BEAUTY SPOT Harmony Douglas
Harmony Douglas never expected the incredible success of her fur label Harmony & Lawson. After several years working as a journalist on the East Coast of Australia and modelling both here and overseas in Asia and America, she decided to go back to university and complete another degree and change direction. Harmony & Lawson was born from a creative spark and a gut feeling that not only her family and friends would love a practical, lightweight range of fur jackets, vests and scarves but the rest of world would too. Quickly gaining momentum around Australia from leading retailers who showed huge support for her designs, Harmony juggled graduating from uni with launching Harmony & Lawson. After Kelly Rowland decided she also loved the fur designs of Harmony & Lawson and was photographed whilst on her Australian tour wearing one of H&L’s black Aspens, there was no looking back. Since, Harmony & Lawson has been on the backs of supermodels in Paris before the Chanel Couture shows as well as numerous celebrities both locally and internationally who have joined the Harmony & Lawson cult. The label focusses on timeless and unique garments that appeal to both the bohemian and classic woman.
Harmony & Lawson can be found in all leading boutique retailers and online at www.harmonyandlawson.com
What are your earliest makeup memories? My earliest memories of makeup were of my Grandmother Ethel who was always very ‘done’ and took a lot of pride in her appearance. She had an incredible amount of makeup, jewellery and clothes. Ethel would swan around her palatial home in long kaftans she bought from Hawaii, (decades before Camilla Franks made them trendy), with huge round Christian Dior glasses, a full face of makeup and exclaim loudly that I would never find a husband unless I wore lipstick! She would also advise that I should always dress as if I were to meet my potential husband that day. Ethel is extravagant, opinionated and outrageous but always chic. After I did meet my husband-to-be she did say once again that I would never find a husband because I didn’t wear lipstick, we never could quite understand her reasoning but she certainly is a style icon in my eyes.
My Mum Katrina always looked effortlessly stunning but she never made a big deal about what products she was using or had a strict regimen. I do remember seeing a lot of Clarins around; I always loved the gold and white packaging. I am much stricter with my skin and the products I use, Mum didn’t grow up in Australia so she had a natural advantage of flawless European skin. She also had the longest, thickest, most amazing hip length blonde hair, so she looked effortlessly chic with just bare minimum makeup and her trademark hair. Mum looked a lot like Jerry Hall at the time when she was dating Mick Jagger; tall, slim and pretty with the most incredible hair! I think she was more attractive than Jerry! People would stop us all over the world and try and coax her to model for them, which sometimes she agreed to. I remember in San Francisco when I was about 4 and my brother Lawson was 2, the advertising agency that dealt with Huggies Nappies all over the US wanted our whole family, including Dad to be the faces of Huggies for the print and TV ads. Mum would always just shrug it off as if to say; no thanks, I’m not exploiting my kids!
All I can say is that I have a lot to live up to!
What’s the best piece of beauty advice you have ever been given? To cover my face with SPF 30+ every morning religiously, I definitely think it has helped stall the aging process.
Any family secret tips and tricks or recipes? Drink a lot of water, get a lot of sleep and focus on a good diet with a lot of protein – nuts, tuna, fish and have the odd glass of red wine. I have a pretty raucous sense of humor – I think if you stay young at heart you will beat the wrinkles. When I was modeling I learnt a lot about makeup but I didn’t really ever love the makeup that was done on my face – always too thick and stagey but it did teach me how to apply fake lashes, blend into the hairline and how to contour cleavage if you need to make it look bigger!
What’s your daily routine like and what products do you use? After a shower I apply Kiehl’s eye brightening concentrate and then Clinique Super Rescue Antioxidant Moisturiser. I then use Clinique City Block 30+ or Superdefense SPF 25+ as a primer and sunscreen for under my makeup. For work I wear Chanel makeup Vitalumiere Aqua with Glo mineral powder on top for a flawless finish and Diorshow Extase Mascara. If I have meetings I will generally use one of my Chanel Quad eye shadow palettes (my favorite is the Spices combo) to give some color to my eye lids and Lancome Juicy Tubes on my lips in Lychee or Peche.
I’m pretty basic during the day, the whole routine takes about 5 minutes, I prefer to look polished and classic rather than overdone.
How do you change this for night? At night I use Clarins Beauty Flash Balm as my primer, Dior Extreme Wear, Dior Photo Finish or Napolean Sheer Genius foundation depending on how I am feeling! The Chanel palettes and Diorshow Extase Mascara again, as well as the Dior Waterproof Crayon in Trinidad Noir for some eye definition.
Any makeup or hairstyles you’d rather forget from your past? The Christ Church Boys Grammar School Year 12 ball, which I sadly attended over a decade ago! I decided that crimped hair and silver Chanel eye shadow was my look of the moment to match my silver dress. The “look” was completed with a star sticker on my cheekbone. Chanel did my makeup and the hairdresser somehow agreed to my 70’s do but it was unforgettable! I remember a few wolf whistles that night though, I think the boys digged my Roller Girl look!
What’s the one product you just can’t live without? Diorshow Extase Mascara
Do you have a signature fragrance? I have a penchant for perfume and think every woman should have a signature scent… or a few! I wear Chanel Coco Mademoiselle day to day but swap around with about 8 other perfumes including Christian Dior J’adore, Miss Dior Cherie, Chanel Allure, Ralph Lauren Romance and Issey Miyake, Issey. Someone recently said to me that when they smell J’adore they think of me, it was my staple when I lived in Sydney.
What nail polish are you currently wearing (or have worn lately?) OPI Peace, Baby! on my fingers and Butter London Fash Pack on my toe nails.
What would you tell the younger you if you could go back in time? Don’t race home from school and pick your pimples and don’t worry so much what you look like, you will turn out ok!
