Is love really more important than lip gloss?

It’s a tough call, right? Especially if we’re talking about a Lancome Juicy Tube – I blimmin’ love them.

Hannah Atkins – the girl most likely to be sporting streaky fake tan and a wobbly trail of liquid eyeliner – has bluffed her way into the position of beauty editor at “Gloss” magazine. Just as she’s carving a path into the gorgeous world of guerrilla air kisses, she reads about her boyfriend and another girl in the gossip pages of the local newspaper. Then she gets dumped. By text. Vowing to claw back some dignity and make her ex regret what he’s done, Hannah adopts some hardcore rules – look fabulous, act fabulous, steer clear of unsuitable men. But as her resolution starts to slip away, she finds herself having to decide on more important things than the perfect mascara.

Air Kisses is the ultimate feel-good read about life, love and lipstick.

I was intro’d to author-girl and former Cosmo beauty editor, Zoe Foster  by the super fabu Sassi Sam and she’s now my idol-girl. Not only because she’s written one of the best chick-lit books I’ve ever read – this book is HILARIOUS – she’s ed-girl of Primped and is also my official single-girl life coach – read on for Zoe’s insight on beauty, positive selfishness and jazzercise leotards…

Describe yourself in 5 words...
Optimistic, fun-seeking, effervescent, proud, hungry.

What is it you do exactly, Zoe?
I’m the editor-in-chief of a web 2.0 beauty site, primped.com.au, the dating columnist for Cosmopolitan magazine, the beauty columnist for the Sunday Telegraph and the author of Air Kisses and Textbook Romance (on sale October.) I also sew fetching jazzercise leotards in my spare time, and make up lies about sewing fetching jazzercise leotards.

Your book Air Kisses is the perfect read for ALL Sassy Minxes – was it influenced by your own time as beauty ed at Cosmo?
Sure was. Obviously it’s a work of fiction (the greatest get-out-of-jail-free card that ever existed) but it was definitely based on my entry into glossy magazines and beauty editing. That job and that world was ripe for the picking.

As well as being an awesome author, you’re ed-girl of primped – a total must-read in my google reader – how do you juggle it all?
PRIMPED is my Real Life job, she consumes weekdays and most weeknights, too, while my books are produced on the weekends. (In tracksuit pants, uggboots and sloppy joes. And several metric tonne of sexiness.)

Working full time and being an author requires incredible amounts of discipline: I signed a three book deal at 25 and back then I thought it was an incredibly glamorous and exciting proposition… little did I realise every Saturday until they were written, edited and proofed would be consumed with writing them. (I know, right? Crazy!)

Can you share a li’l bit about your creative process please, Zoe…
I realised very early on that I needed a concrete ritual, or I wouldn’t get my books written. So, I decided to rise at 6am each Saturday and write for a minimum of four hours, building up to six, eight and then Sundays as well towards deadline. (A time in which I generously donate a large portion of sleep in favour of espresso and Scotch.) when I’m really in the thick of it, say when I take leave to finish a book, I work in two hour blocks, then have half an hour off in between. Also, an afternoon nap. Brain gets tired. Needs sleep. And sugar – biscuits, chocolate, pastries. Brain loves it.

What do you love about being a woman in the world?
It fills me with such intense joy each day to be able to walk out into the world playing dress ups. I love fashion, makeup, hair – indicators of personality, mood, all of these exterior reflections of how you’re feeling. I love the generosity and kindness of other women, and how fiercly we defend and support each other. I love men and how we inspire and fascinate and intrigue them. I particularly enjoy being a single woman; the freedoms and the spontaneity and what I call being ‘positively selfish’ – where you look after your own needs first and do it in a nourishing, abundant, creative manner. (From eating porridge for dinner to leaving six pairs of shoes scattered around the lounge room for a week.)

You’re a total inspiro-girl – what’s your secret to success?
What you think about you bring about. Live a life of gratitude, self-belief and positivity and you’ll attract more of it. Also? “Lucky people” tend to be the hardest working.

What 5 tracks would be essential to a Zoe Foster soundtrack?
Bon Iver, Re: Stacks
Kaskade, Move For Me
Stevie Wonder, All I Do
Michael Jackson, I Can’t Help It
Jamie Foxx, T-Pain, Blame it

What are your five-must have beauty items?
Rosehip Oil
Self tanner
Omnilux
Tinted SPF 30 broad spectrum tinted moisturiser
Nude lip gloss

What makes someone beautiful?
Hard to articulate… It’s an inner glow that shines in the eyes and the smile and from the heart.

Who and what makes you jump in the air happy?
I jump like this a couple of times a week. Could be a fun dinner plan, or a new necklace, or a text from a boy, or a lovely email from a person who’s enjoyed my writing, or my favorite wrap at the café downstairs being on the menu, or a very convenient car park….

What’s your motto for life?
Like attracts like.

The Zoe Foster Sassy List…What’s your favourite:
Website/blog: primped.com.au
Book: Any book by Dave Barry
Must-have beauty item: Rosehip Oil
Movie: Just re-visited Hot Shots 2. It’s up there.
Shop: Barney’s NY… Or Topshop.
City: Can I say country? Greece
Hangout: Anywhere with good food/beverages/comfort/fun people

What does the term Sassy Minx mean to you, Miss Z?
A lady who is in control of and aware of her effect on people and her contribution to the world, and is pretty thrilled about both.

Visit PRIMPED at: www.primped.com.au and go buy Air Kisses, £5.99 at www.amazon.co.uk