"Fur" removal and a hair extension horror story: Inside Martha's hectic beauty routine.

What I Put On My Face is Mamamia’s celebrity beauty series that takes you inside the beauty cabinets of some of Australia’s most influential women. From what skincare products they use to their go-to makeup tips, it’s a pervy look at exactly what they put on their face. And body. And hair. You get the idea.

This week, we spoke to Martha Kalifatidis. If you’re a Married at First Sight fan (no judgement here), you’ll remember Martha as one of the most extra contestants from MAFS 2019. And regardless of whether reality TV is your cup of tea or not, there’s no denying Martha knows her stuff when it comes to beauty.

The makeup artist and beauty influencer gave us her best makeup, skincare and haircare product recommendations, as well as some hilarious insights into what it was like wearing those Kardashian-style hair extensions.

You can watch Martha sharing the advice she’d give to her five-year-old self in the video below. Post continues after video.

Martha’s skincare routine.

I have oily skin, really oily skin, actually. Big pores, it’s that European sort of skin type. But lately, I’ve found I’m getting dry, probably because I’m 31 and things are starting to dry up. My skin’s also reactive to things like foods, gluten and dairy, and I get really red down the bottom of my cheeks. And wine flushes me so badly, so I drink organic and preservative-free wine and I don’t get the redness.

I love the NIP+FAB Vitamin C Fix Cleanser. It’s gentle, but thorough. Generally, I find it’s hard to get both together. It’s either something that strips you down to the bone or something so gentle you’ve still got makeup left on your skin. It’s not foaming or a gel that will strip the skin. It does brighten the skin, too. I use chemical exfoliants like the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant and the NIP+FAB Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads. If you’ve not used these two products, I don’t think we can be friends. I’ve been using them since as far as I can remember. I used to work at Mecca and they stock the Dr Dennis Gross peel pads that are $200 a box. Customers used to always come in and ask ‘what do you use?’ and I’d be like, ‘go to the chemist and get these cheaper peel pads’.

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Jan 27, 2020 at 10:02pm PST

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Dec 11, 2019 at 5:56pm PST

I have a few favourite serums – La Mer The Concentrate, Dr. Barbara Sturm Calming Serum and DMK Pore Reduction Drops. The Barbara Sturm one is amazing, especially for reactive skin. If you get carried away with your skincare and strip your skin down, this serum will take you straight back. I’m obsessed with the DMK Pore Reduction Drops because, obviously, I’m super porey, but they help to reduce hair growth on the face. I quite literally am covered in a light layer of fur over my whole body. I’m basically a marsupial. When I was younger, I hated it, but now I’m into it.

Dermalogica have two great moisturisers for every skin type. You know when you run a dry sponge under a tap and it fluffs up? That’s what these do to your face. The Dermalogica Active Moist Moisturiser is a little lighter and the Intense Moisture Balance is richer. Tata Harper do great face oils too. I would rather eat a really sad and depressing lunch every day for a month, and then buy the Tata Harper face oil. At night, I might do the NIP+FAB Retinol Fix Over-Night Cream. This one is so gentle. It’s not abrasive or volatile and it’s comfortable to wear on the skin. I also like to layer eye creams, the La Mer one is expensive but you only have one face.

Martha’s makeup routine.

I’m getting a bit lazy with my makeup as I get older. I’ve really paired it back a lot. Travelling so much, you have to curate. You can’t be travelling with heaps… says the girl who took 20kg of makeup travelling through Europe and America. The Benefit POREfessional Primer is my go-to summer primer because it gives a really nice blurred matte finish, and I love the Too Faced Hangover Primer in winter when we’re all a bit crusty because it’s more hydrating.

My past full coverage foundation self is dead and buried. I wore full coverage foundation while filming MAFS because I was so stressed and my skin was sh*t, and I felt like I need this mask on. Now, I wear the Marc Jacobs Shameless Foundation. It’s quite sheer coverage and you can build it up if you want. It just looks like skin and it’s so comfortable, and I don’t feel like rushing home so I can wash my face. The Revlon Colorstay Foundation is actually colour stay. You could jump into the pool and come out with perfect foundation.

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Aug 22, 2019 at 5:29pm PDT

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Aug 4, 2019 at 11:46pm PDT

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Oct 14, 2019 at 1:15am PDT

For concealer, I decant a bit of the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer on the back of my hand and apply with a brush or my finger in the areas where I need it. I don’t do triangles under the eyes, it’s too much. And it uses too much product.

Blush really brings you to life. And there are no other blushes for me than the NARS liquid ones. I love the shade Luster for me, but Orgasm looks amazing on fair skin. It makes blue eyes pop. People with a darker, more olive skin tone and darker hair look great with a coral. BUT I do love the Revlon Glow Gelee Blush. It’s the dupe to the NARS liquid blush… it might even be better. I use the Revlon Bronzer as well.

