As deadline time approaches, the tone of a fashion magazine office starts to change rather conspicuously. The approach of printing time sees desks spontaneously pile up with paper and empty space exchanged for mile-long clothing racks and carefully arranged piles of beauty products. Keyboards are bashed until ungodly hours and pages are painstakingly studied with religious repetition. Diaries and notebooks fill up with kaleidoscopic highlighter lashings and sticky-notes and my desk starts to look remarkably similar to a beauty counter at sale time, when all the best stuff is piled high into every nook and cranny.

There are times when eyeliners are mistaken for pens and fashion editors go missing under Sass & Bide heaps; when balayage is not so much a hairstyle of choice, but rather one of convenience. It’s hard and it’s fast and there’s more to do than ever seems achievable, but it’s always finished triumphantly, and is my favourite part of being part of a magazine. I hope you enjoy the latest issue of Just Be magazine with yours truly as beauty editor. On stands now!

by Nadia Stennett  |  on April 7th, 2012  |  0 comments

It seems that luxury shopping isn’t just for the affluent. According to a new study by Total Beauty Media Group, women of are spending up on luxury beauty products, regardless of their age or income.

The twelve-month study found that women across the board have purchased a luxury product in the last year.

Surprisingly, 43 per cent of study respondents stated they weren’t making their high-end beauty purchases in store, favouring shopping online to spend up on prestige products.

And while thrifty shopping is still popular, most women admitted to making their purchase decisions based on product quality, rather than price.

Have you purchased a luxury product in the last year? And which do you think is more important – price or prestige?

© 2012 - Just Be Magazine www.justbemagazine.com

So you might have heard that being editor of Beauty Basket is only half my jobdescription – the other half of my job sees me putting together the beauty pagesof Just Be magazine each issue, as Just Be’s resident beauty ed. I won’t lie, beinga magazine beauty editor certainly has its perks and its glamour (testing thelatest beauty products before they hit the shelves and attending beauty launchesalongside my magazine idols still prompts me to occasionally pinch myself) butthere is also a LOT more that goes into getting a mag ready to print each issuethat few would realize! For instance, on most days, I’m chained to my computerbashing away at the keyboard for hours at a time. I also have to have the world’sbiggest filing system for beauty products!

This is my (not so flashy) organizational system for preparing my beauty pageseach issue. You know all those beauty product images you see on the pages of amagazine? I’m the one who has to put them together each issue. At the start ofthe planning process, I brainstorm my ideas for each page with my editor, then Igo email and phone crazy – getting in touch with each beauty brand to tell themwhat products we need for each page of the magazine.

Over the next couple of weeks a lot of products – scratch that – an avalanche ofproducts start to flood in through the doors of the Just Be office. My job is to sortthrough all of them and organize them into groups according to what productswill fit best with the content of each of the beauty pages. This process has to becarried out extremely carefully to ensure all of the packaging is in similar coloursand shapes, so that when the products are photographed and finally put ontothe page all together, the page looks really good! (Ever seen a beauty page in amagazine where all of the products didn’t perfectly compliment each other? Itdoesn’t happen!)

The products in the picture above only cover half of my pages! Yep, there’s a lotof products to shoot! And the question you’re all dying to know – do I get to keepthem all when I’m done shooting them? In theory, yes – but in reality most of theproducts are destroyed in the shoot – I smear the lipstick, spill the nail polish andchop of the eyeshadow when I’m shooting, so what’s left at the end of a day ofshooting is usually a big ol’ mess! Not looking so pretty now, am I?

In the world of bizarre beauty, an ingestible perfume capsule that enables human skin to emit a genetically unique scent is currently under development.

The concept, which was pioneered by Australian body architect Lucy McRae and synthetic biologist Sheref Mansy, is based on the notion that scent is indeterminately unique to each individual and altered by factors including body temperature, stress and sexual arousal.

The perfume capsule is still in the research phase, but is expected to work with the body’s natural enzymes to release fragrant molecules that will be excreted through the skin’s surface during perspiration.

The developers of the perfume pill, named ‘Swallowable Parfum’ have released a provocative video campaign to open discussion with the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, fashion and technology industries and challenge ideas around how perfume will be consumed in the future, you can watch it here.

So what do you think JB readers – would you swallow perfume?

