From flawless skin to big beautiful lips and everything in between, we are all in pursuit of quick beauty fixes that promise to deliver, but do they really work?

Read on to reveal our favourite beauty hacks of all time. You might well have heard of a few before now, but we are here as testament to their success having personally tried, tested and lived by each and every one of them.

LIPS – THE PERFECT POUT

If filler isn’t your thing, and the many lip plumping products out there are either short lived or seem to somewhat irritate your skin, you can perfect your pout by simply creating the illusion of plumper lips with a few key steps;

1. Exfoliate

Firstly creating a smooth canvas is a necessity to perfecting your pout. The way to achieve this is to start sloughing away any dead skin cells on the surface of your lips by using a gentle lip scrub. Don’t have a lip scrub?

No worries, a face scrub such as Pevonia’s Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser will suffice! It’ll leave lips silky smooth and lipstick ready!

2. Line those lips

Lip liner is used to define the look of your lips but it can also make lips look bigger instantly. Apply before lipstick and use either a neutral shade or match the shade of your lipstick. Begin by applying a fine line just outside your natural lip line starting from the centre of the lips and working out to the corners, keep it light and fine, then blend it inwards. Try ELES Gel Lipliner for ultimate staying power.

3. Apply long lasting lippie

Next apply your lipstick, then simply place a tissue over your lips and dust translucent powder onto your lips through the tissue with a brush. Doing so will help set the pigment without dulling the colour and make it instantly longer lasting. Another option is to give a lip stain a go! The ELES Lip Stain imparts lips with long lasting vibrant colour that protects the lips and stays in place for hours even after eating, drinking and kissing!

4. Plump up the volume

After applying and setting your chosen lipstick, brush either a little shimmer eyeshadow in an ivory shade or some concealer in light, to the middle of your lips. This creates a 3D effect that makes lips look fuller and no irritation or special products are required! The same goes for your lipgloss – for a little extra lip plumping apply in nude to the centre of your lips.

FACE – A FLAWLESS FACE

We are all on the quest of a flawless face and you really can fake it till you make it!

1. A perfect base

Skin still feel and look a little dry and patchy even after you’ve completed your morning skincare ritual? You can prevent your foundation from collecting in any flaky spots by simply adding a few drops of face oil directly to your foundation. The oil primes your face enabling the foundation to glide on easily for a seamless finish.

2. Fake your cheekbones

Sadly we aren’t all born with striking cheekbones but we can all fake it! All it takes is some simple sculpting. Start by puckering to find the hollows of your cheeks and apply a deep nude blush (my go-to is the ELES Baked Blush in Posey) or contour powder in the sunken area under your cheekbones. Next, apply a peachy blush (try ELES Baked Blush in Bouquet) starting from the apples of your cheeks and moving outwards while lightly blending. Finish by applying illuminator along the top of your cheekbones and under your temples.

EYES – AN INSTANT EYE LIFT

1. Big bright eyes

Who doesn’t want to achieve brighter instantly awake eyes? Yup I’m talking for all the tired mums out there and some! I promise if you invest in a nude waterliner you’ll never look back. Firstly don’t make the mistake I used to by applying black liner all around your eyes (top and bottom as well as your waterline! This will only make your eyes appear so much smaller than they are. Instead just line the top lashes with black liner and the bottom with brown, applied very lightly just to add eye definition, then apply the waterliner (I use daily ELES’s Waterline Liner) to really open up your eyes. It works a treat. You can thank me later.

2. Thicker lashes

Using an eye shadow brush or cotton tip, dust a little powder over your eyelashes between the first and second coats of mascara to plump up your lashes. Translucent powder has grip so it will stick to your lashes in between each coat of mascara making your lashes appear more voluminous.

Oh and if your mascara has dried up a little, just add some saline to the tube, this will give it that little moisture it needs for flawless application.

3. Brow perfection

Adding definition and shape to your eyebrows can completely transform your face! For an instant eye lift firstly shape your brows. Start by brushing your eyebrows so the hairs are sitting naturally, then use a soft, waxy brow pencil like the ELES Precision Brow Pencil to shape and fill in your brows using short, hair-like strokes. Next define and ‘lift’ brows by using a white eyeliner as a brow highlighter. Line below and above your eyebrows and smudge it out with a sponge or fingertip. You can also opt to use a highlighter if you don’t have a while liner on hand.

With summer now officially behind us (boo), and the cooler days of autumn here, you might well have started to notice a slight change in your skin? From dehydration to hyper-pigmented patches, seasonal changes can reap havoc on our complexion, but with just a few simple changes to your daily skincare routine (and some dry skin remedies thrown into the mix), we promise you can calmly transition your skin from summer to autumn, seeing it happily and healthily through the cooler months ahead. So read on for our 8 top tips on how to get glowy autumn skin.

