At Friendie Audio, we really connected with some of the women’s stories.
Hanan Ibrahim is one. She spent 2020 working overtime in her role as a radiation therapist in a busy Melbourne hospital. She is an advocate for female empowerment and racial and cultural equality. She is also a very successful model, recently working with Country Road and Mimco, and is a role model for all women as well as women of colour. Hanan was particularly touched by our 2020 Friendie campaign for Beyond Blue, where we offered headphones for a ‘Pay What You Can’ scheme, with profits raised going straight to the charity. She helped individuals in her suburb of Melbourne to access our Friendie headphones, at a time when they may not have been able to afford a ‘luxury’ item. Our mantra that ‘Music brings Happiness’ is never more true, and Hanan helped to spread the joy even further within her community at a very challenging time in our world.
Maria Thattil is another. You may know her name already- she’s the current Miss Universe Australia. What a privilege getting to know her! We discovered midway through the year that her gorgeous dog stole her headphones and ate them. Yep. Her dog literally ate her Friendie headphones! She was so apologetic for her dog’s impeccably good taste, and extremely grateful and gracious when we sent her a replacement pair. She’s one to follow. She embodies strength, grace, honesty, intelligence and compassion. She stands up for what she believes in. She advocates for women and equality. She raises her voice against injustice and doesn’t hold back. She’s walking her own path and showing the world how it’s done. It’s everything we would want our daughter’s to be- authentic and courageous.
These are two examples of women we are proud to know, and two of many shining lights we are proud to have ‘met’ through the Miss Universe Australia program. It’s not ‘another beautify pageant’. It could be, for any women content to cruise through and simply spruik some free products. But that’s on the women, and that’s a choice- because instead of this, they are encouraged to learn, to celebrate their differences, to enjoy new experiences, to find ways to grow and flourish, and to be united and connected- even if COVID threatens to lock us all down and keep us separate! It’s a program encouraging women to shatter glass ceilings, if they have the courage to do so.
The next wave of finalists has just been announced and the 2021 program is in full swing. We are looking forward to meeting some new faces and hopefully, Australia can get to meet a new generation of women who aren’t content with just sitting back; hopefully, women like Hanan and Maria have paved the way for authenticity and truth. At Friendie, our core values align. As a female-founded family company, we embrace diversity and inclusion. We aim to live happy, healthy and fulfilled lives where we ‘dream big and keep it simple’. Our favourite Friendie core value is to 'do better than before”', which applies to our products, our work, our personal lives and our work-family’s vision for the future.
It’s pretty cool to dare to dream.
Follow along on Instagram:
@iamxanaan – Hanan Ibrahim
@mariathattil – Maria Thattil
Www.instagram.com/mariathattil
@friendie_audio – Friendie Audio
Www.instagram.com/friendie_audio
@missuniverseaustralia.official – Miss Universe Australia Official Account
Www.instagram.com/missuniverseaustralia.official
@pinktankevents- Pink Tank Events Management
Www.instagram.com/pinktankevents
]]>
Emma Cotterill is the mixologist of style who put together an intoxicating array of looks for the Face of Friendie 2020 shoot, a cocktail menu from fresh morning sports luxe to high octane party looks.
Growing up in the UK Emma embodies the Britchic attitude of London cool. She styles adding a dash of the punk sensibility of rebelling against the norm, and questioning everything. She’s a real rag trade insider having trained and worked with fashion in houses for garments, accessories and footwear. Emma loves the influence of music on fashion and fashion on music.
“I am a music person, I like to have music whatever I am doing. I hear certain tunes and they remind me of times in my life. I love hearing new music. When I moved from London I sold my lathes but I shipped my vinyl. I used to DJ in London and I couldn’t leave it.”, says Emma.
Leaving school, Emma knew that fashion was her future and began the traditionally slow education route to a fashion career, but fate and determination supercharged her story.
“I was invited to go to a show at Paris Fashion Week. I was meant to go for one week but I stayed for two. I got kicked out of college because I had missed too many classes but the project that I created about the shows got me straight into my fashion foundation course.”.
Next Emma joined the prestigious Cordwainers at London College of Fashion in East London and studied shoe design and making before creating ranges for major UK shoe labels. Fate struck again and Emma’s styling career took off.
