A celebration of the creatives, disruptors and visionaries behind Viva’s ever-evolving vision of beauty over the last quarter-century.

Playful. Pretty. Practical.  

These are just some of the words that spring to mind when poring over the beauty shoots that have featured in Viva over the past 25 years.   

While some served as solely aspirational, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with makeup or elevating hair to dizzying new heights, others were grounded in a deep understanding that simple is equally as beautiful — highlighting how a few tweaks to makeup or haircare routines can enhance natural beauty.  

At Viva, it’s always been our mission to toe the line between the two — to inspire but never feel pompous or unapproachable; to showcase dynamic beauty looks that can be created with both high-end products and those unearthed in your local supermarket.  

It’s a challenge, finding that balance between striking editorials and practical how-to’s, but a fun one at that. And, of course, these shoots would be nothing without the teams who come together to create them: the creative directors, makeup artists, hairstylists, photographers, assistants and stylists who translate a vision into reality.

While I haven’t been privy to every beauty shoot featured in Viva over the last 25 years, I have been here for five of them — first supporting then-beauty editor Janetta McKay before jumping into the hot seat myself in 2020. During this time, I’ve worked on cover shoots, styled still-lifes, shoppable beauty galleries, commercial projects, gift guides and multi-page beauty extravaganzas which featured in nine of our 10 glossy issues.

We’ve charted the influence of beauty trends, the shifting preference towards natural hair and documented the new era of makeup that transcends normative gender roles.  

For one reason or another, every Viva beauty shoot is memorable and below, we celebrate the people behind the lens of such shoots, whose creativity, vision and talent have been brought to life in the pages of Viva and now in a digital sense, too. 

February 2016  

A playful exploration of the eye colour of the moment saw makeup artist Kiekie Stanners experiment with the full spectrum of shades — from turquoise and cerulean to ultramarine and navy. As colour wheel theory would have it, whereby opposite shades are deemed complementary, model Ella’s brown eyes popped against different shades of blue, made even more interesting by the formats in which they were applied — as eyeshadow, eyeliner or mascara — either painted on haphazardly or with military precision.  

Photo / Guy Coombes. Makeup / Kiekie Stanners for M.A.C Cosmetics. Hair / Kath Gould using Redken. Stylist / Dan Ahwa. Model / Ella Verberne from Clyne. 

July 2016  

Our recent wrap-up of beauty trends explains how they're mostly cyclic, as evidenced here by this distinctively 1970s-themed beauty shoot in which model Olivia’s hair was decorated with a series of colourful hair gems, arranged to look like the skull cap hair accessories which were popular at the time. Couple this with the loose, beachy waves that added movement and body, for a look that feels right at home at Woodstock ‘69.  

Photo / Guy Coombes. Hair / Kevin Murphy. Hair assistants / Wade Blackford and Sophy Phillips. Makeup / Shirley Simpson using M.A.C Cosmetics. Model / Olivia Lefebre at 62 Models. Stylist / Dan Ahwa. Assistant / Danielle Clausen.

February 2017  

As much as we love pushing boundaries when it comes to outlandish hair and makeup, there’s always room for time-honoured classics. A vibrant red lip and winged liner will never go out of style, as captured here by photographer Karen Ishiguro in February 2017. It was about this time that hair health was top of mind, with glossy locks prioritised over heat-treating hair into oblivion. Here, Lucy Ward styled model Katie’s hair into a long lob with a deep side part, glossing roots and lengths to lend a healthful sheen.  

Photo / Karen Ishiguro. Makeup / Kiekie Stanners for M.A.C Cosmetics. Hair / Lucy Ward from Stephen Marr using R&Co. Stylist / Dan Ahwa. Model / Katie Tomlinson from N Model Management.

March 2017

Makeup has long been known as a tool for self-expression, a no-rules-apply medium with which to paint faces (yours or others). Here, two distinctly different styles come together in contrast yet somehow achieve synergy when paired with slicked-back hair and an equally slick-looking jacket: a geometric cut-crease eye look in delicate lavender, set against porcelain skin and a vampy, merlot lip.  

Photo / Babiche Martens. Makeup / Kiekie Stanners. Hair / Tony Thorn. Model / Lila Flowers from Clyne.

May 2019

 Makeup artist Louise Rae was ahead of the curve with this dramatic blush beauty look, known today as draping. The now-prolific beauty trend saw Louise use a mix of cream-based blush and highlighter that melted into skin for our May 2019 beauty issue. “Cream textures work best when applied with a brush,” says Louise. “I used a combination of a rounded brush and a fan brush to lightly sweep colour across the cheeks, eyelids and towards the hairline. Cream textures are really buildable so you can start with a little product and work up to your desired level of colour.” 

Photo / Babiche Martens. Hair and makeup / Louise Rae.  Styling / Rosie Herdman. Model / Kate Harrison from 62 Management. 

October 2019 

Our October 2019 beauty issue saw model Grace bend and stretch into different poses, highlighting the different areas of the body to be kinder towards in the lead-up to summer, like arms, waist and feet. While body makeup was minimal in this shoot in particular, it remains an area of rapid growth with all manner of brands releasing their face-worthy foundations into formulas geared towards limbs, too.  

Photo / Babiche Martens. Hair and makeup / Louise Rae. Model / Grace Hobson from N Model Management. 

