Marie Claire Australia (January 2020)

AUSTRALIAN REPORT









TS the same suburb and paid cash for an either made nothing or lost money.

Former distributors who’ve seen
off-road caravan, in which she plans to
D FAC 99% year. Yesterday she didn’t feel like online, once their hunting ground. The
the light are now finding solidarity
travel around Australia within the next
OF ALL MLM
anti-MLM subreddit has half a million
working, so she drove to Byron Bay
DISTRIBUTORS
with a friend and spent the day at
subscribers, and there are thousands of
about their dodgy practices and taking
R LOSE MONEY the beach whale watching. As one Facebook groups dedicated to venting
of the top doTERRA leaders in the
A country, she’s been on incentive trips the piss out of so-called “hun bots”.
Amy, who’s in her late 40s, became a
to the Caribbean, Lake Como in Italy
D H and on safari in Kenya. Jessie credits part of The Anti-MLM Coalition after
a negative experience with SeneGence.
her success to believing in herself.
“I’ve continued to show up and build
She spent $11,000 on products in five
THE COL 75% “When I started, I didn’t want to the “cult”. “I was involved in a religious
confidence in myself,” she says.
months in 2017, before cutting ties with
piss around; I wanted to work hard
cult in my youth and SeneGence started
OF DIRECT
and create a foundation of residual
to feel very cult-like to me,” she says. “It
SELLERS IN
income and a real life of freedom.”
was the same brainwashing, systems
AUSTRALIA
Living in a beachside mansion,
of control and influence.”
ARE WOMEN
working 10 hours a week and earning
Now, Amy is one of the main
$2250 for each of them sounds members of The Anti-MLM Coalition,
appealing. And all you have to do is which has more than 6000 followers
believe in yourself? But Jessie is in on Facebook and offers support for
the one per cent of people who make those personally affected by MLMs,
INDEPENDENT money from MLM businesses. What and also lobbies for legislative change.
CONSULTANTS AT sets her apart from the other 99 per Amy says they get regular messages
ARBONNE EARN cent of people who lose money? “I’ve from distressed loved ones who have
worked my arse off to get where I am,” lost their daughter/wife/friend to an
AN AVERAGE OF
she says. “[The people who don’t make MLM, looking for resources and advice.
$908 money] don’t treat it like a serious “Our main goal is education. We want
to encourage people to look for the red
business. There’s always people in
life who don’t get where they want
flags and be sceptical,” she says. If it
A YEAR, to, because their effort does not looks likes a cult, sounds like a cult and
feels like a cult, it’s probably a cult.
match their expectations.”
OR $75 A MONTH, When Jessie says doTERRA isn’t O Sullivan’s advice to women
OR $18 A WEEK, a pyramid scheme “because pyramid charmed by the promise of extra
OR $0.49 AN schemes are illegal”, she speaks with money and empowerment is to use

HOUR FOR conviction, but her words feel like critical thinking. “Nobody would
A 38-HOUR they’ve been copied and pasted from say no to extra money, but be very
careful if someone can’t provide hard
a well-rehearsed script. She is unfazed
WORK WEEK
when people criticise her business: “I numbers, a business plan or, in some
don’t give a shit. I’m not crying into my cases, won’t tell you the name of the
money. I’m too busy living my best life company,” she says. “Remember,
while they’re working in a job they 99 per cent of people in these
hate, making a tenth of what I make.” businesses lose money.”
DOTERRA’S Back in rural Victoria, Nikki says
MOST EXPENSIVE or the 99 per cent of people she’s done. “Oh God, no!” is her
OIL, MELISSA who lose money on these response when asked if she’ll ever sign
OFFICINALIS, COSTS schemes, the anti-MLM up for another MLM scheme. All of the
women marie claire spoke to (except
$310 F enough. In the US, dozens of Jessie) shared the same dire warning to
revolution can’t come soon
women thinking about signing up to an
people have filed lawsuits against
leggings MLM LuLaRoe, as former MLM scheme: “Don’t do it. Run away.”
FOR 5ML sellers face bankruptcy. In October, If Nikki sees one of her friends

the US Federal Trade Commission hinting at joining an MLM, she
ruled that a Texas-based nutritional jumps on them. “Please don’t put
supplement MLM, AdvoCare, was an yourself or your family through that,”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ILKA & FRANZ. IT COSTS saying AdvoCare promised its and on the hardest chapter of her life.
she pleads, finally closing the door
illegal pyramid scheme and ordered it
to pay an AU $217 million settlement,
to her rumpus room full of boxes,
distributors “a life-changing financial
$129
marie claire contacted all of
solution that would allow any ordinary
TO BECOME
the MLM companies mentioned in
person to earn unlimited income, attain
A YOUNIQUE
financial freedom and quit their regular
this story for comment, and only
PRESENTER
job”. Instead, the majority of members
doTERRA responded.

The










YEAR










OF










LO
















































This year saw Jennifer Lopez star in a box-office blockbuster,
front a sell-out concert tour, turn 50 and get engaged.