“My friend was a makeup artist and she put me forward for my first styling job. I assisted an editor on a shoot for New York’s Interview Magazine (founded by Andy Warhol). It turned out that the shoot was Bryan Ferry! It was an incredible experience. We had racks and racks of fashion.”.
Emma worked as a stylist in London before moving to Sydney where she grew her career until today, when Emma is represented by Reload, Sydney’s leading creative talent agency.
Emma’s fashion advice is to always mix it up, and she makes no exception for leisurewear.
“So many people in leisurewear look like clones. Choose a smart take on athleisure with a sports luxe look. Have your basics like leggings but go for a really bright print or a different colour and wear them with a beautiful shirt. Camilla and Marc (C&M) are doing a sports range and using lots of fluoro, breaking away from the dark blue and black clone wear. Or mix a simple sweatshirt with a real statement like a sequin skirt. Bike shorts and crop tops are going to be huge next season with amazing fabrics, leopard print, sequins and chunky wool boucle. The Upside has stretch fabric with a gold or silver weave in it. You can be comfortable but still glamorous.”.
Non traditional fabrics become staples in Emma’s sports wardrobe. She says, “A lot of athleisure items are not very good for the environment. Silk is something that is really lightweight and easy to carry around anywhere. It’s natural so it’s breathable and sustainable. I love wearing a plain white silk shirt with leggings for a little bit of shine.”.
Great fashion, like great music, moves through your life with you, from day to night and through many situations.
“Who says officewear should be boring? Check out brands like Lux Deluxe that have done a take on office gear with a real lux feel and amazing fabrics. My favourite look from the Friendie shoot Raluca is leaning backwards in a denim jumpsuit. It’s the kind of outfit that can take you anywhere and that for me is freedom. It allows movement, I would wear those kind of flares to dance in. Mix it up! You can wear really beautiful girly things like a really beautiful lace blouse with something harder like light blue denim jeans.”.
Predicting looks for the post-iso Australian summer season, Emma sees people displaying the craft skills they learnt or remembered while they were at home. She’ll be decked out in reworked ‘70s dresses with amazing fabrics that she found in her attic during lockdown!
“It will be colour and beading and detail and people will be a lot more crafty because they will have been experimenting. Whatever you wear will express your new found confidence. People have been painting rainbows and wearing them!”
Jane Sahhar is co-founder of Friendie and guardian of the brand's look and feel. Having modeled in front of the camera in early Friendie shoots, Jane now directs the creative team, bringing her Friendie vision to life.
"Capturing the Friendie look is all about freshness and the natural glow and happiness of someone who’s outdoors loving life, feeling good, listening to music. It’s all about the Friendie energy. Friendie is with them everywhere from the gym to work to home. We want to capture the warmth and connection we feel in the brand.
"It was pretty magical being on location in Sydney as everything came together. A shoot is always a lot of work in advance and a lot of worry because you don’t know how it’s going to turn out, especially when you are meeting new people, putting together a new crew and seeing how they interact.
"The team was just incredible. Everyone was happy, open, engaging and kind and made the whole experience so memorable. It was beautiful to see people working together and appreciating each other and creating special moments. The team had the Friendie feel. It was really like hanging out with a great bunch of hardworking friends, and then making some pictures along the way!
"Of course, Raluca is beautiful but her personality is just so easy and happy and her work ethic is incredible. She took every note and delivered flawlessly. It was kind of amazing to watch her, she was one of those models who just nails it. Until you have watched a really top international model at work, you don't understand that it's the tiniest movements and the tiniest behaviours that make a difference in the shot. It takes so much more than beauty.
"Several times during the day I had to pinch myself to check that the images I had imagined for months were really coming to life. There were so many wow moments for me: seeing James’ gear and all the set up, the amazing array of clothes that Emma had pulled to bring my ideas to life and watching Liane perfect the flawless makeup looks throughout the day and then bringing Shimmer Squad magic for the party looks. It was a day full of little flutters of happiness where I just knew that great images were being created and memories were being made.
"My favourite moment of the shoot was the last few shots where the sun was dappling through the palm trees and the girls were dressed in really cool festival outfits that Emma had sourced and the girls had amazing makeup by Liane. It felt like the wrap party at the end of the shoot even though we were still working.
