Livinia Nixon

Livinia Nixon, co-host of Channel Nine’s Temptation, talks to Kate Minogue about finding balance — and love

I like that all my work is quite different. It challenges me in different ways. Working on the weather is live so you have to be quite on your toes. I enjoy doing news updates because you are looking at the stories as they come in. I like finding out what’s going on around the world, in Vietnam or Spain.
Usually you don’t see a lot of overseas news but in the newsroom you have to access so much information. I also enjoy writing the news updates myself, you have to make sure the information relates to the viewers — you’re presenting the kind of news people all over Australia will be talking about at barbecues.

I’m very happy at the moment. I feel like life is in balance, which is rare. It’s all about finding that healthy mix between the work part of your life and the other parts that nourish you like family, friends and other people. I finally feel like I have got it in equal measure. It has taken a while. It’s something that has clicked.
Last year, I was working on three shows and it’s difficult to get balance when you are exhausted at the end of the day, when all you have the energy for is to have dinner and do your washing and go to bed — anything above that is just an effort. But now I have time to enjoy things, which is really nice.

I’m in a lovely relationship with a gorgeous man who has spoilt me rotten – and I’m just getting used to it. He is just so thoughtful. He knows I share an office with another woman – he has seen how dingy and small our office is — so one day he sent flowers to both of us. His name is Alistair, and he is a builder, and we’ve been together for about eight months.

He is my neighbour, so I guess I’m the girl next door, although we live three doors apart. We met on the front nature strip. Every time I came home from work he was out the front renovating his house and we kept running into each other. We had dinner with some other neighbours the other night and we were running late. We walked and when we got there we apologised and said, “the traffic was terrible”. It’s such an easy life.

I’m 33 now and I don’t have a problem with getting older. I feel so much more comfortable with myself now than when I was younger. I wouldn’t go back to being a teenager for quids! But I am very conscious of the damage the sun can do. I’m extremely fair so I have to be careful. Ever since I was 16 I have always worn hats, sunnies and sunscreen. I wear sunscreen every day, even through winter.
I don’t think you always have to use expensive products, though, to get the results you want. Every so often I make up a mask and pop it on may face. It’s amazing how it makes your skin softer. At first, your skin goes red, but the next morning the redness is gone. Do it on a quiet Sunday night or when you’re about the clean the bathroom because it is messy. This is how to do it: mix a few teaspoons of oats with a tiny amount of boiling water, add a teaspoon of avocado or honey. Put the mixture through a tea strainer. Rub the oats on your face to exfoliate. Take the liquid you’ve strained and apply gently to your face as a mask.

Livinia’s favourite things

PERFUME

• Flowers by Kenzo

COSMETICS

• Invisible zinc tinted lip and cheek balm
• Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream
• Dermalogica Sheer Tint Moisture SPF 15

SPORTS

• Golf
• Tennis

DESTINATION

• Byron Bay “It has all the things in life I love - gentle waves, beautiful walks, amazing rolling hills, good food.”

BOOKS

• Into Thin Air by John Krakow “It’s my favourite.”
• Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin “I’m reading this at the moment as part of my book club. It has the right elements – china and ballet – and I’m learning a lot.”

TV SHOWS

• Getaway
• Australian Story

PET

• Labrador retriever “Sam is constantly by my side.”

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