Amelia Liana reveals what's in her makeup bag and how her grandmother saved her from a beauty blunder
Known for her extensive product knowledge, luscious tousled locks and superb smokey eye skills, esteemed blogger Amelia Liana, founder of Liana Beauty , chatted with GTG’s Kiran Branch to talk about starting her blog, her most coveted products and the beauty experts on her speed dial.
Firstly, what made you decide to start your blog/vlog?
My blog started as a distraction at university, I was actually skiing at the time and found this incredible Swiss lip balm that soothed my parched lips in seconds and that was the first product I ever wrote about.
How did you decide upon a blog/vlog name?
I wasn't very original about this - just my last name + beauty! Something simple.
What’s your favourite aspect of blogging/vlogging and are there any downsides?
There are so many reasons I adore blogging but one of my favourites is receiving a tweet, message or email saying how a product I've recommended has worked wonders or changed someone’s hair or skin. It just puts the biggest smile on my face.
How much of a techie are you?
I don't consider myself a techie at all but I've learnt so much more from blogging and vlogging, like how to control a DSLR camera, how to edit movies and the best light for photographs. I had to learn to love techie things because otherwise it makes everything impossible!
How do you balance blogging/vlogging with other interests or jobs? Do you ever go off-line?
I used to find it incredibly hard to go offline, my emails never stopped and Twitter was always running but I love that aspect to it, it's incredibly addictive. Recently though I've set a sign-off point half an hour before I sleep which helps me switch off.
How do you decide what to feature on your blog/vlog?
Liana Beauty mainly houses all my product odes, if something's really incredible it will make the cut. Equally if I think it's not worth the money I'll put that out there too as a warning.
What beauty products or brands make you part with cold hard cash?
Skincare has to be Zelens, it's one of my favourite skincare brands at the moment and has completely sorted out my skin. The Kiko make-up is absolutely incredible and all of which has such a reasonable price point. Lastly for haircare, Bumble & Bumble have an absolutely huge range so no matter what look I'm going for or what I want my hair to do that day they'll have that particular product I'm after. The one product I'll always buy is Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, £34.50, it just makes you look airbrushed!
What's your skincare regime? What products do you use?
For my skin I'm madly in love with the Radical Hydrating Cleanser , £30, Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist , £46 as a toner to keep my skin hydrated and the Zelens Z Matrix moisturiser, £85 as it's so lightweight yet helps combat my dehydrated skin.
What's your haircare regime? What products do you use?
For my hair I'm currently using the John Frieda Volume Shampoo , £5.99 & Conditioner , £5.99 because they give my long locks a boost without leaving them feeling gritty. As a weekly treatment I swear by the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, £15 to keep dry locks at bay and as an oil I use Bumble & Bumble to tame frizz and add shine, £31.
Down to the nitty gritty, what’s in your make-up bag currently?
In my make-up bag you'll always find Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, £34.50, as a base, the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer, £37.50 to cover anything, Anastasia Brow Whiz, £15.50 to fill in any gaps in my eyebrows, Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara , £4.99, to lock brows in place, Kiko Long Wear Eyeshadow Sticks, £6.90 in multiple shades (my favourite is the taupe number 06), Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara , £10.99 and Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss in Lucky, £26 which is a beautiful peachy pink gloss with a golden shimmer running through it.
Who are your top people in health, fitness, hair and beauty? Who do you rely on in a crisis?
Since I was 12 no one but Ciler at Neville’s Salon on Pont Street has touched my hair, she just knows what to do and I trust her completely. If I'm ever having a make-up crisis Ahmed at Neville's Salon completely sorts me out - plus he recommends the best products! I also love Tej at Daniel Galvin. For relaxing treatments like nails and massages Perfect 10 are incredible as they come straight to your doorstep!
What’s your personal favourite hair and beauty look?
My favourite look is a smokey eye and nude lip, I'll smoke my eyes up for evening but even during the day you'll never see me without eyeshadow.
What’s your ultimate favourite beauty treatment?
My favourite beauty treatment would be the massages by the Perfect 10 girls, they come straight to your living room and you feel so relaxed afterwards you just want to sleep for days!
What’s your top health and beauty tip and your biggest beauty bugbear?
My top beauty tip would be to let skin rest, I love make-up and I always will but it's great to have days off and let skin 'breathe'. My biggest bugbear would be dirty nails, so much so to the point where I can't even look at them. At school I was known as the girl with perfect nails because mine were always done, it was like my 'thing' but now I'll have a break every so often and use a strengthening treatment like Dr Lewinns Renunail , £14.
Can you tell us about any hair and beauty blunders that you’ve experienced?
When I was much younger I used to own a baby blue glitter eyeliner from Barry M and cover my eyelids in the stuff until my grandma once told me it was probably time to go easy on it.
What do you like to take with you when you go away?
I travel a lot so I have my 100mls down to perfection. On long haul flights I take my Omorovicza Queen Of Hungary Mist , £46 plus a hydrating face mask like Origins Drink Up Intensive , £22. I'll also make sure to carry a lip balm like Lanolips , £11.22 and a de-puffing treatment for my eyes like Skyn Iceland Eye Gels, £25.
Who is your favourite blogger/ vlogger?
I have SO many bloggers I adore, Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup and Lily Pebbles are my two favourites (plus they're like my blogging sisters!). I read Into The Gloss weekly but for food things I love Manu's Kitchen and Beauty And Some Beef. If there was one vlogger I could just watch forever it would be Essie Button, she's been a favourite of mine for years!
What would be your advice to aspiring bloggers/ vloggers? Is there anything you’d do differently if you were to turn back time?
I don't think there are any 'rules' to starting a blog, if you write about what you love your passion will come across. A basic camera will do, even the iPhone cameras are amazing and try and stick to a schedule like updating weekly or monthly - whatever is best for you. I think for such a competitive environment my best advice would be one of my favourite sayings, 'be a better you than you were yesterday' because it's so easy to compare yourself to others but you should only be competing with yourself and making your content better, trying to better yourself all the time as opposed to being or copying someone else.
If you could invite anyone dead or alive to guest blog/ vlog on your site who would it be?
I'm obsessed with contouring and highlighting and the way it can change a face, I think the man that brought this whole obsession back around in the beauty world would be Mario Dedivanovic so I would love it if he did a guide!
What does the future hold for your blog/ vlog? Are there any exciting developments in the pipeline?
I'm really excited for the new year! I think there’ll be a lot of exciting new launches but for right now seeing as I just started my YouTube channel that's what I'm mainly focused on.