A fresh start - body products that wake me up

We have recently moved house and while our new space is sun drenched with morning light warming our bed room,in the midst of a busy season and the general moving chaos I have found it a little harder than usual to get out of bed in the morning. Do you know those days? Good thing La Mav, sent over their new body products...the perfect timing.

The Australian line of Organic skincare, is another favourite of mine within the truly natural, cruelty free and organic skin care ranges. They also carry one of my favourite eye creams: Bio A7 Firming Eye Lotion.

The coffee body scrub, really wakes me up in the morning, the body lotion with the soothing smell of Rose Geranium melts the stress away and the fresh scent of the hand cream keeps me alert during the day, I feel it's a little aromatherapy trio that worked wonders for me.

To tell you a little bit more about the products:

The Coffee Bean Body Scrub has a base of coconut oil and feels very hydrating, my skin is immediately smooth and supple after using in the shower, and I love the smell, I wish I could use it every morning, but I feel once to twice a week is enough exfoliation. If you haven't used this before be careful not to use too much product, a little goes a long way and it's a very loose texture not really a paste. The first time around I lost quite a bit of this lovely product down the drain, so please be careful. The mess you create in the shower is worth it and it does not leave any residue behind. Your skin will glow and feel super soft afterwards. Hooray for coffee scrubs.

The Noruish Hannd Creme is perfect for the desk, it comes in a clever packaging with a pump too and is easily absorbed, no sticky mess when typing. It contains Coenzyme Q10 and Shea Butter to provide long-lasting protection from dryness. A true skin care product for your hands, keeping them young and supple. It has quite a strong fresh citrus smell, I pick out the lemon myrtle oil contained here, so be warned if that's not your thing. Lemon myrtle has many health benefits and a lovely fragrance, however I prefer my day to day hand cream to be unscented and a little more neutral. Right now I am enjoying the scent though.

The Nourish Body Moisturiser comes in a pump bottle and has a lovely rich texture which melts into the skin and absorbing fully without leaving any residue behind, perfect for Summer, but still very nourishing and definitely suitable for dry skin. I am really looking forward to using it each day. It will sure become a bathroom staple.

My sensitive skin liked all the products and I am hoping they will release a body wash as well. Maybe one that smells of coffee as well?

werk werk werk

This year seems very powerful to me, fast paced and dynamic and never a dull moment, I hope everyone will finish this year strong and positive. Let's all hang in there a little longer.

This week was filled with images releases of work that I have done a little while ago, always a great moment to see work published and being able to share the work.

This was my latest fashion editorial for HUF magazine.

Credits (Instagrams) Photographer: Levon Baird (@levonbaird) Stylist: Blake Sutherland (@blakeislively) Hair/Makeup: Liv Lundelius (@liv_lundelius) Model: Ruby Lee (@ruubylee) Agency: EMG Models (@emg_models) Magazine: HUF Magazine (@hufmagazine)

My holygrail hair tools

Working in the fashion and beauty industry I am always on the lookout for the best and latest as additions to my professional makeup- and hair kit. My hair tools need to be fast, reliable and easy to pack, reduce damage on my clients and models hair and super easy to use. I am excited to let you know I found the one!

I usually really like to mix and match when it comes to cosmetics and hair styling products, and I carry a variety of different brand hair tools. The latest luxury addition to my kit are H2Dhair styling tools. I think I will not look back anytime soon. Designed with the professional in mind these beauties come with dual voltage use, for us busy international artists, professional length swivel cords, and sleek professional design. It was love at first sight! Opening the boxes of my new babies was already a great experience. You know, some brands just get it right, the whole packaging experience. During the first use I was super impressed how fast these tools would heat up, they are ready to use almost instantly (20sec), and also the professional very high temperatures, which will ensure the hair takes to the styling properly and that the look will last and last and last and... you get the idea! Let me tell you a bit more about the actual products I have:

Linear II Professional One Pass Iron in glossy black.

This is a straightening iron/styler which can be used to curl the hair as well. It's amazing! Heats up to 230C within 20 seconds. The flexible high quality floating plates are coated with ceramic and infused with tourmaline, which makes the hair smoother, silkier and static free. It uses Far Infrared Technology and Ionic Technology which is the latest and most advanced thing in hair styling. Although I always love the look of matte black tools, I have to admit that they are hard to keep clean. They get a lot of product build up over time, while the glossy tools are so much easier to wipe down.

IR professional hair dryer in black Another hit in the range! It's everything I could want from a hair dryer, fast, gentle with state-of-the-art technology; The Ionic Generator which seal cuticles, infuse moisture, eliminate frizz and provides a silky feel. The Infrared heaters allow to cut the drying time dramatically. It has 4 Speed and heat settings and a cold shot button. If you are in the market for a new hair dryer get one of the few in world that use both, true ionic and infrared technology, you can thank me later, your hair will thank you straight away. You're welcome!

H2D X5 Professional Curling Wand And now the most amazing tool of all: This is the ultimate essential tool for all session stylists. You get one curling wand with five interchangeable barrels, for all shapes and sizes of curls that you could ever want. Do you remember the revolutionary technology of the other H2D tools, I was talking about? Yes you guessed right. This is the first true ceramic and tourmaline infused curling wand, using Far infrared technology and ion field technology seals in natural oils for great conditioning. It comes with a heat protection glove which I recommend using, as Even more: Micro-porous technology looks in moisture to avoid split ends. To sum it up: It's very gentle on the hair, super duper fast, and your hair will be shiny beyond belief.

And now, excuse me, please. I have to go and play with my new toys.

The latest in natural high performance zk'in care

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

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