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5 Australian Beauty Product Must-Haves

By Kimberly Nissen, Australia, Global Expert

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Kimberly started her working life early at the tender age of 15. For most of the past 10 years, she has worked for some of the biggest media corporations her sunny country has had to offer. She always wanted to become a writer, but with no training and never having finished high school, it didn’t look like it was going to happen, but then she created The Plastic Diaries and The Styleless Diaries. She also co-founded the first niche-specific blogging event in Australia, the Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend.


5 Australian Beauty Product Must-Haves

In my first Temptalia questionnaire I touched on some of my favourite Australian beauty brands and products. Limiting myself to just five favorites with only a couple of words to explain why was torturous. I am a beauty loving blogger, I need to rant and rave! Today, we are exploring that topic a little deeper (phew!), and I am excited to share with you my current 5 must-have Australian products. These are the products I believe each person should receive as they disembark the plane when visiting Australia. They make us proud.

Blush Patrol by Napoleon Perdis

I only recently discovered the amazing-ness of baked powder (aka Mineralize) products, and very few Australian cosmetic companies had ventured into that booming corner of the market until recently. My first experience with a baked powder was with this blush by Napoleon Perdis. The recently revamped Blush Patrol was already a smash hit for the brand. The mix of frosty bronze-pink and milky pink-crème colours makes it wearable for most skin tones. It is a shimmer overload but of the highest grade, and there is zero fall-out which should be expected of a baked product. This is my go-to, don’t need to think about it, goes-with-everything blush.  Available from Napoleon Perdis, $50

Eyeshadow Primer by Australis Cosmetics

Like most girls in the world, I love Urban Decay’s Primer Potion for keeping eye shadow on my lids. Unfortunately, it isn’t the most budget-friendly product and unless you are in the USA, it is just about impossible to get. Luckily, we have our very own dupe UDPP dupe from Australis Cosmetics. The primer comes in a pink ‘lipgloss-style’ tube with a doe foot applicator. The formula is quite creamy but not as creamy as UDPP. It appears to be a sheer cream color at first but blends out on the lid to virtually clear. I have oily lids that crease easily, and this lid primer turns any eyeshadow into vibrant, long-lasting color without a hitch.  Available from Australis Cosmetics, AU $12.95

Face Base Primer by Face Of Australia

We all know the importance of face primers but finding the right one is essential. I love Face Base because it sinks into the skin rather than sitting on the surface. It leaves the skin feeling smooth and hydrated, instead of silky and oily like most silicone-based primers can.  It is a no-fuss, affordable product that I cannot recommend enough.  Available from Fashion Addict, $11.95

Tinted Daywear SPF30 + by Invisible Zinc

If there is one thing I believe in more than anything, it is that sunscreen is the most vital part of any anti-aging regimen. In Australia, that belief couldn’t apply more. In our sunny country, UVA is just as damaging as UVB so it is important to be protected from both at all times. Invisible Zinc is a brand that prides itself on doing just that.

My current pick of their products is the Tinted Daywear, which has all the goodness of their moisturizing sunscreen plus the additional goodness of a tint. I find this particularly important because usually sunscreen as strong as this one usually leaves me looking a little extra white, so having the tint means I am protected without looking like a ghost.  It comes in two shades, Light and Medium.  Available from New London Pharmacy, $42

Lanolips Lip Ointment With Colour SPF15 in Mulberry

Every girl needs a good lip balm, and the love of my life at the moment is a new release from Lanolips just for Christmas. Black mulberries happen to be my favourite fruit. Lanolips must have known this when they decided to juice them for a limited edition ointment. Lip Ointment With Colour has been a staple for many Lanolips fans, but this new release smells amazing and leaves your lips tinted a luscious, dark berry hue. The colour is so spot on that it actually reminds me of how dyed my lips looked after eating a bucket full of freshly picked mulberries. It also contains the protection of SPF15 which is an essential to keep lips looking young.  Available from Adore Beauty, AU $13.95

 

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Emily Avatar

Totally agree with the Face of Australia primer – I am acne-prone and eczema-prone (currently still a teenager… pfft) with sensitive and combination skin. It doesn’t irritate or make me break out.

Tania Avatar

The Face of Australia primer is a dupe for Napoleon Perdis Autopilot (or something like that) – they get them made by the same company. It’s really good 🙂

Surprised to see that Lucas Papaw Ointment isn’t on here! That is a must have for everyone.

Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries Avatar

Hi Tania, FOA was a dupe for the NP Autopilot for quite sometime but NP has just reformulated so I am afraid it doesn’t apply at the moment. Time will tell if FOA will rejig theirs too.

I am actually not a fan of Lucas pawpaw ointment as it is mostly petroleum jelly. The product works great as a barrier but provides minimal moisturizing benefits. I am constantly dehydrated so for someone like me it is one of the worst things I could use on my lips.

Kimmi
Xox

Tania Avatar

I actually didn’t know that! Either way, it works quite well 🙂 I hope they don’t change it, usually when a company reformulates something I end up allergic to it. I can’t imagine using anything else now. Primers that work for different kinds of skin are hard to come by.

Lucas papaw ointment is the only thing that calms my eczema down. Someone above said they had acne-prone skin and eczema too – I’m the same! There’s another brand out that’s the same but without the petroleum base, I use it on my cuticles but the smell puts me off!

Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries Avatar

Hi Tania,

It is great to hear that the pawpaw ointment works for you. If you have no problems with it than of course there is no reason to change. I just personally don’t use it because it does more harm than good to my skin.

If you use the Napoleon Perdis Autopilot now than I don’t think you will have any problems with the new one. Most of the time reformulations don’t change the acting ingredients as such, but rather the delivery ingredients. So far I have noticed no difference between the new and the old.

Kimmi
xox

Gaea Avatar

Thanks for this post! I just moved to Sydney and have been looking for different brands and products. Great to find a UDPP replacement at this price 🙂 FoA Primer is also going to be my saver!

Clare @ cclarebear.com Avatar

Ooo! Nice to see you posting on Temptalia finally Kimmi!! A few things though: Where’s the pic of the Auatralis primer?? Personally I thought it was really average and didn’t compare to UDPP… Plus with Napoleon, as a general rule, I dont buy makeup from overly-eyebrow-manicured-orange-people 😉 I’d rather a MAC mineralize skinfinish over the copycat Napoleon variety any day. And… The FOA primer is an exact dupe of Napoleon’s Autopilot Primer which I think is worth mentioning,.

That said, I love that Invisible Zinc is a physical sunscreen and not a chemical one. So important in the Aussie heat. Nobody does sunscreen like an Australian.

Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries Avatar

Well hello Clare, I hope sunny England is treating you well hehe.

To be fair, I did submit a pic of the Australis primer and it is a shame you didn’t have a good experience with it. I find I need a lot less of the Australis one than the UDPP or it doesn’t dry down the same.

I agree Napoleon’s look is rather eccentric but the man really does know his stuff. The FOA Face Base shown above was a dupe for Autopilot until recently but I am told that with the rebranding came reformulation so it will be interesting to see if there was enough of a change to make a difference between the two. Either way, most people will find they perform the exact same.

Thanks for commenting on my first ‘real’ post on Temptalia! xox

krissy Avatar

Face of Australia primer is identical to Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot (ingredients and even packaging), and is a quarter of the price! As soon as I saw the headline of this article I hoped the Face of Australia primer would be on your list 🙂 And Invisible Zinc is my holiest of holy grails, this stuff rocks!! Great article, I am running out to buy the eye primer now, it’s the only thing on the list I don’t have 🙂

krissy Avatar

haha couldn’t get the other comments above to load on my phone before posting, seems the FOA/Autopilot debate has been well covered! Another aussie brand I love, not technically beauty though, is Ulta3 nail polish, 1/10 the price of OPI and equal quality. I have dozens of them! Agree about the pawpaw ointment, my friends rave about it but I am not a fan, to me it’s just vaseline. Then again so is that elizabeth arden 8 hour cream, and people love that too, so maybe I am missing something.

Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries Avatar

Hehe, that is ok Krissy. Yes the Napoleon Perdis VS Face Of Australia is a lively debate in our little Australian beauty community, hehe.

I too love Ulta3 Nail Polish but I am currently investigating that as to whether it is truly an Australian beauty product or not. The difficulty comes in that it is a product currently only distributed in Australia (as far as we know), but it is a product of China. At this stage I didn’t want to include any products that I don’t know for certain if they are Australian Owned/Made.

I am glad to hear you feel the same way about certain pawpaw ointments. I am afraid Petroleum Jelly no longer gets the awareness it used to, so a lot of new beauty lovers don’t know that it has no real benefits.

Kimmi
xox

Lauren Avatar

I find the Australis face primer breaks me out terribly 🙁 I have acne-prone oily skin. I really do like the texture though, it’s a shame I can’t use it.

Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries Avatar

Hi Lauren,

I haven’t had much luck with the Australis Face Primer either. It is funny because I love the Eye Primer but the face one just doesn’t do it for me. Have you tried the Face of Australia one? I really do suggest that even if you have acne-prone skin.

Kimmi
xox

Naie Avatar

I’ve heard some bad things about Napoleon Perdis, which has made me avoid them like the plague. Among the rumors is that the brand repackages products and marks them up 3-4x the price. Have you heard about any of this or have you dismissed the allegations as false?

Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries Avatar

Hi Nale,

That is a great question! In my experience, most of the allegations have been false. Napoleon is still a very ‘young’ game player and there are lots of people who want to bring down the growing empire. Most repackages are simply a design change and usually contain the same amount of product, if not more.

I personally cannot remember the last time they had a price increase on a product, and I have been following them since day 1. However, there was a time I lost interest because I simply had all the colours and formulas I was interested in, but they have started to up the anty and I am loving it again.

Does that help?
Kimmi
xox

Karen Avatar

Is there a US-based online retailer that carries Lanolips products? I’ve been lemming the tinted balms forever, but I also want to avoid the $12 in shipping. Thanks!

Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries Avatar

Hi Karen,

I am very sorry but at this time there are no US retailers of Lanolips that we are aware of. You may also want to check out http://addicted2lipbalm.com.au/ as they offer discount codes for new customers and you may save some dollars.

If you do go with Adore Beauty, they have an awesome selection of Aussie brands so you may even want to try something new and make use of the postage?

I will keep pushing for a US retailer!
Kimmi
xox

Therese Avatar

Great post! I too have recently moved to Australia from the UK and it’s always great to find posts on stuff I can actually get here! Will definitely look out for the eye primer, I love UDPP but it’s expensive to get it shipped here and the new tube packaging is rubbish.

thanks! = )

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