“Modeling has always been my life. I did soup commercials and random things as a kid, and at 15, I left school and moved to Milan. There was no social media, so it was very straightforward: live in a model house, do the job, party, repeat.
My ‘big break’ was a 2006 Tourism Australia commercial. It turned out to be so controversial. There was a part where I said, ‘So where the bloody hell are you?’ and the word ‘bloody’ really stirred up trouble. But on a personal level, I saw an instant change. I went from being no one to suddenly having a profile.
I went on to have a reality TV show called Being Lara Bingle—Bingle is my maiden name—and in 2014 I launched a beauty and tanning brand, The Base by LB. It was successful, but when I moved to America and started having children, I fell out of love with it. Truthfully, I was overwhelmed by all of these amazing brands launching, including Glossier, and I didn’t know where mine fit while trying to be a mom. So I turned it into a nonprofit, Share The Base, which gave 100 percent of the brand’s proceeds to three charities.
When my husband and I moved to New York in 2022, the city energized me. Women here are doing shit. It made me want to build a brand again, which led to Ommage, my new beauty brand. It’s about a feeling: imperfections, playfulness, and sexiness, which I believe are missing from the industry right now. We’ve gone so far toward perfection, with all the contouring and correcting, that it feels rigid. When my makeup is really perfect I can feel a bit stuck—I don’t even want to drink water in case I mess up my lipstick, for example. So I tapped Victoria Beckham’s formulation team, and together we brought back the skin tint that was the big hit of my last brand. And I found designers to create packaging that’s imperfectly perfect with lots of curves, dips, and ridges.
SKINCARE
I feel pressure to try different things to enhance my skin, less as a model and more as a woman. I mean, everyone wants nice, even-textured skin. But sometimes I think of my face as a table, and if I keep sandpapering the table, the wood will become too thin. So I’m always on the fence about everything because I want to protect my skin, though occasionally I get talked into things.
I got a lip flip, and it was the worst. I couldn’t drink water properly and I talked weirdly. The Botox took about three months disappear. Never again. Still, twice a year, I see Ganit Reis for Botox and filler. She puts a little Botox in my hairline for a bit of a lift, and in my neck, too.
Over the years, I’ve cut back on the number of products I use, but I still like well-made formulas. I skip cleanser in the morning, but at night, Bioderma’s micellar water is great for taking off makeup. Then I switch between Biologique Recherche’s Lait VIP O2 cleansing milk and iS Clinical’s Cleansing Complex. I also travel with Koh Gen Do’s Cleansing Water wipes.
In the morning, I like wearing iS Clinical’s Pro-Heal serum. It’s packed with vitamin C. Danucera’s Mega serum is also great. It also has vitamin C, along with niacinamide. I’m only six weeks into it, but it makes my skin feel plump and juicy. Same with Lesse’s Ritual serum, which I usually save for when my skin feels extra dry. Cynthia Rivas introduced me to MBR’s Cytoline Concentrate. I’ll be totally honest, I don’t entirely understand what it does, but she told me I should use it—and the eye cream, too. I follow those with Dermaviduals’ classic Base Cream. It’s amazing but very hard to buy because it’s more of a facialist brand.
I love CO2Lift’s Carboxytherapy masks. If I remember correctly, Paloma Elsesser said somewhere that you should buy them in bulk because they’re so good. I feel like she really knows her stuff, so I did. Biologique Recherche makes excellent masks, too. I use VIP O2 on any areas that need hydration, and I use Masque Vivant on congested parts of my face. Sometimes I mix in baking soda if I need it to be more intense.
I had horrible melasma during my pregnancies. Mélanie Grant, an amazing facialist and fellow Australian, suggested lasers but couldn't promise the pigment wouldn't come back. I tried Fraxel, but it hurt so much, even numbed, that I’ve never had the guts to do it again. Then she told me about Mesoestetic’s Cosmelan Depigmenting Treatments. You leave it on for eight hours and then you’re fine for a day or two, then you shed like a snake for 10 days. You look amazing after. For more of an everyday peel, I like Dr. Dennis Gross’ Alpha Beta peel pads.
I’m not too loyal to any devices, but the one I really believe in is CurrentBody’s Dermalux LED panel. It’s expensive but worth it. I’ve even used it to help my kids when they’ve broken bones. My friend Phoebe Tonkin lays under it and listens to podcasts in a sort of meditative way.
MAKEUP
I wear makeup every day, even if it’s the slightest bit. I blend in Ommage’s First Base with the Buffer Brush, whose curved top works almost like a gua sha to get into the crevices of your face. The coverage is somewhere between a foundation and tinted moisturizer.
Then I work on my brows. Sania Vucetaj, the founder of Sania’s Brow Bar, has done my brows a few times. She’s very old school and detailed, so I let her do her thing, but I keep them pretty natural. I use her brow pencil in Medium. It’s not too waxy and fills them in just enough. I mostly concentrate on the ends because they don’t grow well. If I need it, I’ll run Anastasia Beverly Hills’ clear brow gel through them.
I have a bunch of concealers, but my favorite is this old-school one that Miranda Kerr talked about back in the day. It’s from Illuminare and comes in a little tube. I wear Portofino Porcelain. I only spot-treat with it; I don’t like putting concealer under my eyes because every single one, no matter what it is, creases and makes me look older.
