From South Africa to London, Melbourne, and now Brisbane (not necessarily in that order!), René George has built an impressive career in the luxury cosmetics industry.
I recently booked a one-on-one consult with René—an internationally trained makeup artist and the official distributor for Emani Cosmetics in Australia—and came away with a wealth of beauty wisdom (and a glowing face to match!) …
With over 25 years in the cosmetics industry, René’s career spans some impressive roles—from managing the Lancôme department at Harvey Nichols in London, to turning around the Dior department in Brisbane, catapulting it from #20 in Australia to #1 in just six months! She’s passionate about customer service and training consultants, but it was her work with brides that opened her eyes to the importance of clean beauty.
Why Clean Beauty Matters
After hearing horror stories about brides having allergic reactions on their big day, René became committed to using only clean, non-toxic products. Over the years, she’s heard many common complaints from women about makeup:
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Too many products to choose from
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Products are too expensive
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It’s all so confusing—how do I even use it?
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So many chemicals!
Honestly, I can relate. These days I don’t wear much makeup—unlike my younger years when I wouldn’t leave the house without a full face of war paint!
Mostly it’s just a slick of lippy. But sometimes you need a bit of glam—like when I attended an awards night and a 70th birthday last month. Out came my (slightly neglected) makeup kit.
Makeup for Midlife Tips
Here are just some of the fabulous makeup tips René shared, especially helpful for those of us with more (ahem!) experience in life:
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Colour lifts! As everything starts heading south, adding a bit of colour can really brighten your whole face.
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Create a false socket with a darker eyeshadow to open up the eye area—perfect as the eyelids start to droop.
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No more mascara face contortions! Instead of pulling weird faces, look down and sweep your mascara up. With Emani mascara, if you get a smudge, just let it dry and brush it off—no need to redo your whole look.
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Eyebrow magic: I used to fill from the bottom up, but René showed me how to brush brows up and use feathery strokes from the top to really open up the eyes.
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Moisturising technique: Always apply skincare or foundation with upward strokes—but if peach fuzz is a concern, finish with a downward stroke to smooth it into place.
My Personal Makeup Tips
As someone with a longer face, I apparently have a bit more real estate to work with!
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René taught me to apply bronzer in a soft “C” shape, starting under the cheekbone and curving up past the eye to the forehead.
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A bit of highlighter on the cheekbone adds a healthy glow.
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I’d stopped using eyeshadow and liner ages ago, unsure how to deal with sagging lids. René’s trick of creating a false socket was a total game-changer!
A Bit About Emani
René only sells what she’s personally tested for at least six months. She discovered Emani during skincare training and was impressed by both their clean beauty ethos – did I mention that it’s vegan AND cruelty-free?! – and their colour range. This stuff actually helps heal the skin so it’s the ideal makeup for midlife! She became a stockist in 2015 and the Australian distributor in 2020, with a new website launched in 2021.
What I Learned at René’s Workshop
Sessions start with special attention to skincare—René’s a qualified skincare technician—and wow, does she know her stuff!
After years of having an oil factory on my face (LOL), I thought my skin was getting dry, especially around the edges. Turns out that these days I have combination skin, and that ‘dryness’ was actually a build-up of dead skin cells. Yikes! Apparently, we can have up to 48 layers of dead skin on our face at any one time.
René recommends exfoliating two or three times a week with a gentle exfoliant. Skip the sugar scrubs—those cube-shaped granules can cause micro-tears. Look for exfoliants with spherical granules instead, which are much kinder to your skin and help boost circulation and collagen.
Other skincare gems:
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Eye cream is a must after 25! The skin under our eyes is more delicate and has fewer oil ducts.
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Night cream helps healing. I’d never used one, but now I’m hooked. She introduced me to a professional skin care brand, Vagheggi, and their night cream smells like lavender bliss and helps me drift off.
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Bad news for screen addicts: Spending all day in front of a computer? Your skin ages up to 10% faster thanks to blue light. Look for products that block blue light to help protect your skin.
Suffering from FOMO? The good news is that René regularly runs workshops in Brisbane, so head to the website to find out when the next Best of Natural Beauty class is being held!
Products used to achieve this look:
- Perfect 10 Primer – Vegan primer and serum
- Liquid Foundation – Hydrawear Plus Foundation in Medium Light
- Concealer – New Vegan Concealer and Niacinamide
- Powder – Flawless Matte Foundation Powder in Ginger BEST SELLER!
- Brows – Brow Creme Pomade in Blonde
- Eyeshadow and Eyeliner – Vegan Eyeshadow Quad in Feeling Blessed
- Mascara – Healthy Lash /Soy Infused Mascara
- Blush – St Tropez (Limited Edition – Contact Emani Australia direct as only a very few left!)
- Bronzer – Copacabana Face Bronzer
- Lip Gloss – Lip Shine Gloss in Social Climber
