Alice McCall, Fashion Designer

Free spirited, feminine and fun, fashion designer Alice McCall’s personality perfectly matches her whimsical designs. Her eponymous label celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and has cemented itself in the style lexicon of trendsetters both here and overseas with the likes of Kendall Jenner and Margaret Zhang being spotted in the label.

With her titian hair and bold, bohemian style, the mother-of-two has a natural approach to grooming, pairing a passionate yoga practice with coterie of tricks picked up during her travels. She recently welcomed us into her eclectic Eastern Suburbs terrace and, while corralling daughters Wilde Rose (7) and Hopi (2) into a few impromptu family portraits, mused on the beauty secrets she’s learned.

ALICE WEARS OFF-THE-SHOULDER DRESS FROM HER OWN LABEL

I moved back to Australia in 2002…

And I remember I was in Byron Bay over New Years, it was literally one of those times when I woke up one day and I was like, “I’ve got to go out on my own.” I got a whole collection together and by May 2003 I launched at Fashion Week in Australia. David Jones picked me up straight away, I was picked up by The Corner Store, we got about 30 stockists in Australia. It’s really landmark and it makes you think about how far you’ve come and where you’re going. I was a stylist for ten years in London, doing a combination of fashion, music and advertising. And I had a great time working with people like Destiny’s Child, Natalie Imbruglia and doing Nike campaigns, but I just knew I wanted to work for myself.

I’m a Crème De La Mer girl

I really love their moisturiser and I’ve used it for years. I’m quite dry skinned but it’s rich and I feel like it lasts all day. I’m quite frequently travelling and I always stock up when I’m at the airport. I love to go for facials too, I go and get a good old ‘face hoover’ microdermabrasion at Heber Davis in Broadway. I think to just have that ‘new skin’, it’s wonderful.

IN HER MAKEUP BAG - MAC, NARS AND RAE MORRIS BRUSHES

IN ALICE'S LEOPARD PURSE: PLAYFUL SUNNIES AND CHEEK STAIN

Rose is good for the heart…

So I love anything with rose essential oil. I use an Aveda rose oil on my face and for everything else I go to Mecca. That’s where I stock up. I get the Diptyque perfume, I wear Rose or Fig and I love the Diptyque candles. I’ve also got a wonderful new moisturiser I’ve started to use from Mecca with rose essence. I love Aesop as well, they use rose quite a bit. It’s divine, and Aesop do great oils. I like all natural products. I use a Clarins toner and cleanser, as I’m all about hydrating products.

I’ve been going to Desmond and Molly Jones…

For my colour and I touch it up myself. My hairdresser mixes this wonderful pink for me and then I’ll take it away. It’s so easy because you’re using it as a conditioning treatment at the same time. So you leave it in for half an hour and it conditions, so you get that real gloss. It’s a two in one with the colour and the condition, it’s perfect actually.

ALICE CAPTURES SPECIAL MOMENTS WITH HER CANON G15

POM POM SLIPPERS FROM MYKONOS AND COLOURFUL MAKEUP

I think cheek stains are really good

Benefit does good ones. A trick I leant was from a place in Soho in London that was a theatrical makeup place, they did a product very similar Benefits. Because obviously for the ballerinas, they need those rosy cheeks that are quite long lasting because they’re dancing. So that was a little trick I learnt, going to the theatrical makeup place in Soho and getting their cheek stain. I love using colourful makeup and I love Nars for their eye shadow colour combinations. MAC is good too, it’s just the best shop. I can do my own makeup – I never spend too long on it but I’ll do grey [eyeshadow], turquoises, petrol blues and cobalts.

My beauty style is very natural

I don’t like to use fake tan but I like to go in the sun, I really love the Vitamin D. So I love to spend a bit of time in the sun. I do feel like beauty comes from within, in the respect that I love going to yoga and I love having great skin. I really love the yoga body mind flow and I go to Body Mind Life at Surry Hills. God it’s good, I try to get there two to three times a week. To start within and feeling, meditating, spending time with nature.

BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS AND DECORATIVE SKULLS ADORN HER MANTLEPIECE

Story by Sigourney Cantelo; Arranged by Ally McManus; Photography by Daniel Gurton, Hair & Makeup by Becca Gilmartin, Still-life styling by Amanda Chan.