BEAUTY TALK: NADIA FAIRFAX & MONTANA COX

Gritty Pretty chats exclusively to the faces of Lanolip’s new campaign, fashion blogger Nadia Fairfax and model Montana Cox.

In case you missed it because you were holed up somewhere with no wifi, Westfield or way out (OMG, are you ok?), Lanolips, the iconic Australian superbalm, has had a face lift. What’s inside the tube remains exactly the same (that was perfect to begin with), only its outsides have received a well-timed update to coincide with the brand’s international launch.

You see, as of today, the Lanolips range will be stocked on luxury designer e-tailer, Net-A-Porter. Onya Lano!

Really, it’s silly how long its taken to get one of our best beauty exports out there, but congratulations are in order for the Lanolips team, and founder Kirsten Carriol, the tireless pioneer of her hero ingredient, medical-grade lanolin – a 100% natural substance found in the wool of sheep. Carriol has taken her family secret all the way from her grandparent’s South Australian farm to national success. And now, with any luck, international beauty cult-status.

We were invited onto the set of the new-look campaign to see it unfold and tasked its Aussie ambassadors with questions about the Lanos they love most and all the interesting ways they use it…

NADIA FAIRFAX

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GRITTY PRETTY: You’re on double duty today – working as creative director on the campaign and model. What was your inspiration and vision for the shoot?

NADIA FAIRFAX: The Lanolips brand is so quintessentially Australian so I really wanted to make sure that that heritage was kept and shown, especially with its recent launch into the U.S. Kirsten [Lanolips creator] told me how they were taking the design to a more ‘clean’ place, so it was finding a balance of keeping that in mind and bringing the Australian side to it, and also remembering that is it a beauty product and a bit girly and fun, so there are pastels.

GP: A lot of campaigns feature only one ambassador. What was the reasoning behind shooting the campaign as a duo?

NF: I’m a creative person, or a blogger as you would say, so I needed a model as well. I think a beauty brand should have a model ambassador so here you’re getting both. I have tried to create something really candid, beautiful and happy and that’s more effective to do with two people. Also, Montana [Cox] and I are quite good friends, we’ve known each other for ages – so she was the perfect fit. The contrast behind blonde and brunette works well as the campaign embodies two different Australian girls with two distinct looks.

GP: What’s your favourite Lanolips product?

NF: Oh my god, I’m a sucker for the Fruities. There’s also the new, Lemonaid Lip Tripment and Everywhere Multi-Cream as well. I used that for the first time as a mask and lathered it on quite thick. Kirsten has never told me to do that, but I thought it would be nice, and I just wiped a bit of it off and went to sleep and it was an amazing because it isn’t cloggy on the skin. Also, I always put the 101 on my cuticles. I bite my nails, it’s terrible.

GP: What’s your skincare routine?

NF: I really do look after my skin. I see a skincare specialist once a month; I have IPL and peels on my face, and I use specific products that I’m told to use. When I was younger I wasn’t a big water drinker – my mum used to call me a camel – and now in my older days (and I’m not even that old yet) I just notice when I haven’t had enough water. I can see it in my skin so now I make an effort to drink lots and lots of water.

GP: You’ve never really been just a fashion blogger – starting out as a professional gymnast, fashion publicist, regularly MC’ing events and now working as a creative director. With your platform on Fairfax Journal, how do you choose what projects you want to go into next?

NF: For me, my next thing is a product myself. I’m probably going to do sunglasses next so I’m starting to work on that, and I think when you get to a certain point, it’s silly not to. You’ve got a great following that wants to buy things that you wear so why can’t you make money and look after yourself and make your own product? I think that’s probably the next step for me. I’m not a one-trick pony, I like to have my hands in a lot of different things.

GP: You’re also one of the stars of local reality TV show, Fashion Bloggers. Can you tell us anything about season 3?

NF: We commence filming season 3 in a month’s time and we’re about to start the planning process. All I can say is that their are some new additions, which will be great. I think one of the reasons they brought me into the show in season 2 was to really bounce with the other girls and bring out their personality because that’s what I’m good at – talking to people and letting their personality shine through…so you’ll see a lot more of work, but there will also be a lot more play and personality shining through.

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MONTANA COX

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GRITTY PRETTY: You’ve worked with some incredible international brands – Givenchy, CHANEL, Dior and Lanvin. What do you enjoy about coming home and working with local brands?

MONTANA COX: It’s incredible working with Australian brands because they are fronted by Australian girls. With Lanolips, the product is very natural. That’s something we’re good at as a country – natural products. You know good stuff goes into it. It’s also not so over the top, and you know it’s of good quality.

GP: What’s your favourite Lanolips product?

MC: My favourite one is the 101 Ointment because you can do anything with it. You can put it on your décolletage, your cheek bones, your eyelids – and of course, your lips; you can use it for highlighting and on your eyelashes for a wet look, or brush it onto your brows with a mascara wand to make the hair stick up. It’s multi-purpose so it’s my favourite.

GP: You won Australia’s Next Top Model when you were still in high school, and you’ve grown up with the rise social media. What’s your relationship like with technology like since it’s so important to the success of campaigns like this one?

MC: When I started out on Australia’s Next Top Model there was no Instagram. Twitter was just on the rise, so it’s change completely. That’s how you book campaigns now, that’s how you book jobs and how people view your reputation so social media really has become a huge advancement over the last couple of years and you have be with it to keep up with everybody. So my relationship with technology… it’s kind of like I have to do it, more than anything but it is fun.

With my instagram (@montanacox1), it’s how I like to be. A lot of people are just like “I love product or this product”, but I find that very forced. I just want to be myself and show people who I am. I’m a big internet meme girl and I like to throw that stuff in. And a lot of people are like, “Montana, you can’t throw that stuff in, it’s really dumb”. But I think it’s really funny so I’m going to keep doing it.

GP: One of the big benefits of social media is style and beauty inspiration. Who do you follow for that?

MC: There’s a couple of models and stuff, I love Magdalena Frackowiak (@frackowiakmagdalena), she has a really nice Instagram. I think Anna Dello Rosso (@anna_dello_russo) is really cool and I follow her because I really like the way she dresses. I like this one called Love Watts (@love.watts) – it’s got all this weird art and I always get inspiration from that; I follow a lot of museums. And then I have funny ones likes Brown Cardigan (@browncardigan). I like a big mix.

GP: What’s the best beauty tip you’ve picked up from modelling?

MC: I think the best one would be ‘less is more’. I’m all about the natural look. I’ve also learned how to highlight properly and what works well for my skin. I find that when I put too much makeup on I look crazy. Some people look great with lots of makeup, so you’ve just got to work with what works for you and not try too much like anyone else. Go for what looks good on you.

Okay, over to you. What do you think of Lanolips’ new look?

Buy Lanolips on Net-A-Porter today!

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