For lashes, it’s Lancome mascara, forever. There is no other mascara. That’s it. I’m also a lip balm aficionado. When I’d wear lip balm to work, the girls would ask if I’d had my lips done, but it was seriously just lip balm. I have always loved the Eve Lom Kiss Mix Lip Balm. It’s a bit pepperminty and has a light peppermint smell, too. And when you’re working as a makeup artist, you’re in people’s faces so it’s nice to have a peppermint scent lingering around. The Aceology Overnight Lip Treatment is maybe the best lip balm I’ve ever used in my life. Don’t know what’s in it, but it’s transformative. It transforms your lips into rose petals. The Drunk Elephant Lippe Balm is another one I love because it can revive satanic chapped lips.

Martha’s hair care routine.

I have a hair extension horror story. I had these state-of-the-art hair extensions that came down to my bum, but when I first got them done, they were actually longer. I had to trim them because it was really late when I had them done by Lady Dee-Lish, and I rushed home but I was busting to pee. I pulled over at a servo and was desperate, so I went into this truck stop bathroom with my super bougie hair extensions. And when you go in a public toilet, you don’t want to sit on the toilet seat, so I hovered over the toilet trying to aim, and I guarantee I peed a little bit on the extensions. I couldn’t control them. There were more hair extensions than there was Martha.

Finally, I scooped them up and all the ends of them were wet from being draped into this dirty, wet, gunky patch on the floor of the servo toilet. At that stage, I just thought: you are putrid. Just cry. I was rinsing the ends of my dirty hair in the dirty sink of the servo bathroom. It was stunning. I got home and had to wash the 750g of hair extensions. It was like trying to wrestle with Godzilla in the shower. So I trimmed them, and it was all good.

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Aug 28, 2019 at 4:57am PDT

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Sep 17, 2019 at 3:15am PDT

 

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A post shared by Martha Kalifatidis (@marthaa__k) on Sep 19, 2019 at 1:55am PDT

I love the Kerastase Nutritive Bain Oleo-Relax Shampoo, it helps to weigh the hair down and smooth it out. I also use the Kerastase Fibre Architecte serum on the ends of my hair. I did some work with Bondi Boost and the hair mask is great. When you get out of the shower, there are no knots in your hair. It’s a detangler, which is very helpful when you have a kilo of hair. For styling, I love the Oribe products. The Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo is the only dry shampoo that exists in my world.

Martha’s body care routine.

Working as a makeup artist, it’s your job to pamper someone. To make them feel glam. So it’s important to give yourself some love and care when you get home. When I have time, I like dry body brushing. Just five minutes, that time is for me. I also love exfoliating gloves in the shower.

I fake tan if I need to be tanned for something. I don’t mind embracing a fairer skin tone, that’s OK. I love the James Read Tan Sleep Mask Tan Body and I like the Elle Effect Tan for something low-tox, it smells good, too. For fragrance, I have two. In the day, I like something fresh, not overpowering. I feel like an overpowering scent can be offensive. The Le Labo Thé Noir 29 isn’t floral or powdery, it’s just a nice smell.

And at night, the Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 is the sexiest scent of all time. You smell tasty.

Recap: Every single product Martha puts on her face.

• NIP+FAB Vitamin C Fix Cleanser, $19.99.
• Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant, $86.50.
• NIP+FAB Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads, $34.99.
• La Mer The Concentrate, $530.
• Dr. Barbara Sturm Calming Serum, $332.
• DMK Pore Reduction Drops, $72.50.
• Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance, $87.56.
• Dermalogica Active Moist Moisturiser, $62.50.
• Tata Harper Beautifying Face Oil, $153.
• Tata Harper Retinoic Nutrient Face Oil, $237.
• NIP+FAB Retinol Fix Over-Night Cream, $49.99.
• Benefit POREfessional Primer, $56.
• Too Faced Hangover Primer, $49.
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Shameless Foundation, $70.
• Revlon Colorstay Foundation, $34.95.
• Tarte Shape Tape Concealer, $40.
• NARS Liquid Blush in Orgasm, $46.
• NARS Liquid Blush in Luster, $46.
• Revlon Glow Gelee Blush.
• Revlon Powder Bronzer, $24.95.
• Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara, $56.
• Eve Lom Kiss Mix Lip Balm, $31.
• Aceology Overnight Lip Treatment, $29.
• Drunk Elephant Lippe Balm, $28.
• Kerastase Nutritive Bain Oleo-Relax Shampoo, $42.
• Kérastase Resistance Fibre Architecte Serum, $52.
• Bondi Boost Growth Miracle Mask, $39.95.
• Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo, $66.
• James Read Tan Sleep Mask Tan Body, $69.
• Elle Effect Tan, $44.95.
• Le Labo Thé Noir 29, $282.
• Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540, $340.

To hear more about Martha’s beauty routine, get this episode of the You Beauty podcast in your ears below.

Feature image: Instagram/@marthaa__k.

Have you tried any of Martha’s favourite beauty products? Tell us in the comments. 

You can read more from our What I Put On My Face series below:

• What I Put On My Face: Jesinta Franklin.
• What I Put On My Face: Trinny Woodall.
• What I Put On My Face: Kate Ritchie.
• What I Put On My Face: Rowi Singh.
• What I Put On My Face: Jackie O.
• What I Put On My Face: Edwina Bartholomew.
• What I Put On My Face: Sophie Monk.
• What I Put On My Face: Rebecca Harding.