Exclusive: Celeste Barber has launched her very own make-up brand, Booie Beauty
'For my drunk mums, for my fun aunties, for my single girls'
Lifestyle
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Nearly a decade after she became an Instagram sensation, the comedian reflects on fame, family and reveals why she’s coming for your make-up bag with the launch of her very own beauty brand, BOOIE BEAUTY.
Through her cleverly observed comedy, viral parodies of celebrities and top-line acting roles, Celeste Barber has built a career on laughs to become the nation’s most recognisable funny girl. But if there’s one thing that gets her down, it’s an all-too-familiar exchange with fans.
When they rock up for a ‘meet and greet’ before her live shows, they’ll share a chat and a giggle. But when Barber suggests they get a photograph together, she’s shocked by how many are unhappy with how they look.
“The number of them who go, ‘Oh, no, I look terrible in photos,’ it makes me sad,” she reveals. “I tell them they have to be in this photo with me or they won’t get a signed poster. As I tell them, it can’t be any worse than some of the photos they’ve seen me take of myself.”
Trailblazer for the imperfect, poster girl for subverting warped views of beauty and now, apparently, one of the few celebrities who embraces pics with her fans – “Don’t worry, I make sure it’s a selfie and I get my angles, I’m not stupid” – Barber has long championed the everywoman.
Yet having built her name on hilariously skewering the notion that women have to look (and perform) a certain way, nothing bothers her more than when her fans are uncomfortable with their own image.
“You have to learn that who you are as an individual is excellent, and that there’s industries and companies built around teaching us the opposite,” she says. “Especially as women [we’re taught], ‘Don’t pop your head out or we will cut it off or you’ll be cancelled.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, you are excellent exactly as you are,’ and you have to lean into that because what else is there.”
Next January marks a decade since Barber began poking fun at celebrities by recreating their highly manufactured and ludicrous images with the hashtag #celestechallengeaccepted.
Since she pulled on a nude bra, fishnet tights and big undies on a pile of dirt in a mockery of Kim Kardashian, she’s not only built an Instagram following of 9.6 million but become as famous as those she ridicules. Yet she feels the deeper messages about body acceptance and authenticity her work illuminates still haven’t brought about the change she’d like.
“A few years ago, the body-positive movement came in and now it’s gone,” she says, sighing. “It’s like, ‘Cool, we did that, it’s a fad,’ and now it’s like skinny jeans, [we’re] moving on. We put Ashley Graham on a catwalk a couple of times and everyone went ‘great’, but I feel like we’re back to waif-thin. There’s still a lot that needs to change when it comes to how women are portrayed in the media, and what is seen as normal and what is seen as attainable and what is seen as desirable, therefore successful.”
Barber, 42, is chatting to Body+Soul via Zoom the day after flying home from a two-month US tour of her comedy show, Backup Dancer, which begins in Australia next month. For the first time in ages, she’s cuddled her boys, Lou, 13, and Buddy, 10, and caught up with her stepdaughters, Kyah, 24, and Sahra, 22, and as we chat her husband, Api Robin, aka #hothusband, is preparing dinner in the background.
If Barber is jet-lagged, she doesn’t show it, but that may be because of something special happening on her face – a secret she’s kept for a while and is now excited to share. Yes, the woman whose job description includes comedian, actor, social media star, mother and wife now has another title to add to the list: beauty boss.
She’s releasing a five-piece collection of products called BOOIE BEAUTY and, rather than offering the weary promises of eternal youth and wrinkle eradication, it’s designed to make her customers look like the best version of themselves. As Barber points out, it’s for all those overwhelmed by the products multiplying like rabbits at their local Sephora, but also for those who believe owning 45 concealers just isn’t enough.
“I wanted to make this range for me, for my drunk mums, for my fun aunties, for my single girls, for my audience, essentially,” she says. “I saw there was a gap in the market. I was like, ‘It needs to be easy, it needs to be affordable and it needs to be excellent.’”
With products called Bloody Delicious! (an illuminating moisturiser), Bring Back the Bush (a cheekily named eyebrow gel tint) and Bam! Bam! Bam! (a lip, eye and cheek tint in the on-brand shades of Red Wine and Rosé), Barber might be driving a new enterprise, but, as ever, she’s remained in her lane.
