Ilona Hamer

I am all about understated beauty. Nuance. Simplicity. Authenticity. Individuality.  Understanding that life is about your sensitivities to the world around you and what you chose to engage with but almost more importantly what you choose not to engage with, and that definitely applies to beauty and cosmetics.  Beauty really does come from within – what you think, what you eat, what you consume, who you spend your time with. It’s the sum of all parts. Knowing yourself and what feels good and right for you. Beauty is energy. Beauty is balance. Beauty is nature and being as natural as I can.

I just turned 40 and I feel like I am finally becoming ok with who is staring back at me in the mirror. I might have looked better in my youth, but I was very hard on myself then and now I am more gentle in all areas of my life and I am much happier. I am who I am. I don’t want to change my face, I just want to take care of it and do my best to be good to it, it’s the only one I have!

I’m not the first to say this and I certainly won’t be the last, but LESSE is truly the best day to day skincare out there. It’s all natural and highly effective. Neada and Drew have created such an amazing range.  I use their face wash, face mist, serum, moisturizer and lip balm. It’s truly all you need and I love that I have found a brand that really works and I don’t have to pay attention to anything else.  I feel most beautiful after a shower when I have done all my LESSE steps and finish with the moisturizer and lip balm. My skin is glowing and ALIVE! (cue the Gwenyth meme)

The Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum – is also a game changing essential. April has created pure magic in a bottle and I really admire her commitment to quality ingredients. I use it every night and wake up with near perfect skin. It’s miraculous and made from nature and the scent and efficacy is unmatched. I love the VD cleanser and face essence as well! I do Lesse by day, Vintner’s Daughter by night! 

The Nessecaire Body Lotion – it has a 100/100 rating on Yuka. I’ve been using it for years and I always buy two bottles at a time. 

I also really love the Hanacure Octolift Mask for when I have an event or I have to be really forward facing and around people. It takes time and you need to let it do its thing but wow does it work. It’s a 10/10 for me.

Chanel les Beiges healthy glow bronzing cream in soleil tan bronze. Always sold out, it’s creamy and perfect. I also have the deep bronze I use for slight contouring even though I am not a contour girl. I just blend it with my fingers under my cheekbones and it does the job. 

Glossier boy brow in brown – I like when it’s a little older and has dried out somewhat, I find it’s too thick and wet and too much product comes out when it’s a fresh tube so I always have two open at one time. It’s great for taming brows and adding a little colour to thicken. A one stop shop. 

Westman Atelier foundation stick which I use as a spot concealer as I never do all over foundation. I like natural skin texture and don’t love the feeling of all over coverage. 

Shisedo eyelash curler – the best for my very straight lashes. I have tried many and I always go back to this one. It’s perfect. 

Chanel baume essential in quartz – the perfect highlighter, no notes.  

Chanel eyeliner in braun – I can’t do black eyeliner, it’s too harsh on me, I prefer brown as it feels a bit softer and works with the tiny bit of green in my brown eyes. 

Charlotte Tilbury iconic nude lip liner paired with LESSE lip balm is the perfect combination.

Christophe Robin regenerating mask – great for extra TLC and nourishment. I try to do it once every two weeks or when my hair feels like it needs it. 

Crown affair shampoo and conditioner – Currently using the Hydrating shampoo and conditioner and it has been working so well. I find that I switch up my shampoo and conditioner a lot – as soon as I find something I like, my hair adapts and it doesn’t seem to work as well, so I like to change it regularly. It’s terrible to say but I have a travel size Pantene in my beauty case when I’m on the road and I think that’s what makes my hair the best. Like I said, beauty is balance, you can’t be all natural 100% of the time but you do what you can. 

Crown affair dry shampoo powder – I am new to using a powder over a traditional aerosol and it’s been a great shift, I think it lasts longer and is more delicate on my hair. 

Roz hair milk – I always pack this when I go to the beach and apply it after every swim. It keeps your hair really healthy in the summer. 

Maison Pearson hairbrush – non negotiable. 

Elnett hairspray – I have been having huge spurts of new growth which tends to stand up on the top of my head so Elnett just helps to tame them and it’s so brushable and easy. 

Sandor gua sha – I love what Sabrina has created with Sandor and I think this gua sha for the scalp is the most beautiful object but it’s also so effective! It could be the reason for all my new hair growth. It’s made from Bian stone and it sounds wonderful as you move it over the scalp.