Tiffany Bakker meets the woman of the moment

marieclaire.com.au | 53

INTERVIEW
































t was at the dawn of the new millennium,
February 2000, that a young Jennifer Lopez
stepped onto the Grammys red carpet in an
emerald-green Versace gown daringly slashed
I to the navel. According to fashion fable, the look
sparked such a frenzy on the fledgling World Wide Web
that Google Image Search was born.
Flash forward to now and the time warp is real: in
September, Lopez (affectionately dubbed J.Lo) emerged at
Milan Fashion Week in a reimagination of the iconic chiffon
number, strutting down the runway with just as much sass
as the first time around. Again, she broke the internet.
Trends have long worked in 20-year cycles and Lopez’s
renaissance pays testament to that – not that she ever went
out of style. The past two decades have seen her sharpen her
acting prowess (scoring rave reviews in 2019’s female-
helmed stripper heist Hustlers), release new chart-topping
music and head up a multimillion-dollar perfume empire,
the most successful celebrity fragrance line in the world.
Her latest scent, Promise, a sensual floral woody blend,
tells a particularly personal tale. In March, the star became
engaged to baseball champion Alex Rodriguez (right) and,
according to media reports, the wedding is slated for 2020 – if
she can squeeze it in alongside her upcoming rom-com
Marry Me (with Owen Wilson) and a hallowed gig headlining
America’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. Call it another J.Lo mega
moment – or perhaps, the new status quo.


marie claire: Congratulations on your latest film,
Hustlers. How was it getting into character and learning
to pole dance for the role?
Jennifer Lopez: It was awful [laughs]. I do not recommend
it. In your mind you think, “Yes! I’m going to learn how to
pole dance, that sounds sexy! Wow! This is going to be fun!”
And then the reality of that steel pipe against your
bones and trying to hold on with your inner thighs … it’s not
fun. But once you get a few moves down, you actually feel
awesome. It’s like, “I’m really doing this! I’m spinning … I’m
flying up here right now!” But it took a minute. And there was
a lot of bruising. I kept asking my teacher, “Is this normal?”
But, overall, filming was such an empowering experience.
It was a new kind of role for me, having to come out
practically naked in front of a room full of crew and extras
and dance. But putting myself out there physically, emotion-
ally and psychologically was liberating.
MC: What was it like working with such a strong ensemble
cast of women, including Constance Wu and Cardi B?
J.LO: Being on an all-female set was a different, more
powerful experience than any other movie I’ve worked on.
There’s so much diversity in front of and behind the camera,
which set the stage for us to bring this incredible story to life.
MC: Hustlers is about women taking the power back. How
important is it for women to take control of their lives?




54 | marieclaire.com.au

“Everything I put out

into the world has to

be a promise. I promise
to have boundaries

in my relationship

with my partner”

INTERVIEW












J.LO: As a woman, I think it’s very “You know, it’s 20 years...” I was like, MC: You launched Glow almost 20
important to be in control. Not every- “Are you kidding me?” She told me she years ago and now have the most
body, of course, can be that lucky. I’ve wanted to do a whole collection inspired successful celebrity fragrance line in
always been really entrepreneurial. by that print and asked if I’d come out the world. How does that feel?
Ever since I was little, I felt like I would at the end of the show. J.LO: It’s an amazing feeling because
have my own career and have different Again, we knew it would be a nice, fragrance is so personal to me. Years
kinds of things that I did. That was fun moment, but we didn’t know – just before I came out with Glow, I would
always my mindset – even as a kid – like the first time – that it would be this constantly experiment with scents,
that I wouldn’t just do one thing, I big thing. It was so … viral [laughs]. layering them in different ways with
would do many things. It was crazy. But it was also fun because one for my skin and one for my clothes.
MC: It’s been 20 years since you released Donatella was so happy and the energy I’m so happy to have created a line
your first album. What advice would you in the room was great. of fragrances people enjoy and use
give now to Jennifer circa 1999? MC: How does it feel to have had the first in their everyday life.
J.LO: To stay focused and not take what viral fashion moment in internet history? MC: What was the inspiration behind
others say about you personally. It’s easy J.LO: [Laughs] well, I don’t think your new fragrance, Promise?
to get wrapped up in other people’s about it much, but it is super cool. J.LO: A year or two ago I had lunch
perceptions of you, but you just have to Something to tell your kids who love with [business magnate] Warren
keep going and prove them wrong. computers and the internet and Buffett and he told me something that
MC: Speaking of 20-year anniversa- all that stuff. really resonated with me – he said
ries, we have to talk about your MC: You looked amazing – how do you that a brand is a promise. And now I
appearance at Milan Fashion Week in keep in shape? feel like everything I put out into the
September, where you broke the J.LO: Consistency is the most import- world has to be a promise. When you do
internet, again! ant thing. There are so many days that, you’re always challenging yourself
J.LO: You know, thank you. I love where I won’t feel like going to the gym, to be better and better.
Donatella [Versace]; we have a long rela- but you will only see results if you are MC: So what promises do you keep to
tionship. Obviously it was the 20-year consistent. [My fiancé] Alex and I enjoy yourself?
anniversary of the jungle-print dress the time we spend together at the gym, J.LO: I promise to do my best, I prom-
that I wore to the Grammys [in 2000]. so I recommend making it a habit with ise to keep growing, and I promise to
Donatella’s been a good friend, we have a friend or a significant other! never give up – those are my main three.
an amazing bond and she’s supported MC: You’re renowned for your clean MC: What promises do you make to
me so many times over my career, always living ... Do you have a vice? Alex and your kids [11-year-old twins
dressing me, always creating looks for J.LO: Doesn’t everyone? I have a sweet Max and Emme]?
my shows. She called me up and said, tooth that definitely gets the best of me. J.LO: I make those same promises to
them, but I want them to have their
own promises that they make to them-
“We knew the Versace selves. Everybody needs to find what