As she says, BOOIE are the base products that’ll get you out the door or, in her case, off a long-haul flight from Chicago to Sydney that included a seven-hour layover in Los Angeles. “I looked like a slapped arse,” she confides, “so I just put on the five products in the toilet on the plane and – bang – it brought me back.”
Some may venture that make-up products are an unusual fit for a woman who has built a gargantuan following by busting the beauty myth and deconstructing the advertising that accompanies it. But as Barber points out, she’s working with her audience, not against them. The collection is tightly curated and affordable – products range from $21 to $39 – and the marketing images feature her putting make-up on in her dressing gown and in the car. Her wrinkles even get their own close-up.
“I love my smile lines, I love them so much,” she enthuses. “We all have them and if you want to get rid of them, go nuts, but there are a lot of women who don’t and who also don’t want to read a thesis on how to apply make-up to cover them up.” For the record, she has a “never say never” approach to certain cosmetic procedures, but points out her “Mr Bean face” is required for her comedy. “It has to do gymnastics, but she’s 42 now. Everything’s starting to drop.”
Tilting her head to show off her illuminating moisturiser, Barber wants BOOIE, as the name suggests, to be a friend. “The only thing in the make-up space now targeted to women over 20 is anti-ageing serum [and] anti-ageing cream,” she says. “It’s all about cover it, fix it, change it, make it younger. I wanted to lean into women being the best version of themselves and highlighting what they’ve got. I’m here for the ladies who are like, ‘Tell me what to do.’ Well, I’m here telling you what to do and you’re going to look banging, I promise.”
When it’s pointed out she’s now joined a cohort of celebrity make-up mavens that includes Selena Gomez, Rihanna and Victoria Beckham, Barber smirks. “Well, that’s the only reason I started it really, because I just wanted my name to be next to Posh Spice and Rihanna.”
And what about her great mate, designer Tom Ford, with whom she collaborated on a series of videos back in 2018. Is she trying to nose him out of the make-up business? “I probably should tell TF, shouldn’t I?” she muses breezily. “I’ll just send him some, although he’ll be like, ‘I’ve got enough.’”
When you drill down into it, there are further intriguing reasons why she might be entering the beauty space. Having previously collaborated with other brands, notably supermarket stalwart, MCoBeauty, she now wants greater creative control and consideration of who gets to access her audience. Neither does she want to answer to anyone.
“I really appreciate my audience,” says Barber, who devised BOOIE – which is on sale from July 15 at booie.com – with Claire Greaves, former co-founder of P.E Nation. “I don’t treat them like a number. I see their little squishy faces in my audiences all around the world and I appreciate the effort that goes into them getting babysitters to come to my show, to spend the money and buy merch.”
Bluntly, there’s also the issue of feeding her family. Like all entertainers she fears not working, and was vocal when Netflix chose not to make a second season of her hit show, Wellmania. And while she may sell out theatres with her comedy show, when asked if she now flies first class, she hoots with derision.
“You know, it’s $11,000 for a first-class flight from Sydney to LA. I can’t afford that. People don’t pay me for Instagram.” That triggers a thought on how she might celebrate when she reaches 10 million Insta followers. “You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to give everyone my bank account details and they can send me $1 each.”
What makes Barber enduringly compelling is she’s cleverly rewritten the rules of fame. She’s become an A-lister by mocking the A-list, and yet she remains relatable because she sees the distinction between fame and success, appreciates the latter has to be earned and never takes for granted it’s ordinary people who’ve elevated her into the cultural stratosphere. (For context, it’s rare such a prominent celebrity gives more interview time than is allocated and ensures the photo shoot you see here is a fun experience for all involved.)
That said, she’s fooling no-one when she says: “I don’t think I’m famous.” She quickly corrects herself. “Actually, that’s a stupid thing to say because I just tried to take my dog for a walk on the beach and I got hounded.” What she means, she explains, is that she’s been hustling for work since going to drama school aged 17, and it’s talent and effort she values. “I don’t want to be famous, I want to be successful,” says Barber emphatically.
“I want people to resonate with the work I do as opposed to going, ‘There’s that girl that used to…’ I have zero interest in fame. If anything, I don’t like it. When I meet fancy famous people, my husband thinks there’s something wrong with me because I don’t get starstruck. When fame is a by-product, then you’re my person. Holding on to success and being happy with a level of success is just about as hard, if not harder, than getting it.”
