Zara Wong on Mecca staff skin secrets and beauty for fashion girls

+ Armaforce, Japanese Eyeliner, and the world's greatest scalp scrub?

Hi and Happy Sunday, (long weekend for some of us).

I’ve been doing all the things a 30-something year old should do on a long weekend: Hot Pilates, multiple loads of washing, going for long walks, drinking wine with my husband while scrolling rural land for sale, going to Bunnings and repotting my herbs. It’s actually been fantastic.

Today is a special one, because we have another Rich Creme Routine from none other than Zara Wong. You probably know Zara’s Substack, Screenshot This — she curates the best of fashion, style, beauty and culture with her own valuable insights thrown into the mix. It’s a bible of sorts. Zara is an arbiter of good taste and a key voice in the Australian fashion media landscape. I remember when I started a contract role at Vogue, and she had just left her position as the fashion features and content strategy director to move to Mecca as the head of content. Nowadays, she’s a writer, commentator, consultant and preeminent Substack-er. She’s also a mum of two. A woman of many talents.

I ask people to share their beauty routines with me all of the time, but Zara’s interview is probably the best I’ve ever received. She’s got that easy, cool-girl-effortlessness kind of thing going on, but is upfront with the actual level of effort she puts in. The level of detail is unparalleled and nothing is off the table: Mecca staff beauty secrets, Japanese eyeliner, beauty advice for fashion girls, Armaforce as a fashion month survival mechanism — ALL OF IT. THANK YOU ZARA.

The interview — plus the usual beauty news (Rhode! Kylie’s boobs!) and a very good product of the week — below.

THE RICH CREME ROUTINE: ZARA WONG

What's your name?

Zara Wong, I’m in my 30s…

Your skin type?

Normal veering to the slightly dry side.

And your hair type?

Straight, though as I’m getting older (and post-kids) it’s slightly wavier.

What does beauty mean to you - how do you define it?

Making sure that your outside reflects how you feel on the inside. Or the other way around – feeling polished(ish) makes me think I’m more put together!

When did you get into beauty - was there someone or something that influenced you?

A core memory is a line of beautiful fragrance bottles lining my grandma’s dressing table. I loved Nina Ricci’s L’Air du Temps, which was made by Lalique – she also was a big Lalique fan so had pieces from them in her bedroom. The satisfyingly beautiful yet neat packaging, and all the scents. I did ballet as a child (I was truly terrible at it) and I remember getting (very light) makeup for stage performances, too – all the hairspray for our buns, and a bit of lip balm. My mum is big into skincare so in the days before primer, she would make sure I would have LOTS of moisturiser on before even the tiniest speck of makeup would touch my face.

L’Air du Temps by Lalique </3

Okay, what's the greatest beauty recommendation or tip you learned during your time at Vogue?

That niche brands have SO many underrated gems. I think if you’re not well acquainted with the beauty industry, you might just always go for the heavy-hitters and yes, there are some really amazing brands and products for sure (which is why they’re so popular) but there are some really amazing smaller ones that are excellent. Working in fashion, beauty is all about it being imperceptible – you don’t want to look like you you’re wearing makeup – you wanted to look like the Chloe runway model.

And I can’t skip over your time at Mecca, what were the best product discoveries you made during your time there?

This is going to be so hard to narrow down. In no order:

• Goop hair scalp scrub: one of THE best products that you need to buy even if you didn’t think you needed to buy. Unlike a lot of scalp scrubs, it lathers relatively well. All I want is voluminous, fluffy hair, and this helps me get there.

• Westman Atelier Vital Stick: I can’t budge from this. I buy this on repeat (sadly without my staff discount anymore) because you can buff it out for a really sheer coverage which I prefer, or use it for spot coverage as a concealer, or layer it on for a more heavy duty foundation (necessary if I’m wearing makeup all day like if I need to be on video or I’m at an all-day wedding). I don’t recommend it for skin that’s even the tiniest bit oily though – that’s when you have to head to Shiseido which I haven’t tried myself as it’s not for my skin type, but that’s meant to be ideal for oilier skin…

• Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream: my ultimate moisturiser. I enjoy using so many different moisturisers because the purpose of them is that they make your skin feel plump and soft – this does that, but SO MUCH MORE. Like, the next day, your skin actually looks more radiant and awake. My desert island product.

• Hourglass Ambient Light: When I would interview potential hires for my team, someone from MECCA HR would accompany me on some of the early meetings. One question that one of them came up with was “If you were a MECCA product, what would you be at why?” It’s a good way to break the ice, show that they were passionate about the brand and product, and also talk about themselves in a casual way. If I were to be asked that, this is my answer – I might look fancy but then you realise that you need me and I improve everything (haha). You don’t think you need this product, but this is the finishing powder I use that makes your face look like you’re always in great lighting (hence the name).

• Mecca Cosmetica Sun Serum: It’s SPF50+ BUT has added benefits so it’s like a serum, too. I don’t say this lightly, but I honestly think prolonged use has actually improved the look and texture of my skin. And, you need to wear sunscreen daily.

• La Mer Concentrate: During COVID I got strange eczema patches on my skin and I couldn’t work out what was happening. I tried plain moisturisers, steroids, chemist products – nothing. My friend who was then looking after the skin education for staff suggested this product for it. I was a bit reluctant because of the price. But it got to the point where I was trying anything and everything and turned to this as a last resort. Sadly for my bank account, it was the only product that fixed it.

• MECCA MAX Whiplash mascara: I use Hourglass for a more dramatic, bolder lash, but if I want to do more fashion cool-girl, this is it.

• Sunday Riley Good Genes: the best chemical exfoliator for me. For some reason, the lactic acid sits well with my skin.

I hear about the lore surrounding Mecca team favourites, as well — any under-the-radar products you can disclose?