I’m a big fan of Merit’s Flush balm in Archival and run it across my cheeks, and nose, too. I want to look like I got back from a beautiful summer vacation—like Bella Hadid on Porter's summer 2017 cover. Meanwhile Chanel makes the best bronzer out there. I wear Medium Light. I mix it with moisturizer sometimes to warm up my whole face. I even use it on my body to highlight my décolletage; it’s a product you can use everywhere.
I’m not a huge contourer, although I do love Westman Atelier’s Face Trace stick in Biscuit as an eyeshadow. It creases a little, but I don’t mind. If I want actual eyeshadow when I’m going to an event, I turn to Chanel’s quads. Les Ombres in Warm Memories is probably my favorite right now. Chanel makes the best color combos—until I can make eyeshadows for Ommage. [Laughs] I want to build out combinations in a different way, sort of like how Rothko paintings have these really interesting pairings, like an icy blue with a black.
Victoria Beckham makes great eyeliners—Cocoa and Ash are my favorite shades. They’re more smudgey than traditional pencils, but I don’t mind that they’re a little messy. I also use her waterline pencil to brighten my eyes. And I curl my lashes with Shiseido’s curler; it’s the best one on the market.
I don’t always highlight, but if I do, I like Chanel’s Baume glow stick in Transparent. I like that it’s more wet than shiny because you can place it anywhere—the inner corners of your eyes, down the bridge of your nose, on your cupid’s bow—for a little dew.
Drawn-on freckles make me look younger. My son is so hilarious. He has so many freckles, and when he’s seen me use Lime Crime’s freckle pen [Editor’s note: discontinued], he says to people, ‘My freckles are real, but my mom’s aren’t.’ [Laughs]
And then I’m more of a blurry-lip person. If I do a lip, I usually grab an orangey-red. Or if I want a glossy look, Fara Homidi’s Pomme lip oil has a great doe-foot applicator. It’s really thick and big, and the actual gloss is so juicy. [Laughs] And of course, like any Australian, I love Lucas’ Papaw Ointment. I put it everywhere, not just my lips.
HAIR
My mom can’t believe I pay for this haircut. [Laughs] But I've had it for 10 years, and I plan to keep it for the rest of my life; it’s an extension of my personality. My hairstylist, Ward Stegerhoek, lives in Connecticut, so I always have to drive there, but he’s worth the trip. I’ve had so many bad cuts over the years that have made my head look like a triangle. My bob has to be cut in a certain way so it’s not the same length all the way around.
I try to dye my hair as little as possible. When I’m in NYC, I go to Janelle Chaplin, and when I’m in Sydney, I go to Jaye Edwards. But in the summer, I use actual lemons to lighten it. Or when I want to go more copper, Christophe Robin has an amazing Shade Variation mask in Chic Copper that lets me extend the life of my color.
I don’t really blow-dry my hair. I just part it down the middle and tuck it behind my ears. That’s helpful because I have a healthy obsession with washing it every day—it’ll feel like straw on day two if I don’t. I like Nécessaire’s rosemary shampoo and conditioner. If I’m feeling it, I use Rōz’s Willow Glen pre-wash oil. I mostly picked it up because I went to Korea and someone inspected my scalp and told me it was dry and needed more care. Fair enough.
Hairdressers on set have taught me to use men’s styling products because they have more grit. So when I want to slick it back, I use my husband’s products, like his tube of Bed Head Power Play finishing gel. It gives my hair a bit of structure without feeling too styled. I love Black & White’s Pluko Dressing Pomade, too, and fun fact, it was the secret behind Elvis Presley’s hair.
Other must-haves: Got2B’s hairspray really holds things down. Yves Durif’s vented brush is beautifully designed but is actually a good brush, too. Once or twice a month, I use Leonor Greyl’s Masque Fleurs de Jasmin. It really adds hydration without weighing me down; it’s soft and subtle.
FRAGRANCE
Tsu Lange Yor’s Sage’s Rose is the best perfume I’ve found in a long, long time. Troye Sivan, the founder, really captured something special with Damask rose, poppy flowers, vetiver, guaiacwood, and amber resins. People constantly stop me to ask what I'm wearing. It’s hands-down my favorite, which is saying a lot because I only wore Dior’s Bois d’Argent, a very woody, ambery vanilla, for a decade.
I also really like what Yasmin Sewell is doing with Vyrao. I actually grew up with her in Australia, and she’s created this really inspirational, colorful world where each scent is supposed to shift your mood. I love Mamajuju. It’s meant to help with relaxation, memory, and even self-esteem. I don’t know about all of that, but it smells amazing: earthy, spicy, and quite grounding.
I’m a real homebody scent person, too. I love candles. I love incense. I love fragrance papers. I think it’s because I’m a Cancer and I wear my house on my back—and I have three stinky boys. [Laughs] Santa Maria Novella makes these Carta d’Armenia Incense Papers that you light on fire. They leave a beautiful scent as they burn. I also like Cereria Molla’s tuberose and jasmine candles. They’re not as expensive as some luxury candles, which I find hard to justify for something that’s ultimately going to disappear. We’re all just burning money, aren’t we?””
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Shana Trajanoska in New York on April 8, 2026