Admitting she tries to go out incognito – “I Leo DiCaprio it the whole time, but my voice gives me away” – she has huge regard for her celebrity mates. She’s not sure if she has a bestie, but points out she recently spent some “excellent” time and had a “real connection” with Alanis Morrisette, thinks Tom Ford is “a spectacular guy”, and she adores Kylie Minogue. “I love her. I kept saying to her when I was with her in Vegas, ‘Mate, like, well done. I’m so proud of you, you with your Grammy and your residency.’”
If Barber’s life looks fun (and full), what with a hilarious cameo in Colin From Accounts – she pleaded with creators Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall to give her a part – and a role in the forthcoming feel-good movie, Runt, alongside Jai Courtney, Jack Thompson and Deborah Mailman, there are still challenges. She struggles, for instance, with having ADHD.
“I hear so many people saying, ‘I feel like it’s my superpower,’ and I don’t. I’ve always found it quite challenging to get my sh*t together. My brain tries to sabotage me a lot.”
Likewise, she may be the queen of social media, but she’s holding back Lou, who just turned 13, from accessing it. “No, their brains are too good and too excellent for it. I’ve always said to my kids, first with the girls, and now the boys as well, that social media only has the power you give to it. I’m 42 and kind of killing it on social media, and I still throw my phone at the wall sometimes because the yuckiness can seep in,” she laughs. “Ours are those poor kids who whenever we go out for dinner with friends, they bring out the Uno cards.”
For all her extraordinary success, celebrity mates and new make-up line, it’s these ordinary moments with her husband and kids that Barber values most. The woman who makes millions happy gets her own happiness from the man cooking – and quipping – nearby. She chides him for not posting regularly enough to his 200K followers, or, as he corrects her, his 297K followers, and there’s so much love in her eyes when she reflects on their 21-year relationship.
“He’s fabulous. He’s such a people person and he’s so chill about things,” she enthuses, adding he makes great coffee which she misses when she’s away. “He also knows the work that goes into us being in the position we’re in. He was there when I was crying over not getting Colgate ads 20 years ago.”
In fact, she thinks she now understands why they get invited to so many events and premieres. “I have a theory that they say, ‘Invite Celeste and then Api will come.’ He’s just so much better at those things than me.”
The wisdom (and wit) of Celeste Barber
Her schtick is not to preach or offer advice, but there are a few principles she follows
#1. Always trust your gut
Barber says she has a great team around her, but most of her decisions are instinctive: “I trust my gut 98 per cent of the time, and I’m hoping that by the end of the year it will be 100 per cent of the time.”
#2. Prioritise relaxation
She admits the hustler in her makes it hard to sit still. “It might sound counterintuitive, but I have to put energy into relaxing,” she says. She tries to tick things off her to-do list so she has time to walk her dog Ricky Baker and hang out with her husband and kids.
#3. Walk everywhere
Barber loves a hotel gym and tries to get there even if it’s just for a 20-minute burst. Otherwise, she aims to get her 10,000 steps each day. “I have to move my body, especially for my mind, and walking is my jam. If I haven’t done something then I feel stagnant.”
#4. Treasure family
She has a real “spiritual connection” to New Zealand and loves hanging out with her husband’s family. “I love me some Maori culture, the groundedness. It’s one big in-joke when we go over. I really want to move there, even just for a few months.”
#5. Define your own beauty
“Lip gloss on your cheekbones, that’s a thing,” says Barber. “Also, don’t try and make yourself look like someone else. Oh, and wine. Wine is probably a nice beauty tip. Everyone feels banging after a glass of wine.”
Photography:
Corrie Bond/ Vivien’s Creative
Styling Credits:
Look 1:
Youkhana top and skirt @__youkhana__
Swarovski jewellery @swarovski
Look 2:
Camilla and Marc suit and coat @camillaandmarc
Camilla and Marc coat @camillaandmarc
Scanlan Theodore shoes @scanlantheodore
8 Other Reasons earrings @8otherreasons
Look 3:
Alex Perry suit @alexperryofficial
Swarovski earrings @swarovski
Golden Goose shoes @goldengoose
Look 4:
Camilla dress @camillawithlove
Scanlan Theodore shoes @scanlantheodore
Swarovski jewellery @swarovski
Look 5:
Scanlan Theodore coat and boots @scanlantheodore
8 Other Reasons earrings @8otherreasons
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