Beauty chat with Eleanor Pendleton

As the founder and editor of Gritty Pretty, and the ambassador of Myer’s ‘Here I am’ campaign, it’s fair to say that you know Eleanor Pendleton’s face and name. 

Between giving skin consultations with SK-II and hosting her own masterclass for the Myer beauty event, we caught up with Eleanor to see what it was like to be the face of Myer’s campaign, and if she’d divulge a few of her beauty secrets. 

What does it mean to you to be the face of the Here I Am campaign?
 “It is quiet hard to put this into words because it is such an honour to be asked to be part of this campaign. This is the first time that Myer has ever put a non-model on the front of the campaign and for that person to be me is very surreal. I actually walked into the store last night and saw a poster on the wall with my face on it and I was like what is happing. I just needed to take a million photos for my mum. But more than anything is to be asked from a company like Myer is an honour but what really attracted me to this campaign is the entire message behind it, because I am so incredibly passionate about encouraging woman to appreciate their own beauty. The whole brand message behind this entire brand campaign is what really genuinely connected me to it so, yeah, it is a real pinch me moment.” 

We are now in autumn - how has your beauty kit changed or will it change coming into the cooler months?
“We still are experiencing heat and a delayed summer, so it hasn’t changed too much, however I am starting to introduce oils into my routine. I am noticing that my skin is becoming a little bit dehydrated and partially that is because I am travelling quite a lot. So I am starting to introduce oils into my routine and into my hair routine to nourish and put a lot of moisture into my skin and my hair. And then moving closer into the more of the autumn months I will start to introduce more rich and beautiful textures and creams and moisturisers.” 

What about with your makeup?
“ To be honest, I love a dewy, healthy radiant look all year round. I am not a big fan of the matte skin look. I think that matte skin can very lacklustre and dull, and therefore I can find it quite ageing. I prefer a liquid look all year round regardless of the season and then going into the summer months I might introduce more illuminators than usual. But, yeah, I tend to like a liquid healthy, dewy look most of the time.” 

Do you look at runway trends and incorporate them into your look or do you like to stick to your go-to looks that you know work?
“Because of my job as a beauty editor, I am obviously very aware of what trends come through and I like to take some of those and translate them into more of a real way. If I see a really, really blue eye shadow look, I am probably not going to wear that straight off the runway, but I might try and pair that right back somewhere or it might be just a tiny lining of a navy colour or blue eyeliner along the lash line. So I try to make it a bit more wearable. But I do tend to steer to more of a classic look all year round. I also like to have a bit of fun with smoky eye, I prefer a brown smoky eye rather than a black because I find that a black smoky eye makes my eyes a little smaller and it’s a bit too harsh.  And then I love looks like a signature red lipstick. It’s a classic and it was classic 50 years ago, you just can’t go wrong and it is something that I think suits every single type of woman, so I do tend to steer towards a classic look rather than just a trend.” 

How will your skin care routine change as it gets cooler?
“I am a skin fiend. I love skin care! My skin is my passion. It is my five minutes in the morning and in the evening and that is just to myself. I am definitely going to be using a lot more masks as we get into the cooler months. I did one last night and it just really gave my skin that extra hydration. When your skin is hydrated it is more plump and youthful, so I am very weary of that and I think it is very important for you to look after your skin because it is your body’s largest living organ. So I will definitely be introducing a lot more masks and I will start using more oils. I will start using more face oils as my night moisturiser so swapping it out just for night times, because in the day it might be a bit too much. And I guess just steer towards those richer textures.” 

Can you so talk us through the Eleanor Pendleton skin care routine? 
“Okay so I obviously cleanse, I either use a cream cleanser or micellar cleansing water to take off makeup. Then I would go straight into an essence to really prepare my skin and get it ready for all the products that I am going to apply. Then I go serum, eye cream, face cream and sunscreen. And at night that’s when I might use an oil." 

What are a few of your cannot-live-without products?
“Definitely and foremost would be SK-II Facial treatment Essence. No matter what I am using on my skin, I have to have that product. I have used it for ten years now, morning and night and whenever I run out is when I notice a difference. So as soon as I run out of that solution and I am not applying before my serum or after my serum, my skin just freaks out, it becomes bumpy and dry and just does not behave. So that is the one thing that I have to have. 

An SPF tinted moisturiser. I like the dewy look but for the weekend. I like the CC cream by Bobbi Brown, which essentially is a colour corrector tinted moisturiser. That’s a really great product. Anything really that has an SPF I am a fan of because it is two steps in one.  

What else, highlighter. I prefer a powder, but you do have to be careful of how to illuminate because it can settle into fine lines. So if you start to get those fine lines, then steer towards a liquid. Liquids are also good because you can put just a drop into your foundation. Mix it on the back of your hand and then apply it to your face. It just instantly makes you look glowing and radiant and looks like you just had a holiday in the Maldives. So yes I would have to say those three.”

What is the secret to your glowing skin?
“Your makeup starts with your skin care. If you can get your skin right and your complexion is clear, it means that you do not have to apply as much make-up. It means that your makeup is going to go on better and last longer and you are going to have more of that radiant look. When it comes to my actual cosmetic routine, I love MAC Strobe Cream. I use it as a primer all over the face. Then I would take my liquid foundation. I love NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. I also love Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk - it has been a go-to for dewy coverage and it is not too heavy either but it is also buildable so you start sheer and then if you feel like you have had zero sleep you can just pop a little more and then get to that point when you have enough coverage and are able to really build on it. I love MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle – it is such a beautiful illuminator for your skin tone and a fail-safe illuminator. It really gives me this glowing and dewy look."

What are some of your favourite tricks that you’ve picked up over the years?
“If you take a sheeny lipstick and you really want it to be matte – that whole matte look is in at the moment – but you don’t have one and you really love that colour, what you can do is take a tissue, pull it apart so you just have one ply. You will feel ridiculous when you do this, but pop it on top of your lips then take a loose powder or a face powder and dust it over the tissue as it sits on your lips. When you peel that tissue off suddenly your lips are going to have that beautiful matte effect, which is a kind of a nice trick. 

Also, so many people struggle with eyeliner making that perfect cat eye, but two tricks when doing a liquid eyeliner: one, when you are confident enough with say a brush or a pen, you have to make sure that your elbow is grounded, so you cant just stand in front of a mirror and apply it. You have to make sure that there is a surface your elbow can sit on and then you can apply it. The other trick is taking a piece of sticky tape and putting it on along the lash line in a diagonal so it can connect to the upper corner of the eye, up to the outer eyebrow so then you can draw the flick then you can peel it off. So that’s a really nice trick.” 

What does beauty mean to you?
“Beauty to me is more than cosmetic, that’s for sure. That term its more than skin deep that gets thrown around, I genuinely do believe that. I am a big believer in energy and when you see someone that is happy, you instantly feed off their happiness. If you meet someone and they are negative, you instantly absorb that negativity and it makes you feel down, and I guess there is nothing more beautiful when you meet somebody that is happy and radiates good energy and confidence. When a person is confident, they are at their absolute most beautiful.”

Do you live in Sydney and want to learn more from Eleanor Pendleton? Make sure to book into her Sydney Masterclass on March 18 2017

Find out more about what's happening at Myer this month here

Image credit: Supplied