Nicole Warne

Nicole Warne for Pretty Shady


There are so many different things I want to be doing but late last year I finally allocated the time to do something I’ve always wanted to do: become more involved with charities to help create awareness for a good cause and give something back. As much as I love this industry, there are times when I question what it is everyone is working towards besides money and power. The sad thing is the world does, and always will, revolve around money, it’s just where we choose to spend it is the part we can change.

Over the Australian summer I’ve been working with Pretty Shady to help create awareness for skin cancer and how important – and easy – it is to prevent. Unfortunately, I was one of those girls at high school who covered herself in coconut oil and went sun-baking with her friends on the weekends. It was all about that golden tan and avoiding ‘strap marks’ from our bikinis. It wasn’t until my best friend started dating a doctor that I realised just how much damage I was doing to my skin. When he saw us severely sunburnt after an afternoon at the beach, he simply stated “You will get melanoma. It’s not a question, it’s a fact”, and then continued to cooking dinner. His monotone voice and blank facial expression made me realise he wasn’t joking, he was being serious. Nearly as serious as the issue itself of skin cancer within Australia. In fact, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world and is the most common cancer affecting young Australians. When I found out 1 in every 3 people you know will be diagnosed with skin cancer at one point in their lives it made me count just how many times my friends and I got sunburnt at the beach because we forgot the umbrella, or because applying 30 sunscreen made us look white in the water. Was it even worth it? Of course not. We’re all guilty of being a little lazy with sun protection but by just taking simple precautions like wearing a wide brimmed hat, UV protected sunglasses (yes, you can even get skin cancer on various eye tissues), seeking shade, covering your skin and shoulders with fashionable clothing in summer, and purely wearing sunscreen when you leave the house, you can avoid 95% of melanomas. After I learnt this I realised just how easy it was to be sun smart and just how easy it is to help create awareness for it too. I’m telling you, so I hope you tell your friends and they tell their friends. It’s all about being part of the generation that helps prevents skin cancer.

This is the official Pretty Shady video which I’m so proud to be a part of. It aired on national television and movie cinemas and has already been viewed on Youtube over one million times! A special thank you to Tania and Pretty Shady for allowing me to be a part of this. I can’t wait to share with you all a few more charities I’m working with this year

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