Hi, I’m Ondine. Right now I’m tuning in from chilly Sydney. Four weeks ago I was in Europe…I think I’ve left three-quarters of myself there. I am a freelance writer, occasional-model, dabbling in Creative Brand Development & Social Media, as well as being in the midst of launching my own capsule collection and developing some wellness products.

I was raised on the beaches of Sydney by a very before-her-time yet of-her-time 70’s Hawaii born-and-raised mother, so I had a traditionally natural, organic (perhaps what we now know as “wellness”) imbued childhood. There was always an emphasis placed on good products, but also a recognition that skincare and inner radiance often come about through good eating, clarity of mind, joy, dance and a little nature.

In terms of skin, I’ve always been pretty lucky: I’m naturally a little oily (thanks mum!), but I like to convince myself it’s a consciously curated ‘glow’. I really care about what goes into my body and always have; I drink a lot of water (sometimes nettle-infused for extra glow!) and eat plant-heavy, living, vital foods (think sprouts! Kefir! Kombucha! Kraut!) as well as lots of tonic herbs, and because of these #good #decisions, I definitely notice a difference in my skin’s lustre…Paris had me puffier and more inflamed than ever and I’ll put that down to the beautiful – albeit very rich, food.

I find a bit of Vitamin D & salt water makes my skin better than ever. Case in point: my recent trip to Praiano and the fact that I was raised on Sydney’s beaches.

It’s a cure-all.

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Ice Cold Showers and Clay Cleansers

Bare with me. My family thinks I’m absolutely nuts for doing this during Sydney winter mornings, but the radiance-inducing effects of the icy water freshen the skin, depuffs, opens capillaries and you also get the blood flowing from the 2-minutes of laughing, deep breathing and jumping around in the cold. It’s an early morning victory to get through it. I’m hooked. I start by body-brushing, lathering in almond oil and then jumping right in. Afterward, I’ll add an extra layer of moisture with Le Labo Body Lotion, which is a fragrance in and of itself. Le Labo sent me the Hinoki range earlier this year and I truly am committed for life.

My routine for skin at night is generally a good wash with Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip; I’m a sucker for products with Clay. It’s clarifying but not stripping and non-foamy. I love when it’s time to exfoliate as I’m kind of addicted to that baby soft feeling. I use May Lindstrom The Clean Dirt. I tend to only use exfoliators that come in powder form, it might be placebo but I think adding too many products can sometimes confuse my skin. So I mix it with water or alternatively with my cleanser. This product is so potent and zingy and makes me look like I’ve been truffle hunting with mud all over my face.

After that, maybe three times a week, I use Glossier The Solution. While it’s not natural per se, I find AHA and BHA products really just add that extra glow and slough away any environmental build-up. I liked Dr. Gross peels too but Glossier doesn’t break the bank as much.

My hero product, lifesaver one-true-love is Chantecaille Jasmine Lily Healing Mask.

I go off-road with this; I find when I don’t use lots of oils and hydrating creams that I get flaky and that’s when I get spots, so I use this “mask” every night as my nighttime moisturiser. It has the scent of what I assume heaven smells like and is ultra-rich, soothing for my sensitive skin and the smell of jasmine sends me into a pre-sleep, astral dream state. Sometimes I mix this with Living Libations Rose Glow Serum for an extra bit of hydration.

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From Natural Makeup to Glittery Disco Eye

I have so many products I absolutely love; I’m not huge on looking like I’m wearing a lot of makeup in the day, and I’m actually trying to train my mind out of thinking that I need it all the time.

During the day, I’ll use a jade-roller that’s been in the fridge, just to get the juices in my face flowing. Priming it up!

I moisturise with Kypris Antioxidant Dew, mixed with 1 drop of the Living Libations Rose Oil. I’ve found day moisturisers the hardest to perfect in my routine, straddling the line between quenching the skin without creating an oil slick is a massive undertaking. I like the Kypris line because of the antioxidants and it’s very hydrating, non-reactive for us sensitive-skinned kids and it soothes any morning redness I might have.

When I can, I use mainly natural makeup, and most of it is oil-based, so I find it blends a lot better with an oil on the skin. For foundation, I love Kjaer Weis; this blends like a dream and has a really glow-y coverage and not a lot of slippage during the day. Still, I put a bit of Laura Mercier Translucent Powder around my T-zone just in case. I also touch up with RMS Uncover-Up on any spots, use RMS Living Luminiser, either Glossier Cloud Paint in Haze or RMS Lip-to-Cheek in Illusive or Demure. No shocker here, I use Glossier Boy Brow in Black. I feel like a walking RMS advertisement, but once I find a colour and product, I rarely waver.

I haven’t yet found a mascara that I really love, so I’ve been getting them tinted recently and just curling them heaps. I did steal my sisters Kevyn Aucoin once, and it may just fill that void. I add the same RMS colour to my lips and smudge all over. Done!

The whole natural makeup look being said, I love doing a fun disco eye at night, or something super-sexy-smokey too, but having a radiant, glowing base for skin is paramount. I have a wild Pat McGrath palette with glittery pinks and yellows and shimmery blacks, I like experimenting with a cat-eye or smudging with By Terry Ombre Black Star because they’re so hard to make look bad.

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Playa Shampoo & Conditioner

Everyone wants to know about my hair! I’ve legitimately had the same fringe my entire life, bar the one time I cut it with kitchen scissors on an angle and hid the evidence behind my bedroom door. I learned then that you can’t cut a fringe off to get rid of it.

Natural hair products have been the last thing in my life to transition natural, but I successfully fell head over heels in love with the whole Playa range and will not be looking back. Their Shampoo and Conditioner took a bit for my hair to transition too, but when it did, texturally it’s as true to my natural wave as possible – I generally finish that off with a bit of their Hair Oil, straighten my fringe and seal the ends of with either Playa’s oil or even an oil-based fragrance if I want a lighter scent in the day and hydrated ends.

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Oil Perfumes from The Ayu & Le Labo

In another life I’m a nose for a perfume house; I really love perfume and I’d love to learn the art of it someday. Some of my favourites are The Noir 29 from Le Labo, Ode by Ayu which is oil-based as well as the oil Lys 41 from Le Labo which I adore in Summer.

 

Words and images, Ondine Purinton-Miller.

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