April 2020

An uplifting distraction to the goings-on at the time, this imaginative beauty shoot saw makeup artist Kiekie Stanners interpret sketches by a class of new entrants onto a model Amber’s face. Each child was tasked with colouring in a face chart, with a focus on eyes, cheeks and lips. The next generation of makeup artists (all of whom attended Kelston Primary School in a class Kiekie’s sister taught) used their freehand sensibilities to draw love hearts on cheeks, or zig-zags over eyebrows, ignoring traditional makeup placement and letting their creative flag fly — as seen here in student Seini’s colourful interpretation.  

Photo / Scott Hardy. Makeup / Kiekie Stanners using M.A.C Cosmetics. Model / Amber Jackson from 62 Models.

July 2020

Chunky snap clips are all the more fun when stacked together, so says this stylised hair shoot headed up by hairstylist Benjamin James. The creative says to style freshly washed and dried hair with a curling tong in big sections in alternating directions to give nonchalant movement. “Curling big sections in alternating directions will give you more of a carefree movement rather than a contrived, structured shape,” he says.  

Photo / Luke Foley-Martin. Hair / Benjamin James. Makeup / Hannah Richards. Model / Amber Kate Jackson from 62 Model Management.

Viva Magazine — Volume One  

Bright on! This rainbow-inspired shimmering eye look set the bar high for future beauty shoots in Viva's quarterly volumes. Equal parts playful and chic, Carolyn used a selection of rainbow shades to create this colourful eye look, complemented by a glossy balm and a lick of mascara to ensure lashes didn’t get lost.  

Photo, hair and makeup / Carolyn Haslett. Model / Mahalia from 62 Management. 

Viva Magazine — Volume Two 

This brightly hued buttercup shade pops against a barely there base, as evidenced in this uplifting beauty shoot by Carolyn Haslett. Here, Carolyn used a canary colour to create a floating eyeliner (or negative space eye look). She drew an extended cat-eye, then a clean line just above the crease of the eye and connected the two at the outer corner of the eye. The key to achieving this look is working with a creamy, fine-tipped eyeliner, one that offers maximum colour payoff but still glides on smoothly sans smudging.  

Photographer, hair and makeup / Carolyn Haslett. Models / Portia Prince from 62 Management.

Viva Magazine — Volume Three 

Drawing inspiration from movie star Anna May Wong, A Star is Born was the result of a collaboration between a handful of the country’s top creatives, including renowned hairstylist and visionary Matt Benns. This braided halo hairstyle references one of the actress’s most iconic photos — a dynamic up-do that sees two hair pieces braided and secured around the head. “This is a simple look you could do at home,” Matt says, who pre-braided the hair pieces and wrapped them over one another to create a halo-like silhouette.  

Hair and creative director / Matt Benns. Hair assistant / Mackenzie Bradley. Makeup / Lochie Stonehouse. Photography & Visual Treatment / Pictvre — Veronica Crockford-Pound and Joseph Griffen. Lighting / Jake Dennis. Models / Fabienne Distelzwey from N Model Management and Sabina Sysantos from 62 Management.

Viva Magazine — Volume Eight 

For more than two decades, Pantone’s Colour of the Year has predicted the shade of the season — each one carefully selected for its ability to reflect the direction art and fashion will be heading over the coming year. In this shoot for Viva Magazine — Volume Eight, freelance makeup artist Kiekie Stanners worked with six of Pantone’s Colours of the Year to create these of-the-moment makeup looks. Equal parts fresh and zesty, Greenery, a yellow-green shade, is said to emulate the first days of spring when nature’s greenery flourishes after a long, cold winter. Symbolic of new beginnings, Kiekie’s swirling eyeliner design reflects the unfolding of foliage created using a combination of liquid eyeliner and two verdant eyeshadows.  

Photo / Marissa Findlay. Model / Medhika Singhal from 62 Models. Makeup / Kiekie Stanners for LoserKid. Hair / Danny Pato for D&M Hair Design using Davines. Stylist / Tau Subritzky. Hair assistant / Fernanda Guimaraes. Photographer’s assistant / Ben Boyne. 

Viva Magazine — Volume Nine 

The season’s spiciest beauty looks sizzled in shades of lucent cherry, vibrant vermilion and high-shine burgundy, says freelance makeup artist Grayson Coutts. “Deeper tones always strike me as autumn/winter, but I love using slightly out-of-season colours as well — it's a nice, unexpected moment,” Grayson says of this merlot-inspired beauty look for spring. Beyond makeup, Maioro donned sculptural acrylic nails designed by renowned nail technician Tanya Barlow, with three-dimensional heart designs and stiletto tips.  

Photo / Guy Coombes.  Makeup / Grayson Coutts. Hair / Chloe Zara. Nail technician / Tanya Barlow. Stylist / Annabel Dickson. Model / Maioro Iti from 62 Management.

March 2023 

Self-expression and creativity collide in this photographic submission by long-time contributor and friend of Viva, Mara Sommer. A cause close to her heart, Mara’s daughter Finja has Down syndrome, with the photographer using her chosen medium as a means of not only connecting with her daughter but also raising awareness of this year’s World Down Syndrome Day Theme of ‘With Us Not For Us’.  

Photo / Mara Sommer at Collective Force. Models / Molly Kate, Gabrielle Salmon, Laetitia Tan. Hair and makeup / Leisa Welch. Stylist / Tori Ambler.