I have been doing Pilates for the last 13 years and it changed my life. I love the total mind-body focus and connection and how strong and long I feel when I go consistently, which for me is 4 times a week. I have always been very active, I played a lot of sports in high school – netball, hockey, athletics, touch football, waterpolo. Movement and motion are what my body and mind need to function. I try to walk a lot, I live by the ocean so I am lucky to take long walks on the beach most days when I’m home and in a good routine.  I also love to skip (or jump rope as they say here in the US) it’s the best to get your lymph going and get cardio fit very quickly. And when I’m really lucky and surfing regularly that is when I feel invincible. Surf fit is the best fit you can be. There is nothing better than being out in the water and the feeling of riding a wave. 

Beauty is balance – it’s eating well and walking and doing pilates but it’s also having a martini and a burger and a cigarette once a week if that’s your thing. My grandmother lived to 96 years old and did breathwork every morning from a very young age (which means she started doing it around the 1940’s!) but she also allowed herself one cigarette a day. She would stroll around the garden elegantly smoking and enjoying her vice and then that would be it. I think being too controlled or restrictive is not good for you,  so I aim for balance and an 80/20 health/vices ratio. I love a glass of wine, I love a negroni,  I love to smoke a joint and I love to sit in the sun. I also love vegetables and exercise. Yin and Yang baby!

I’ll regret sharing this (as I always say if you REALLY like anything, keep it off the internet), but Raving Rose by Dries Van Noten is my favourite scent. I used to wear Diptyque’s Rose but elevated to this a while back and everyone always asks me what I am wearing. It’s peppery and rosy and the scent really lingers.  I love Costa Brazil’s fragrance,  it’s really one of a kind. Comme Des Garcons Vetiver is a sleeper hit that I swear by. I used to wear L’ombre Dans L’eau for the longest time but haven’t in many years. I also love Philosykos from Diptque and have a bottle on the go every now and then. The original  Infusion D’iris by Prada takes me back to India on the eve of my 21st birthday on the most memorable trip when I was at Australian Vogue. Gucci Rush 2 I was obsessed with in my teens. I love to steal my husband’s Bois D’argent by Christian Dior.  I love fragrance and scent and am in awe of how it is so powerfully connected to memory.

Less is more! I think doing less is always better – less haircuts, less make up,  less steps in your routine, less intervention. I’m all for a little botox or laser here and there but keep it light and keep it somewhat natural looking. Be you but slightly fresher.  I have done Pico Sure Pro a few times for hyper pigmentation and it’s worked wonders for spots and general skin texture. I’ve done microneedling with PRP, HIFU and Forma. I love a laser or a machine but I do 1 or 2 treatments a year. I love to read and research all the new machines but I’m not too fanatical about it, I’m more fascinated as to how beauty is evolving with technology and how to do things that are effective but relatively non-invasive. I love to talk to my makeup artist friends for all the intel on what everyone is doing.   

I love to lay in the sun, that’s actually my #1 beauty tip which I know is controversial but for me it’s meditation. It’s a full nervous system reset. I try to be as sun smart as I can – morning and afternoon sun only, sunscreen always and I wear a hat, but for me there is nothing better than a day swimming and laying in the sun. Even when I am at home doing emails I love to take a break in the afternoon and lay in the sun for 30 mins when I can. It recharges me and brings my nervous system down to earth. And everything looks better on me with a tan. I feel alive and connected to nature, to the planet and my place in the universe when I have time in the sun. 

Another hot beauty tip is a great pair of big sunglasses. Zero effort maximum result. 

I also swear by using body oil in the shower just before you get out. I love Costa Brazil and keep a bottle in the shower. It’s great after shaving your legs so you don’t feel so dry when you step out of the shower. I’m all about moisture!

HAIR:

Sabrina Szinay in NY has been cutting my hair for a few years now and no one cuts like she can. I like as few snips as possible, and it has to be able to grow out well because I never know my schedule and when I will see her next. I got my hair cut in December and it’s now April and to be honest it looks better now than it did when it was freshly cut. I kind of hate fresh haircuts, I like things to be a bit lived in and to do their thing. 

For hair colour I see Meghan at Mare in Beverly Hills, I get it delicately highlighted once every 10 months or so and normally stop in for a gloss at the half way point to refresh. 

FACE:

I don’t really get facials, I see Melanie Grant when I can but I am very inconsistent. I just try to be consistent with good skincare everyday to alleviate the need for facials. 

NAILS: 

I keep them very short and without polish (hands and feet) and I trim and file them myself. My nails are always happiest when I’m in the ocean everyday. If I have an event or something important where I’m really forward facing I will go get a mani/pedi but I do one coat of the sheerest nude possible.

PILATES

Olada in Carpinteria with Bianca Dekker or Amy Nelms in NY at Flat Iron Pilates