© 2012 - Just Be Magazine www.justbemagazine.com

Eeek! Quick beauty blunder fixes…

So, you’ve just had one of those I-wish-I-wasn’t-here moments – perhaps it’s the old case of lippie on the teeth, or a crotch soaked with your glass of red – yeah, not your finest hour. Thankfully though, armed with the right tools, it is possible to bounce back from even the worst beauty blunders. Here’s how…

Pack a stain remover pen

Stain remover pens blot away a bevvy of disasters including texta marks, food, chocolate and wine, so they’re always good to keep on hand. texta size and cheap (Hollywood Fashion Secrets Stain Remover Pen will set you back $5.95 and is worth every penny), they’ll save you from having to hold your handbag over that crotch spill from earlier in the night…

Carry tissues

Tissues are a versatile emergency beauty tool, so keep a travel sized pack in your purse. Mop up a large spill by pressing and holding a stack of tissue firmly for thirty seconds immediately after spilling, then rinse in the ladies room with just a dab of soap, blot again with some tissue and air dry under the hand dryer. You can also quickly clean up mascara and lipstick smudges (including the on the teeth kind) by applying a dab of moisturiser or hand cream to your tissue and wiping firmly over the offending area. And most importantly, when things get emotional, your tissues will be there to save you from ugly mascara tears, because, let’s face it, no one looks pretty in panda eyes.

Embrace bobby pins

Carry a purse sized pack of bobby pins with you? No? Well you should. Why? Simply because they will save you from any one of an assortment of hair and weather disasters. Caught in the rain on the way to your date and look like a drowned rat? Pop into the ladies, draw a side part down your head using your nail tip as a parting comb, finger comb hair back firmly until sleek, then twist into a neat knot at the nape of your neck and secure in place with your bobby pins. Voila! Sophisticated chic. See? We told you they’d come in handy…

Never leave home without a Panda Pen

The Panda Pen ($29.95) is, in a nutshell, the greatest thing since sliced bread. With a self-refreshing super-absorbent cotton tip that lasts for a hundred uses (count em ladies, that’s a hundred!) you will wonder how you ever lived without this ingenious little beauty blunder savior once you’ve used it. Swipe it under smudged mascara for quick, pinpoint accurate panda eye removal that won’t wipe away half a face ful of foundation, or run it around lips to fix up a bodgy lipstick job or neaten up that pash rash. Fast, effective and always there for you, in many ways, it’s better than your date… just saying!

by Shannon Smith  |  on February 24th, 2012  |  0 comments

With so many options, hunting for the perfect fake tan to achieve that covetable I’ve-just-been-to-the-Bahamas glow can feel like searching for that pair of pants that make your arse look great – you know they’re out there, you just don’t know if you want to suffer through all the exhausting change room moments to find them. So to relieve you of the stress, Just Be’s intern Shannon Smith put her body on the line to roadtest three of the latest and greatest. Here’s how they stacked up…

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Bronze Sunless Tanner & Instant Bronzer SPF 15, $14.95

This versatile cream is not only a tanner but a sunscreen with a SPF 15. The tube promises instant colour and Vitamin E to moisturise the skin. At first application, the colour was slightly orange but I found by the next day the colour had become a lot more natural. There is no horrible ‘fake tan smell’ that is often associated with sunless tanners and although the cream took a while to absorb, my skin felt soft after application. At under fifteen bucks a tube, the Palmer’s tanner is an affordable everyday option for building up a gradual tan. 

Kit Cosmetics Mousse Self Tanner, $34.00

An Australian made product at a reasonable price, I found this tanner to be the most effective. The light foam made for easy application with no streaks or smudges and left my skin smelling fresh and deliciously of coconut. It was fast drying and didn’t leave me feeling sticky unlike most sunless tanners I have tried. The argan oil, goji berry and native Australian botanicals really do deliver, after application my skin felt soft to the touch and looked as if I had spent the day by the beach (minus the nasty sunburn).

Rodial Brazilian Tan in Dark, $49

The priciest of the pack, I was eager to try Rodial’s latest tanner, which promised the ‘darkest self tan on the market, lasting for ten days and a one minute application/drying time’. The tanner had a lotion-like consistency and took about 20 minutes to dry completely. Although the smell was quite light not unlike sunscreen, the colour was not as dark as promised and had an orangey look about it.  The tan became a more natural bronze the following day but I found Rodial Brazilian Tan Dark less effective than the price would suggest.

THE FINAL VERDICT:

For a faux golden glow, minus the stickiness and unpleasant ‘fake tan’ smell, Kit Cosmetics Mousse Self Tanner ($34.00), was a winner on my bod.  It’s an affordable option that smells like a summer holiday and gives you a sun kissed appearance that’s hard to beat.

JB’s tanning tip: Be sure to exfoliate and moisturise skin a few hours beforehand and use a tanning mitt to allow a streak-free glow.

©2012 Just Be Magazine - www.justbemagazine.com