and sanitizing required in my work as professional makeup artist. My sensitive skin suffered and started to look terrible. With the help of the Soothing Hand Cream by Zk'in and the relief moisturizer my skin has gone back to normal within a week and healed completely! No need for any medication or cortisone treatment! If you have problematic skin that is dry, sensitive or even flaking, try this cream! I will from time to time introduce a single product of the line and will review single products. As the line is too amazing to tell you all about it in one short blog post. Oh and by the way, it's affordable too. Moisturizers are about AUD $45.00, cleansers under AUD $30.00, so this won't break your bank either and is worth every penny.

Summary: Incredible high performance skin care line that is suitable for sensitive skin and 100% ethical and organic! Suitable products for all skin concerns are included in the line, from anti-ageing to acne or dry skin, the range covers it all!

Copycat

20560-10292424-Screen_Shot_2014-10-01_at_8_29_37_pm_png Did you ever have anyone in your life that seemed to copy everything you did? We all know one or two of those I bet, and it's important to see it as a compliment.

Inspired by all the copycats out there my recent fashion Editorial for Tantalum Magazine has just been published. I hope you enjoy! ;)

For more of my published work see my makeup artist portfolio here. Credits of the fab Team:

Levon Baird (Photographer): Website: http://www.levonbaird.com/ Instagram: @levonbaird

Blake Sutherland (Stylist): Website: http://www.blakesutherland.com/ Instagram: @blakeislively

Liv Lundelius (Hair and Makeup): Website: http://makeup.livlundelius.com/ Instagram: @liv_lundelius Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LivLundeliusMakeup

Eugen Tim (Model): Agency Website: http://www.viviensmodels.com.au Agency Instagram: @viviensmodelmgmt Personal Instagram: @eugenzeugen

Charli Hayes (Model): Agency Website: http://www.viviensmodels.com.au Agency Instagram: @viviensmodelmgmt Personal Instagram: @charlihayes

Kiaya Daniels (Designer): Website: http://www.kiayadaniels.com/ Instagram:@kiayadaniels

Tantalum Magazine (Publication): Instagram: @tantalummag

Makeup Workshop

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Saturday was a big day, my first makeup workshop in Australia! It was held at Create Or Die studio in Marrickville. It was so much fun and I am so grateful to for the wonderful team of supporters and partners that came on board to make it all happen. I can safely say the long days and short nights leading up to the day were SO worth it. The day went by so quickly so I was extra excited about the photos and I can't wait to see the video, once it's edited as well.

All guests were so lovely and curious. I was blown away by their enthusiasm and passion for makeup. I really hope everyone took home new tips & tricks and is encouraged to try new products and techniques. I could have not hoped for a better crowd! Every time I mentioned a new topic one million more techniques and pieces of advice would come to into my head. Questions were asked and new solutions demonstrated.

I could have made this workshop last for a whole week and still would have had more to share... However I think everyone got a good taste and some insider tips during the day.

The workshop was a mix of tutorials shown on our pretty model Jessica and hands-on times, were everyone would have the time to experiment and try new techniques on their own faces. Of course there was Champagne, drinks and nibbles as well.

I love a good challenge and bringing together an event like this was definitely a good one. Thank you for all the wonderful people who contacted me already and asked for further workshops and invited me to come to their cities. As international makeup artist, I love to travel and the Sydney Makeup Workshop was a great start. I will get onto planning and we will make it happen, eventually!

A huge thanks to our supporters Jane Iredale Australia, Atelier Lumira ,People for Plants, Bionade Australia , West Elm, De Lorenzo Haircare, Hello May, BloomboxCo, Ihana

The fab Team: Jaclyn from Blog Society, Nat from Eat Read Love, Julianna from twoguineapigs, Carla from Pebble Coast Films, Jessica Ruscoe our model and my man Dave and puppy Dalston who were there for me all along.

Make Up Liv Lundelius Hosted by Blog Society / Eat Read Love Venue Create or Die Decor West Elm / Hello May / BloomboxCo / Atelier Lumira Hair & Beauty Jane Iredale / People For Plants / Cruelty Free Beauty / Ihana / Delorenzo Photos and Video Pebble Coast Films / twoguineapigs Food and Beverage Bionade / Bourke Street Bakery Marrickville Model Jessica Ruscoe