Quote you live by?
The bottom will always teach you lessons that the top never will. And.. ‘If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.’
How do you start your day?
I always eat a banana as soon as I get up. It really helps me start my day off right, I follow it up with a breakfast of either muesli, Vegemite on toast or a cereal.
How has 2020 impacted your daily routine?
I definitely wear masks when I go out. It gives me a bit of anxiety being out shopping or running errands knowing there’s a pandemic going on so I go out as little as possible. Other than that, it actually inspired me to creative my content more frequently & post regularly at least 2-3 times a week, so that’s something great to take away from it.
What is the story behind your Instagram handle?
The story behind my Instagram handle is my love for Coco Chanel coincided with my earlier love of coffee (cappuccino’s)! I kind of loved the aesthetic of combining the two and it matches the logo header on my website! Unfortunately I have a thyroid condition that doesn’t allow me to drink coffee anymore, at first it was a struggle not having it but I have switched to drinking non-caffeinated tea’s. I love a green tea with lemon.
Where did your passion for beauty and make-up come from?
I always enjoyed reading reviews in magazines of the latest releases & during studying at college, I took up a personal blog on a website I had built myself. Pretty much everything I know with website development I had taught myself by experience as I went along & a lot by trial and error. One day I decided to begin a Beauty blog named Coco and Chino’s at cocoandchinos.com, and I began talking about products I had recently tried and a friend blogged with me. I began in 2002, eventually my friend couldn’t fit it in her schedule anymore so I continued it on my own, so it has been a long time now. I kind of took a break from it when I started working full time but I got back to it again in 2015 after I had my son. And now I’m still going hard on it six years later. I really enjoy it and focus a lot of my information on product availability, pricing, which stores online & in-store they can be bought from, etc. The worldwide market is huge in beauty & the accessibility of it no matter where in the world you live, is becoming easier & increased, which I think is fabulous!
What is your favorite and least part of your skincare routine?
My fave part of my skincare routine would be cleansing, exfoliating and toning, and my least fave part would be moisturising to be honest. It’s just not as satisfying as what cleansing & exfoliating is. Haha.
What are 3 of your holy grail make-up products?
I love my MAC & Bobbi Brown lipsticks and my foundations.. Charlotte Tilbury Flawless foundation, they never fail! The BYS cosmetics Full Coverage is another great foundation. Secondly, I adore the Mary-lou-Manizer highlighter from The Balm cosmetics or the Pillowtalk highlighter from Ofra Cosmetics & thirdly, another go-to holy grail is the Tarte cosmetics Tartelette in Bloom eyeshadow palette, it’s such a staple!
If you could go back in time, what is one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
I would tell my younger self not to worry too much what people think because when you grow up it is like a distant memory, you never see those people again and you realise all that worrying was pointless.
If you could take a year-long paid sabbatical, what would you do?
I would either go on a two month holiday to Santorini or Rome, or buy my first home & do renovation/décor to it or self build. You’d have so much time that way to complete it.
What are three skincare tips you can offer our readers?
1. Take your makeup off at the end of the day/before bed, it’s so important to leave your pores unclogged, especially with chemicals that some makeup products have in them. You need to let your skin breath. 2. Exfoliate twice a week or as much as needed, shelling your dead skin cells is so important to maintaining healthy renewed skin. 3. Make sure not to strip your skin of its natural oils by over-exfoliating or over-cleansing. There is definitely such a thing. Natural oils develop to protect your skin.