1. Exfoliate away dead summer skin cells

Even though skin becomes drier and more sensitive in the cooler months, exfoliation is not a step that should ever be missed! Those dry dead skin cells that sit on the surface of your skin are not only dulling it, they are also blocking the hydrating ingredients from every other skincare step in your routine from getting in! Just be sure not to overdo it though. If your skin tends to be on the more sensitive side, we recommend exfoliating no more than once a week and opting for natural enzyme exfoliators rather than physical ones where rubbing and scrubbing can cause irritation.

Both the Phytomer Vegetal Exfoliant with Natural Enzymes and Pevonia’s Enzymo Spherides Peeling Cream are formulated with natural enzymes which basically melt away dead cells so no scrubbing is needed and the results speak for themselves – brighter, more radiant skin after every application.

For all other skin types, exfoliating once or twice a week is a must. Try Pevonia’s Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser, it’s one of the brands global best sellers and for good reason!

2. Switch your cleanser to an oil or balm

As the temperature starts to drop your skin will start to produce less oil, as water loss from skin is increased, this means it’s time to forgo the gel or foaming cleanser which has been your go-to through the warm summer season, and opt for gentle cream, milk or oil-based formulas that will thoroughly cleanse your skin without stripping it of much-needed moisture. Try Phytomer’s Cyfolia Radiance Cleansing Cream. It’s formulated with Organic Orange water, Oligomer, Organic Vegetal Oils and Cyfolia Algae which literally melts on contact with the skin to gently cleanse and remove makeup, oil and impurities. Bliss.

3. Know what skin survival ingredients to look for

It’s important to look for skincare formulated with ingredients that will not only hydrate but also assist the skin in retaining that moisture all day long. Ingredients rich in essential fatty acids such as squalane (olive oil) and vitamin E as well as superstar hydrators including hyaluronic acid, marine collagen and Glycerin, will keep the skin plump and hydrated, while ingredients such as shea butter and argan oil will ensure cells function optimally allowing them to maximise the skin’s water retention.

4. Give your skin a moisture surge

Early autumn can see skin depleted of moisture which leads to a dry, devitalized complexion. So be sure to up the ante and incorporate dry skin remedies into your daily routine. If you aren’t already, be sure to apply a hydrating serum each morning under your daily moisturiser and a replenishing oil at night.

Don’t forget your body too!  After your shower, smother your damp skin from neck to toes with a rich body balm or body oil.  Did you know the skin’s outer layer swells open when it’s damp allowing products to penetrate better?

5. Reduce hyperpigmented patches

While you can’t undo the damage that the UV rays have caused while you’ve been sunning yourself by the sea, you can help minimise the appearance of hyperpigmentation. To help fade the look of dark spots and even skin tone click there.

6. Don’t forgo your sunscreen

Yes, it’s easy to remember to apply your sunscreen when you’re headed to the beach, or out and about on holiday, but so many of us seem to skip this vital step as soon as the cooler, cloudier months arrive! Still the biggest offender of premature ageing, UVA rays are prevalent all year round and can penetrate clouds, glass and even some clothes! Scary right? So make sure you continue this vital step in your daily routine and keep skin looking younger! For a daily moisturiser to die for, try the ELES Luminous Defence Brightening Day Protection.

If you aren’t a huge lover of sunscreen on your face, opt for a foundation with a high SPF. Try ELES’s Age Defying BB Cream 30, I promise it’ll become your go-to all autumn long. It’s multi-faceted and benefit-packed, and primes, tints, nourishes, evens out skin tone, and helps to strengthen and protect the skin on contact! Genius.

7. Use an antioxidant-rich cream at night

At night, your skin switches from ‘protect’ to ‘repair’ mode. It’s when it can finally recover from the day’s stresses so applying a rich night moisturising cream will offer no end of benefits. I LOVE Phytomer’s Night Recharge Youth Enhancing Cream. The rich texture of the cream literally cocoons skin in nourishing hydration while it boosts your skin’s renewal, so your complexion gets all the benefits while you slumber. Adding a few drops of rich nourishing oil to your night cream, or immediately after applying will give skin that extra boost too. Try Pevonia’s Vitaminic Concentrate. This soothing, silky oil has the most amazing mandarin aroma (it’s formulated with Mandarin Essential Oil) and is quite literally worth its weight in gold! It’s fast-absorbing and radically hydrating! So you’ll wake up to smooth, supple, and seriously glowy skin every morning. I kid you not.

8. Give your eyes and lips a little extra TLC

Our lips lack melanin so they are especially susceptible to sun damage and after several months of hot weather are also prone to deep dryness.  Squinting, sweating and the sun can also cause damage to the fragile eye area.  So give these areas some TLC.  Reach for nourishing lip colour instead of drying mattes, apply SPF over your lips and at night offer some much-needed repair.  Phytomer – Youth Contour Soothing Eye and Lip Cream is our favourite because it is formulated to calm, soothe and replenish delicate skin.