2013 AACTA Awards

It's been a big week here in Sydney, with lots of red carpet events and celebrity sightings to fill up our time. PopSugar editor Jess was up to her ears in Aussie stars (and a couple international) when she hit both the AACTA Awards and the Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters premiere in Sydney. We spied so many gorgeous dresses on people like Cate Blanchett and Jessica Mauboy, and we were loving Megan Gale's dark, voluminous waves when she stepped onto the carpet. Ali went to fashion showings and received a very cool, very Chanel gift, while Alison's been trying out some new nail polish colours and perfecting her travel beauty kit. There's plenty more behind-the-scenes action to see — click through to check it out!

The 2013 AACTA Awards took place on Wednesday to celebrate the achievements of the Australian film and TV industry, and we were on the red carpet at The Star to speak to the talented actors as they made their way into the ceremony. We asked lots of people what their favourite movies and shows from the past year were — no surprises that big winners The Sapphires and Puberty Blues got a lot of love — and tried to squeeze any scoop on the second season of Puberty Blues out of its cast. Click through to see what everyone had to say!

The red carpet was rolled out in front of The Star in Sydney for the second annual Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards last night. The festivities kicked off in the afternoon as the country’s brightest film and TV stars posed for photos and chatted to media on their way into the ceremony. Most of the buzz surrounded The Sapphires, which many actors said they loved — the film, which was up for the most honours, ended up winning 11 of the 12 awards it was nominated for. It was also a successful year for home-grown TV, with plenty of celebrities sharing their love for Puberty Blues.

As for the talent, it was a mix of high-profile Aussies and locally-loved stars who added to the glamour of the event. Cate Blanchett was a vision in red sequinned Armani while Nicole Kidman, who was lovingly greeted at the airport that morning by husband Keith Urban, opted for strapless Erdem. The young stars of Puberty Blues — Brenna Harding, Ashleigh Cummings, Isabelle Cornish, Charlotte Best and Sean Keenan — were out in force and hung out with their onscreen parents, Dan Wylie, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor and Susie Porter. Visiting Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton brought some international star power to the proceedings, and The Sapphires’ Jessica Mauboy, Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens and director Wayne Blair made their entrance together. Rounding out the arrivals was Joel Edgerton, who escorted his reported fiancée Alexis Blake on the way in.

There were plenty more stars on the red carpet so click through to see them all. Find out who wore what on Fab and zoom in on the beauty on Bella.

If there's one woman in our country who's having a moment, it's Jessica Mauboy. The star of major hit film, The Sapphires, this Aussie It girl first came to our attention when she placed second in the 2006 season of Australian Idol. She's since carved out a hugely successful music career and in the last couple of years, taken that talent into acting roles. As such, we've seen a lot of Jess on red carpets around the globe — most recently at the AACTA Awards last night — and we're always blown away by her beauty. Whether she's got a head full of bouncy curls, or a deep red lip, she's alway the epitome of a good girl gone glam. Click through to see her best beauty looks so far!

We couldn't help but notice that some of the stellar celebrity dresses from last night's AACTA Awards in Sydney looked mighty familiar to us. We're all for recycling a fabulous frock, don't get us wrong now, and hey! If it's good enough for Kate Middleton, it's certainly good enough for Sydney's A-list attendees. From Jessica Mauboy's second Steven Khalil gown for the evening, to Jessica McNamee's sophisticated Carl Kapp sheath to the Dior dress that is making its third red carpet appearance — we want to get your take on who wore it best. Go on, you know you've got an opinion. 

What a night! PopSugar was front and centre on last night's AACTA Awards red carpet, soaking up all of the celebrity arrivals. Mega-watt star power came from ex-pats Nicole Kidman who wore a floral-motif Erdem frock, Fred Leighton jewels and Brian Atwood heels, while Cate Blanchett turned up the glam factor in a scarlet sequinned gown from Armani Privé's A/W '09 collection. Local stars turned to local designers in droves; Jessica Mauboy looked elegant not one but two Steven Khalil designs, Michala Banas sparkled in Rachel Gilbert, Megan Gale looked chic thanks to her custom Alex Perry, Alyssa McClelland was gorgeous in Magdalena Valevska, Jessica McNamee was streamlined in Carl Kapp, Pia Miranda looked adorbs in Collette Dinnigan, Elizabeth Debicki was pristine courtesy of Thurley and Charlotte Best got glam in Danielle Stephanie. Our favourites? It's a close call between Sophie Lowe in Scanlan & Theodore's luxe leather creation and and Gracie Otto in Gucci's chartreuse S/S '13 strapless confection. Ready to zoom in on Sydney's most stylish? Come on then, let's go! 

The cream of Australia's acting crop turned out last night for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. Beauties including Megan Gale (the hair!), Cate Blanchett (the skin!) and Nicole Kidman (the limbs!) worked the red carpet flaunting beauty looks including a dramatic side-swept fringe, glossy, voluminous blow-dries and deep charcoal smoky eyes. The Awards, now in their second year, are peer-nominated and celebrate excellence in Australian film and television. Click through to zoom in on our favourite Aussie beauties.