Model and entrepreneur
Lara Bingle — the beach babe and budding businesswoman — talks about her new skincare range and being true to herself.
How long has The Base by Lara Bingle, your range of tanning and skincare products, been in the works?
It all stemmed from me wanting to be the kind of woman who wanted to have it all to herself.
You know, own it and create it, rather than everyone doing it for you and then just putting your name to it.
I wanted to create something bigger than myself, and be able to genuinely talk about it and not have someone else write my notes for me.
I’ve been there, done that for so long, being the face of other companies.
It sounds like a mammoth task. How does one even start?
Yeah, I know, right [laughs].
It was a year in the making, and I look back now and I’m like, “How did I [start]?” You just kind of work out exactly what you want to do.
Over the years I’ve come across so many inspiring women and learnt so much that I’ve used all their knowledge.
I flew to Perth one day and met Andrea Bux, who created Invisible Zinc, and I was so inspired… Learning and listening to other people is really important.
What was the turning point, for you, from celebrity to entrepreneur?
I think you come to a place in your life where you’re done with all the stuff that, you know… I was quite bored [with] talking about my personal life, to be honest.
Like, I don’t even talk with my friends [about that], so when people would ask me [personal] things I’d be like, “Ugh.”
Do you feel it’s hard for you to be taken seriously as a businesswoman?
I think I’ve always had that struggle.
With social media these days, there’s no mystery – that’s gone out the window – and I like mystery. I’ve started to do things I really like now.
I’ve pulled back [from public life] and put out there who I actually am, rather than people doing it for me and creating this person that is not who I am.
What has been the major learning curve?
Knowing each and every dollar that goes in and out of your account [laughs].
Honestly, knowing the business side of things is really important to me, and that’s another reason why I started this.
I wanted to know how to create a business from scratch and then [work on] the creative side of things.
A subtle tan smell is tough, but you seem to have achieved it.
It’s not that bad… [takes the lid off].
You know what? It smells like a dough…
A doughnut, I know! Everyone says that. OK, that’s good.
I like doughnuts.
But this [tan] is good; I tested it on my boyfriend [actor Sam Worthington] for a few days, because he has pale skin.
Was there a moment when making this that you thought, “What am I doing?”
Day in, day out; it’s a constant. If you want to do something, do it right.
Or at least try. I tried super-hard, like, for over a year.
You spend a lot of time overseas. How often do you make it back to Australia?
I’m in Australia less and less; I’ve been here maybe three times this year.
I miss it.
It’s nice to be back to visit my family, but I fly them to come and visit [me].
The world is small.
I used to think it was really big when I was younger, but [everything] is just a flight away.
I love travelling; I’m a bit of a gypsy.
I just like to go everywhere and explore – and pack lightly [laughs].
As this is our annual party issue, how has your attitude towards attending parties changed over the years?
My attitude hasn’t changed.
I have never been a massive fan of attending a lot of parties – only the ones that have personal significance to me.
You mentioned earlier that you like to maintain a sense of mystery. Is this a new direction for you? You’ve been so public in the past.
One of the nicest things is to not know everything about someone or something, and the discovery [of it].
Although The Base is keeping you busy, what else are you working on?
[Pregnancy questions were off-limits, but that’s what we were wondering…]
I plan to do other projects under this brand, but that’s next year.
It’s just slow and steady, I think. Slow and steady wins the race.
The Base by Lara Bingle is available now. Visit www.thebase.me
Source: Sunday Style
Published Date: 14th December 2014
