Friends! I'm so excited to present the first of the Beauty Around The World posts, in which women from all around the world talk about beauty routines, popular products and attitudes towards beauty in their countries and cultures. If you'd me interested in participating, drop me a line! Kicking off the series is Sarah from a beautiful story
Australia is my home and has been all my life (ok, so almost 30 years now!). When I saw the call for bloggers to participate in a “Beauty Around the World” series, I was keen to get involved! You can find my blog, a beautiful story, over at http://abeautifulstory.net
Please keep in mind that I am sharing with you my thoughts on the Australian notions of beauty from my own personal perspective. There are many possible points of view on this topic and I would be interested to hear what fellow Aussies think of my post!
Australia is a culturally diverse nation. As such, people have brought trends and approaches to life – including beauty – from around the world. A large percentage of Australia’s population has Asian heritage, due to our close proximity to Asia and historical factors. Whilst this has been the case for many years, I have personally noticed that only in the last 5 years or so there has been a dramatically increased focus on products that are popular in Asia, which I love! (Consequently BB creams have recently made a big splash here.) :-)
1) Preference for natural looking makeup effects and use of natural products. This means a tendency to enhance one’s natural features and show them off without necessarily resorting to use of bold colours, tonnes of false lashes, etc. Products which are naturally derived and paraben, etc, free are also surging in popularity.
2) Real tanning and tanning beds are NOT cool. Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. As such, in the summer, there are often awareness campaigns (such as the famous “Slip. Slop. Slap!” – slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, and slap on a hat). Some Australian states have also now BANNED the operation and use of tanning beds. Having said this, you will still see some people tanning on the beaches and the tanned look is popular in the summer – however most achieve this with a spray tan these days.
3) Products containing SPF are very popular. This is for obvious reasons (see point 2! ). Until 10 years or so ago it was not easy to obtain sunscreen above SPF 15 in Australia. This may have been due to the rigorous review and testing standards that SPF containing products must go through here to verify the true SPF properties. These days it is easy to find SPF 30+ products but that is typically as high as it goes, unless you are purchasing international brands at higher end beauty counters. I have written more about sunscreens and what to look for in more detail on my blog if you’d like to learn more!
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I’d also like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of my favourite beauty products from Australian brands! You may or may not be able to find these locally, if not, eBay is your best bet. Visit my site for more thorough reviews on these star products:
1) Face Of Australia Face Base Primer. This product now also comes in an SPF 15 version and works just as effectively as higher end primers. Light on the skin and your makeup will last all day and well into the night. I like to use this product when I have plans to go out for dinner after work.
2) Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner. This is a refreshing spray toner that is ideal for use in summer and ideal for combination to oily skin like mine. Containing only naturally derived ingredients, it is very good to your skin and body!
3) Australis Ready Set Go finishing powder. Super fine particles set your makeup without a cakey or chalky look. The fact it is translucent rather than skin toned means that it can be used effectively on any skin tone.
All of the above are high performing bargains, retailing for less than $20 AUD each!
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I hope that you’ve enjoyed this post! If you’d like to read more from me, please visit a beautiful story at http://abeautifulstory.netDo any of you live in Australia? What do you think is typical for the beauty scene over there? Any questions for Sarah?