"It was a really happy moment and a great way to finish a really long day. We had tunes and sunshine and sat beside palm trees by the pool! It was a really different look to anything we had shot during the rest of the day, but that’s what the Friendie lifestyle is. Music carries through every moment of our days, from the nine to five work and going to the gym to weekends away at festivals in the sun, and back to routine.
"The adventure didn’t end there. The photographer James invited me to go paragliding, and even though it sounds crazy I said yes because how many times are you going to be asked to go paragliding over the ocean? So the next morning my amazing photographer took me paragliding before my flight home. Memories made."
]]>Hair and makeup artist Lianne Claire has a remarkable portfolio of work covering a spectrum from leading fashion and beauty advertising and editorial work to music labels, celebrities and the globe’s hottest clubs as well as a stable of loyal corporate brands.
Lianne was the perfect choice for Friendie as her work includes a stellar array of music industry heroes like Ed Sheeran, world leading sports brands like Nike and gorgeous Aussie sporting icons The Matildas.
The Friendie feel is fresh and fun and Lianne nailed it! Friendie skin looks fresh and glowing, with that just-been-to-the-gym-and-feeling-good look. Lianne created that with a combination of great base and foundation.
“I like to mix COVER FX Custom Enhancer drops Moonlight in with a light moisturiser and apply it to the skin as a glowing base before applying any foundation. My favourite all round foundation at the moment (and for a long time) is Makeup Forever’s Ultra HD Foundation. It gives enough coverage yet still looks like skin. I use a duet fibre stipple type foundation brush to really blend it into the skin.”.
Even supermodels love a little contour, and Lianne’s expert brush gave Raluca’s already stunning cheekbones extra zing.
“I prefer using cream products, particularly for a dewy glossy style shoot brief. I used a RCMA cream foundation to create the shadow of the contour. To find the best place to contour your cheek, start up near your ear and then gently blend along the bottom edge of your cheek bone – don’t ever go further than the nose otherwise you will close up your face! I prefer to use a brush for this rather than my fingers as I feel I can blend it out better, keep it soft. No racing stripes here.”.
Blush can look dated but not under Lianne’s expert eye; she gives it a perfect 2020 look.
“Again my preference is always cream products, Bobbi Brown cheek and lip stain in pale pink is just the perfect amount of flush. Use your finger to gently apply a small amount to the apple of your cheek. If you are having trouble finding the apple of your cheek – smile! There it is. Do not blend this all the way up your cheek bone. Keep the flush of the blush to the apple of your cheek only! It is not 1987.”.
The final touch to add to perfect skin is a highlight.
“Across the top of the cheekbone and around the temple slightly (C shape) I used a brush to apply a cream highlight. MAC Cream Color Base in Hush is lush for this. I also ran a tiny bit of it along the bridge of the nose and using a smaller brush, popped a little on the Cupids Bow of the lip to lift it slightly.”.
Great brows make a huge difference to any makeup look, but it’s essential that they look natural.
“I always brush the brows up and into place softly before I do anything – this helps me see where the gaps are and where they may need to be filled. I used Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in soft brunette. This is honestly the best pencil out there – it is angled for ease and perfection.”.
Raluca’s stunning eyes were always going to steal the show, but Lianne’s warm shimmery tones added to the magic.
“I have a gorgeous shimmery palette of eyeshadows that I bought a couple of years ago before heading to Ibiza to work my final summer making up the dancers in the clubs. I bought them because they were cheap and I knew I would churn through them over the summer. Turns out they are actually really great quality, beautiful colours and have lasted a treat! Morphe don’t make the palette I bought anymore, but I often use it for any time I am after golden bronzy shimmers (which is ALL the time!).
“Nars SURABAYA is a gorgeous warm brown shadow that I used on the outer edge of the eye for a bit of definition, always softly blended out of course. I curled the eyelashes with the only eyelash curler that I like, Shu Uemura, and then three coats of Benefits Bad Gal BANG mascara. The bomb.”
Many makeup artists would not be able to resist adding a lip but Lianne let the sensational skin and eyes say it all, keeping a natural lip.
“I added Lucas Paw Paw for a hint of sheen and the natural lip colour coming through is just beautiful.”, she says.
Lianne is also the founder of Shimmer Squad, bringing glitter party looks to all the best festivals and parties in Australia. We’ll be sharing a How-To from a special Shimmer Squad Friendie party look in the spring!