The entrepreneur, content creator and L\u2019Ore\u0301al Paris ambassador shares how her dramatic mindset shift has opened up a world of opportunities in fashion and beauty. <\/p>\n
Riley Hemson is a master of reinvention. <\/p>\n
\n Her story starts in Wellington in 2016, when Riley launched her Instagram account under the name
\n @healthychick101 to document her weight loss journey.\n <\/p>\n
While changes were happening on the outside, the real shift was happening on the inside. Riley soon came to realise that her worth wasn\u2019t dictated by the number staring up at her on the scales. <\/p>\n
That was eight years ago, and in the time since, Riley has established her modelling career, graced the cover of Women\u2019s Health, launched a successful fashion brand with Remmie by Riley, fronted Ruby\u2019s Resort 2025 campaign, and forged a longstanding partnership with global beauty brand L\u2019Ore\u0301al Paris. <\/p>\n
Today, she shares glimpses into her life in sunny Queensland with her 650,000 Instagram followers \u2013 from runway moments to running diaries. <\/p>\n
For Riley, aligning with the likes of L\u2019Ore\u0301al Paris feels like a full-circle moment \u2013 a brand that she says encourages \u201cconfidence and worth over perfection\u201d. <\/p>\n
The brand\u2019s tagline \u201cBecause I\u2019m Worth It\u201d is one Riley now stands by, too. \u201cIt sounds dramatic but sometimes you need that little mantra in your head to remind you to take up space,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
Riley speaks exclusively to Viva about the mindset shift that changed the course of her life, the future of social media and her signature straight brows. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
ASHLEIGH COMETTI: Did you think the opportunities you\u2019re being presented with now would be possible when you first started @healthychick101 back in 2016? <\/p>\n
RILEY HEMSON: Not even slightly. I started @healthychick101 to track my weight loss, literally just me posting my meals and gym selfies so I\u2019d stay accountable. I wasn\u2019t trying to \u201cbecome\u201d anything. <\/p>\n
So to go from that to modelling, red carpets, and now being with L\u2019Ore\u0301al Paris … it still blows my mind. It\u2019s one of those \u201clife went left in the best way possible\u201d moments. <\/p>\n
AC: What shifted your mindset from weight-loss content to a more holistic view of health? <\/p>\n
RH: It was realising that shrinking myself was becoming my entire personality. At some point I was like: \u201cOkay, there has to be more to life than counting every calorie I eat.\u201d <\/p>\n
I always thought success and acceptance was rooted in being skinny. I lost weight and got to a point where I realised I\u2019m still the same person with the same values and the same beautiful friends. Life is for living, not obsessing over your size. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AC: How has this realisation shaped your beauty philosophy now? <\/p>\n
RH: My beauty philosophy is basically: if it makes you feel hot, do it. Beauty is meant to be fun. I don\u2019t care about rules. I like to experiment with different looks. You only live once! <\/p>\n
AC: Do you believe women today approach beauty differently than how they did a decade ago? How do you see this changing in the future? <\/p>\n
RH: We have so much more representation now, thanks to social media. The future is even more unfiltered, more individual, more fun and way less judgmental. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AC: Talk me through your daily beauty routine. <\/p>\n
RH: I never skip my skincare, morning and night. I focus on a lot of hydration. And SPF in the mornings, always. <\/p>\n
For makeup, my ride-or-die is the L\u2019Or\u00e9al Paris Glotion. I can\u2019t live without it. It\u2019s going all over my body for a [red] carpet. If Glotion has no fans, I\u2019m dead. <\/p>\n
AC: Your signature beauty look includes your straight, thin eyebrows. What motivated you to try something new with your brows? <\/p>\n
RH: I fear they\u2019re iconic! I had my brow tattoos removed after six years. I feel so much more like myself after having them removed. I started experimenting with my brow shape and love a thin, straight brow on me. When I look back at pics of me as a kid, my natural brow is really straight. No plans for bushy brows any time soon but never say never. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AC: One of the many things you\u2019re known for is your running videos. How do you prep or protect your skin before your run? <\/p>\n
RH: I keep skincare lightweight so I\u2019m not sweating off a thick layer \u2013 moisturiser, SPF and Glotion of course. A bit of lip liner and I\u2019m ready. <\/p>\n
AC: How does prioritising your personal wellbeing \u2013 both mental and physical \u2013 tie into your overall \u2018glow\u2019? <\/p>\n
RH: When you feel hot, you look hot. I don\u2019t make the rules. Life can get so busy but I feel like it shows when I don\u2019t prioritise my mental and physical health. <\/p>\n
AC: You\u2019re a frequent flyer. What products do you use to combat jet lag or changing climates? <\/p>\n
RH: Planes are not the one! Dry skin, puffy face, the whole thing. I always load up on hydration before and after flying. For hair, I use masks a lot and avoid heat because different climates send it into chaos. Also being on set takes its toll on my hair, that mixed with being blonde is diabolical. <\/p>\n
As for jet lag? Water, movement and coffee. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AC: Who do you consider your muses \u2013 both in beauty and in life? <\/p>\n
RH: I have an incredible support system and I\u2019m so lucky to have the people I do in my life but my drive is younger me. Everything I do, I picture 8-year-old me watching and being like: \u201cOMG she\u2019s cool (and really pretty)!\u201d <\/p>\n
AC: Do you have any beauty regrets? <\/p>\n
RH: Two words: Apricot Scrub. <\/p>\n
RH: Not that serious. Be fun, be cute. We only live once. <\/p>\n
More beauty<\/p>\n
A go-to guide to party season glamour, the best new season beauty buys and more. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The entrepreneur, content creator and L\u2019Ore\u0301al Paris ambassador shares how her dramatic mindset shift has opened up a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[45343,1244,113494,9539,21335,40124,18089,156,2036,1438,113495,78,54673,1073,9086,111,139,69,1864,12968,6943,6091,180,5258,3621,1072,10811,102,377],"class_list":["post-177182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ambassador","tag-beauty","tag-brows","tag-content","tag-conversation","tag-creator","tag-dramatic","tag-entertainment","tag-entrepreneur","tag-fashion","tag-hemson","tag-in","tag-loreal","tag-media","tag-mindset","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-opened","tag-opportunities","tag-paris","tag-riley","tag-shares","tag-shift","tag-skincare","tag-social","tag-straight","tag-with","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}