There’s a reason the a-beauty trend is taking off around the world. We know what’s important (ahm, sunscreen) and we don’t just have that coveted ‘I woke up like this’ makeup look down pat, we actually *do* wake up like that thanks to our carefully curated skincare routines.
When it comes to beauty, here in Australia we have our priorities straight. So what are the beauty commandments we live by down under? We asked Australian skin expert Jocelyn Petroni for her insights into the Aussie-girl beauty rules we live by.
RULE 1: IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
“Aussie beauty is really like a perfect fusion of the best elements of French, American and British beauty cultures. We’ve Australianised it by picking the best bits from around the globe. There’s an element of the effortlessness of French beauty that suits Australian women so well, but we’ve adapted that so it’s appropriate to our climate. From the US, we’ve taken the idea of the democratised manicure – where there’s a nail bar on every corner and beauty treatments like that are so accessible.”
RULE 2: LOOK AFTER YOUR BODY
“As Australians, we’re accustomed to our bodies being exposed to extreme elements. I think as a result of that, we learned early on the importance of taking care of our skin. As a child, my dad taught me the value of exfoliating the whole body – we would sit in the shallows at the beach and use the sand to smooth the skin all over, then follow it up with oil. I have body rituals of my own now that I swear by. Sometimes I might skip eye cream, but I would never skip moisturising my body. I love a great quality body oil, and I keep aloe vera in the fridge and apply it to my skin after a day in the elements.”
RULE 3: BEAUTY COMES FROM THE INSIDE, TOO
“We’ve long been early adopters of the inner beauty trend, and have so many great brands that actually hail from Australia, because culturally I think for a long time we’ve been aware of the idea that what you put into the body affects how it looks from the outside. That means a healthy lifestyle, what you eat, even how you manage stress. For example, at my salon we employ a variety of techniques that recognise the mind and body connection – we even offer clients a guided meditation throughout their treatment, if they’d like.”
RULE 4: EVERYONE NEEDS AN OIL
“A great facial oil is valuable for all skin types. Oils help to strengthen the hydro lipidic barrier, which makes the skin more resilient to all extrinsic factors, including things which age the skin. We have so many high quality oils that skin loves, which come from Australia – things like jojoba, sandalwood, tea tree – so I think most Australian women understand the value of these oils on their skin. I still use tea tree, just applied neat, to a blemish – it’s magic.
RULE 5: SUNSCREEN IS EVERYTHING
“It makes me proud that Australians really do seem to have gotten the message that taking care of your skin includes a good quality, daily SPF, and we truly lead the world in that respect. It’s an essential element of any great skincare regimen. We’re lucky to have some really sophisticated formulas, which have passed Australia’s intensely rigorous approval processes for selling sun care products in this country.”
View the article on the A-Beauty Website