Ever since her days as Beauty Director of Cosmopolitan magazine, a highly coveted role she held for eight years, Leigh Campbell has always been on our radar as ‘one to watch’. This gorgeous, smart and sassy chic is now Lifestyle Editor of HuffPost Australia.We love her refreshing honesty, her uber intelligence and of course, her wealth of beauty knowledge. We chatted to Leigh about her personal beauty favourites….

Who is your beauty icon and why?

In terms of who I think is beautiful; I believe Drew Barrymore, Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts all have something about them. In terms of actual makeup goals, it’s hard to deny that Kimmy K’s base and eye makeup is always flawless. Love her or hate her, you can’t fault her makeup.

What is your go-to makeup look and why?

In the interest of saving time I have lash extensions, so my daily look is a touch of winged liner, base and bronzer. I’m a balm girl all the way because I find lipstick far too high maintenance.

ModelCo Tip:  ModelCo Lash & Line Superlash Mascara and Liquid Eyeliner is an essential 2-in-1 product which features a liquid liner that is perfect for a simple definition, a feline flick or a dramatic winged bar.

Three beauty essentials you can’t leave home without and why?

The aforementioned balm (or seven in each handbag to be more precise), blotting papers as I have the world’s most oily skin, and a small hair brush.

What is one beauty trend you are desperate to try and why?

I’m a bit past trying trends. I think nearly a decade as a beauty editor saw me try pretty much all of them, and I can discern if a trend is going to suit me straight away without trying it. I want to get a perm, but they’re certainly not trending right now.

What is your signature hairstyle and why?

Soft curls created with a straightener, which is why I want the perm. A hair stylist I interviewed recently said he does a lot of soft perms on Asian hair to give a bit of body. I have dead straight hair, so I think the same would apply to me.

On a bad hair day, what do you do?

I can’t master second-day hair, it just feels gross to me. For that reason I wash my hair every day so my hair behaves fairly predictably. If I trial a new shampoo and conditioner and my hair doesn’t like it, I’ll tie it up.

Your skin regime consists of…

How long is a piece of string?! It depends if I am being good — then I’ll double cleanse, exfoliate (three times a week), use an essence, a few serums, a face cream, then sunscreen. If I am being lazy (most of the time) it’s just micellar water, then SPF.

ModelCo tip: Try ModelCo Exfoliating Cream Facial Scrub which is free from chemicals, synthetic ingredients, parabens, sulfates, silicones, PEGs and synthetic colours and gently and effectively exfoliates without damaging the skin, giving skin a fresh and radiant glow.

What is your secret to great skin?

Sadly I don’t have a secret, or great skin. I have PCOS, so enjoy sightly cystic acne along my jawline, though I’ve found that cutting out milk and refined sugar helps a lot. I also sunned myself way too much when I was younger, resulting in some hyper pigmentation, so now wear SPF 50 daily like my life depends on it. When all else fails I reach for cream illuminator.

ModelCo tip: You heard Leigh, sunscreen is essential! ModelCo Daily Face Mattifying Sunscreen And Lipbalm Spf50+ creates an invisible Broad Spectrum shield against UVA and UVB rays, while the unique, barely-there formula provides tinted coverage for a flawless, radiant skin finish.

Favourite nail colour right now and why…

Beige. Because it’s the perfect neutral without being girly, like soft pink is.

Favourite lipstick shade and why…

Lipstick scares me! But I wear a classic blue red maybe twice a year.

Signature scent and why…

Right now I am wearing Amouage Honour Woman Eau de Parfum. It was my wedding fragrance and so has many sentimental memories attached.

Do you have an unconventional beauty trick?

I often use a dark brown shadow to fill in my brows. I use jojoba oil everywhere; in my hair, on my face and on my body. I use spray sunscreen for a nice sheen on my collar bones in a cocktail dress. And I often use hair masks as regular conditioner. not sure if they are unconventional, but they’re mine.

ModelCo Tip:  ModelCo More Brows will quickly leave you with tidy, groomed brows in just a few strokes. An instant face shaper!

Beauty mantra…

With the help of under eye concealer, you can take on the world.