Helene Ravlich

Helene Ravlich

Freelance writer, mum, blogger, copywriter: there isn’t much Helene Ravlich can’t do. This Auckland-based wordsmith has been writing about everything from Metallica to lipstick to technology for 14 years.

“I specialise in versatility because after doing it for so long I can turn my hand to any tone or adopt different personalities in print, and I guess you have to, it’s the only way to survive as a freelancer.”

And with son Wolf (2 1/2) in tow she still manages to find time for her popular beauty blog, Pretty Beautiful.

“It’s where I talk about lipstick and skincare. I love clothes but I’m not a fashion person – but I am a beauty freak. When I was 18 I remember going to London and coming back with 11 lipsticks,” she says.

Oh, and she speaks fluent Italian. The well-travelled Ponsonby resident now writes for magazines as diverse as Karen, Australia’s Grazia, and music mag Rip It Up.

“When I started off I tried to specialise as a music journalist because music’s always been my buzz.”

As a smart independent writer she would fly herself over to LA every year to interview the latest batch of hot music stars and then sell the stories back home – people like Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore and Beyonce (one of the best interviews she’s ever had – “she was incredible, no make up on, teeny tiny, really sweet, soft spoken and incredibly polite”).

Despite the pop pieces, Ravlich’s own music tastes are of a darker variety, something she attributes in part to her West Auckland roots.

“I prefer Slayer, Ministry – definitely the bogan end of things. Yeah, I’m West and proud and it’s probably also from spending a lot of time in America where it’s not embarrassing to listen to music like that.”

To top it off she has a collection of tattoos – as does husband Jooles Clement, a consultant to the arts. Her favourite? Their son’s name on her arm.

Favourite Stolen cocktail: Stolen Ginger