Nadia Fairfax, Fashion Blogger

We sat down with the tomboy turned trendcaster in her sleek office and home away from home, La Porte Space (while Fashion Bloggers TV filmed us for the show – tune in tonight at 9.30pm to see it on Channel E!). In her frank interview Nadia revealed how she found her feet making toast for Camilla Franks and her simple yet style-savvy approach to beauty.

“I never imagined that I would even work in fashion

I studied journalism in uni and thought that I was going to be a sport journalist on Fox Sport news. I grew up in a sporty family. My father, Russell, was a Wallaby [football player] and he always worked in sport media and coached afterwards. I studied at the Institute of Sport in Canberra for gymnastics and then I came home and did uni. I was really lost, I didn’t really know what I was doing. It took me a while to find my feet in Sydney. My parents are really good friends with Camilla Franks’ parents so my mum got me to do some work with Camilla. I was like her personal assistant, I made toast for her and all that intern stuff and it just sort of grew from there.

NADIA'S CAREER IN FASHION STARTED WITH BEING A FASHION DESIGNER'S PERSONAL ASSISTANT

NADIA'S INSTAGRAM WAS WHAT INSPIRED HER TO START A BLOG

I had 20 thousand followers on Instagram before I started my blog

Working in fashion sales and PR, I was always wearing different outfits at different events and I had brands reposting what I was wearing and it just sort of spiraled out of control. I worked for Camilla, then Shakuhachi, Aje and then Ellery after my blog started. It was a weird thing. I didn’t really think that I wanted to be a blogger, I just had a following. People were interested in where I was hanging out, where I was drinking, that sort of thing. So I thought I may as well make something out of this.

I try not to be persuaded with my blog and keep things classic

Fairfax Journal is more editorial. It’s not street style at all. Most of the time I like to work with a team as well. There’s always a make up artist, a great photographer, sometimes I will even get a stylist to help me. We’ll pull an outfit together but then when I’m on a shoot I can’t see what’s going on behind the lens. I feel it’s important to have someone watch over you. The concept is just editorial. I try to not look at too many [other blogs] because you can end up stealing other people’s visions or creations. I just use my own brain. I’m always inspired by different people and places. I love older women like my boyfriend’s mother, my own mother, and my grandmother.

NADIA WORKS WITH CREATIVE TEAMS WHILE MODELING TRENDS

NADIA PREFERS THE LESS IS MORE APPROACH TO BEAUTY

My mum taught me to keep it ‘el natural’

She’s sporty but very fashionable, very classic, and always telling me to tone things down. When I first started wearing make up she was like ‘wow, go wipe your face – you are not leaving the house’. She taught me that less is more. Some people won’t like me saying that. It’s all about health and the wellness will show. It’s about drinking lots of water and always having my hair cut – ratty hair is not allowed in my house. I always keep it nude with my nails. The only colours I use are (OPI Bubblebath – the go-to, ‘Don’t Pretzel My Buttons and Essie’s ‘Sand Tropez ’). I’ve let my eyebrows completely grow out, too, I don’t touch them at all. I push them up and pencil them in a bit with my Elizabeth Arden eyebrow pencil. I also use Clinique Chubby Sticks, they are so cute.

The weekend is the weekend

As a blogger, I work hard but I’m not going to come home and stay up until 2am to finish something. The best part about blogging is being able to work for yourself and not having to adhere to hours and rules. That’s so important to me. I’ve got social friends who are in our industry but they’re not the people that I hang out with on the weekend. You’ve got to remember who are your solid foundation friends and who are your industry acquaintance friends.

NADIA LOVES THE FLEXIBILITY OF WORKING FOR HERSELF

THE BLOGGER USES A CLEANSING OIL UNDER HER MAKEUP TO KEEP HER FACE GLOWING

I’m probably a touch lazy with my approach to beauty, I wish I put more effort in.

I’ll try a lot of different things and see if they work for me. The products I use are quite light, I don’t like when they are too thick and I can feel it. I use this La Mer Cleansing Oil, I use it to wipe make up off with a cotton pad or I’ll use it underneath my make up. It’s a make up trick I learnt. When I’m on a shoot, I’ll use the same cleansing oil as a body oil to give me that radiant shine.

I start with a primer first, I absolutely love the Charlotte Tilbury one.

Hourglass had been my standard primer for a while but I’ve been experimenting. I change my make up from night to day so in the day I use a cream blush by Kevyn Aucoin. The same goes for my foundation. In the day it’s more dewy and in the night I’m really happy to matte it up with the Make Up Forever HD Pressed Powder. I mix foundations. I use Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Perfectly Satin as my day foundation but then I’ll put the Chanel foundation on parts of my face at night because I prefer it to be heavier. I use the Stila concealer to cover dark circles and blemishes and then YSL Touche Éclat for highlighting. My face eats make up. I have combination skin so when I go out at night I have to take my whole make up kit with me – I never carry small hand bags.

NADIA'S MAKEUP ESSENTIALS: CHANEL, YSL AND ARDEN

NADIA WEARS ASHKAR BODICE AND VICTORIA & WOODS PANTS

I use SKII round-the-clock

I keep the Midday Miracle Essence in my handbag and put it on top of my make up because it’s designed to penetrate through to my skin. I use the Creme de la Mermoisturisers, it’s very rich I’ve been enjoying it. I use CR Formulations The One as a serum, it has silk and pearl peptides, everything you want in a skincare. I also do an IPL facial every 6 weeks but I’m not diligent with the upkeep.

My beauty look has to stay relatively stable

I think with fashion I’m a little bit of a chameleon. I like to try different looks. One day I want to dress like a tennis star from the eighties and the next I want to dress like cat woman. Because I’m like a yoyo I need to have a bit of a stability with my beauty look – so I’m not having an identity crisis every time.

NADIA'S MAKEUP LOOK IS SUBDUED COMPARED TO HER VARIOUS FASHION FACES

NADIA HAS A LOW MAINTENANCE CUT TO KEEP HER LOOK SHARP

The older I get, the bolder and shorter my hair gets

I’m a wash and wear kind of girl with my hair, which means I need to have a bit of a wash and wear cut. I’m actually wearing it up more and more. I see a girl called Julia at YM salon in Woolahra, recommended to me by my old bosses at Aje. I don’t like too much maintenance so it has to be a really natural colour through the top. Sometimes I don’t colour it for 6 months – charming! I use Evo’s ‘Builders Paradise’ – it’s phenomenal it’s a cross between hair spray and dry shampoo so you can build. I’m not a massive hair person it’s usually a wash and wear look – I barely use a straightener. I’ll also always use a leave in hair conditioner as well. I use Sachajuan Intense Hair Repair Shampoo and Conditioner.”

Interview by Sigourney Cantelo; Assisted by Amanda Chan; Arranged by Claudia De Berardinis; Photography by Daniel Gurton; Hair by Paloma Rose Garcia; Makeup by Filomena Natoli.