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- We Asked Abbie Chatfield About Beauty, Pleasure and Mental Health and the Gua Sha Came Up Thrice
We Asked Abbie Chatfield About Beauty, Pleasure and Mental Health and the Gua Sha Came Up Thrice
Instagram @abbiechatfield
Abbie Chatfield is kind of like the best friend you’ve always wanted. She’s funny, friendly and tells it how it is. The way Chatfield seems on her Instagram is how she appears in real life. And Chatfield, who recently made the move from Brisbane to Sydney, is going from strength to strength in her very busy career.
Not only did she recently launch her very own vibrator with sexual wellness and self-pleasure brand Vush, the 25-year-old also runs an extremely successful podcast (called It’s a Lot) and is the ambassador of Australian beauty brand RAWKANVAS. And, in case you somehow missed it, she’s also the reigning queen of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, which she won earlier this year.
POPSUGAR Australia was lucky enough to chat all things beauty, self-care and self-pleasure with Chatfield and it was the most fun and wonderful way to spend a morning.
POPSUGAR Australia: Let’s dive straight into beauty talk! What are a few beauty products that are in high rotation at the moment?
Abbie Chatfield: My favourite thing in the world from RAWKANVAS is the Harmony Toner. Obsessed. I don’t know what it is; I think it just adds a nice base before all of my serums. I also am obsessed with The Limelight ($59) — I’ve been using it forever. And also the overnight moisturiser — Luminosity ($55) — obsessed with that. And for acne, I like tbh Skincare — the tbh acne cream and the cleanser as well.
I’ve also been using a gua sha lately. I like that with whatever serums I’m using. It’s even like a moment of meditation.
PS: When do you feel most like yourself, most beautiful?
AC: Ooh good question! Probably after the beach. You know when you get out of the shower after the beach and you moisturise your entire face and you’re like a dolphin slick? Yeah, like that [laughs]. And you’ve got like seven serums on and you’re sunkissed and your hair is half salty, maybe that!
PS: What’s one thing (be it beauty, hair makeup or skincare-related) that you do that instantly lifts your mood?
AC: The gua sha! Honestly. I find it really hard to not look at my phone for a few minutes because it’s work and social life in one, so in the morning I make myself do a five-minute gua sha and it just makes me a bit more calm and that makes me feel better.
PS: What’s one beauty rule that you always follow?
AC: Oh, from Zoë Foster Blake! I learnt this when I was in high school but it’s the order of your skincare where it’s like from the thinnest to thickest. I tell everyone — people don’t know that and it’s like, Zoë Foster Blake taught me that one. I’m not sure how or where or when [laughs] but all I think about is her when I do my skincare.
PS: We’re guessing you’re inundated with offers to try a number of beauty products. What makes RAWKANVAS different and why do you love this brand?
AC: Because it’s all vegan and natural. I have quite… I wouldn’t say sensitive skin but it’s very reactive and particularly after The Bachelor, my skin would just go nuts. I would get weird dermatitis or I’d get breakouts, hormonal breakouts and when I was sent some RAWKANVAS products to try out to see if I liked it, it was really effective.
The Purified: Purifying Cleanser ($40) was the first thing I tried and it was very soft and gentle but it also got all of my makeup off and I was like ‘Wow, great. Thank God I didn’t have a ridiculous breakout or a chemical burn.’ But also, they have things like the Red Wine Mask ($55) and it’s good because I have such reactive skin, I don’t like to use any hectic stuff at home but she’s fine because she’s all-natural.
PS: Congratulations on the recent release of the Abbie G-Spot Vibrator! Why are you so passionate about self-pleasure?
AC: Thank you! I think, you know, there’s such a stigma around sexuality among all genders but particularly women because it’s obviously patriarchal structures and the fear of women enjoying pleasure and then not needing men because apparently, they think their only value is sex, which it’s not… always [laughs]. But I think it’s important to destigmatise these things and we could have happier, healthier lives with better sex.
PS: How has the response been to the release of this product?
AC: Really good! People were loving the whole idea but when they started actually getting to people — I was scared that when I tried it that I was enjoying it because it was mine and that I was being biased — but people are sending me very interesting reviews. It’s sold out, we’re going to restock hopefully!
So we sold out in like a week-and-a-half and we had a lot of units and I was like ‘We won’t sell out, we’ll be fine.’ Everyone’s loving it.
PS: Being a public figure can be tricky. How do you prioritse your mental health and take care of yourself?
AC: Babe, the gua sha! [Laughs] Also, I mean, this is so obvious, but when people are like ‘What’s your tips and tricks?’ and I’m like therapy! I moved from Brisbane to Sydney recently and it’s been very hard to find time so I’ve put up boundaries with my manager, who is my like God and saviour, like [I] love him more than anything in the world — I actually haven’t spoken to him this morning and I’m sad — but he’s such a good manager that he gets me so much work so I’ve now been like ‘I’m putting in the calendar when I go to yoga’ so using boundaries like that. But yeah, putting up boundaries, therapy and the gua sha!
PS: You’re quite entrepreneurial yourself…
AC: Oh, am I?
PS: Yes! You have a successful podcast, now a successful vibrator collaboration, what advice would you have for women who are wanting to start their own thing — be it a podcast, a small business, or a product?
AC: I guess I am. I think the biggest killer is just that little bit of self-doubt that can creep in and make you not want to fully commit to something. I mean, I thought my podcast was going to be so bad. And I was lucky enough to have already have a profile, but I feel like if you just stop caring what others think and don’t be like, ‘Oh, it’ll be embarrassing if this fails and everyone will laugh at me.’
A) No one cares about you that much, and no one’s sitting there waiting for it to fail. And B) you’re just going to shoot yourself in the foot, so I think just let go of any shame and embarrassment and just be like ‘I’m going to give this my all or nothing’.