moment would be fun, that is, right? I promise to have bound-
aries in my relationship with my part-
but not that it would ner. But, whatever it is, [your promises

go viral. It was crazy” should be] those things that make you
most happy or make you most at peace.
MC: You turned 50 in July. How did
you approach that milestone?
J.LO: It’s easy for people to get caught
up in their age, but I looked at turning
50 as an opportunity. There’s still so
much for me to accomplish in my career
and as a mum and I can’t wait for the
next phase of my life to play out.
MC: And how do you manage it all?
J.LO: My kids always come first. That
might mean I’m on an aeroplane more
than I otherwise would be, or flying
through the night, but it’s so important
to be there and watch them grow up.
MC: What’s the most important lesson PHOTOGRAPHY BY PEGGY SIROTA/TRUNK ARCHIVE/SNAPPER IMAGES.
you want to instil in Max and Emme?
J.LO: Hard work pays off. Find some-
thing that you love doing and are
passionate about, and don’t stop until
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
J.Lo with Constance Wu in you accomplish your goals. It’s OK to
Hustlers; on the runway at make mistakes, but it’s how you come
this year’s Milan Fashion back from them and grow that makes
Week; and in the original
Versace dress in 2000. it all worth it in the end.




56 | marieclaire.com.au



When Jennifer and Sarah

Hart adopted six gorgeous

kids, friends and devoted
Facebook followers called

them “perfect”. So what
led Jen to drive her family

off a highway to their
deaths? And what, if

anything, can be learnt

from this tragedy?
Lauren Smiley reports







HIGHWAY

















of

















HORROR

CRIME











FROM TOP
A typical Facebook
he cliff is image of the six
exactly the Hart kids; from
kind of place left: Sierra, Hannah,
Abigail, Markis (at
where Jennifer back), Devonte
Hart loved to and Jeremiah
with their adoptive
photograph parents Sarah (on
T her kids for left) and Jen Hart.
Facebook. It has a green-edged
bluff right off California’s
Highway 1, with a gravel
strip leading straight to a
dramatic 30-metre drop
into the Pacific. In other
circumstances, on other trips, the bed and dressing table.
Jen and her wife, Sarah, might There, Jen took charge and
have pulled to the side of the road Dana agreed to leave mother
and lined up their brood as they and daughter in the room
often did: backs to the camera, alone. When Hannah came
hands raised in peace signs, a back down the stairs a minute
technicolour sunset framing later, she stared straight ahead.
their silhouettes. They were “You need to tell these
Markis, 19, Hannah, 16, Devonte, people you’re sorry,” Jen said.
15, Abigail, 14, Jeremiah, 14, and “Yes, ma’am.”
Sierra, 12 – two sets of black “And you need to explain
biological siblings adopted by you just had a really bad week.”
two white mums – a beautiful “Yes, ma’am.”
family, by most accounts. Friends Dana planned to call
called them “the Hart Tribe”. the foothills of the Cascade mountain Child Protective Services (CPS)
But the photo from March 26 range two decades ago. Their days in the morning. But at 6:30am, the
would not be like the other pictures usually include some beating back doorbell rang. They ignored it. An
taken on countless family road trips. of the Washington wild, then a hour later it sounded again.
The photo the world saw from that day venture on a jet ski or kayak. This time the DeKalbs relented and
was of the family’s SUV belly up on But at the end of last summer, their opened the door to see the entire Hart
the rocks below the scenic overpass. retirement idyll was interrupted when family standing in a row. Both mothers
After rescue workers abseiled down a small, frightened girl wrapped in a were there, but it was Jen who talked for
the cliff, they lifted the dead bodies of fleece blanket rang their doorbell at nearly an hour. She said the kids were
three children and spotted two more 1:30 in the morning. There were twigs adopted and had been “drug babies”.
corpses: 38-year-old Sarah in the back in her hair, Bruce noticed as he opened She said Hannah was 12, and that
and Jen, also 38, in the driver’s seat. the door. Her front teeth were missing. her mum had been bipolar. (Twelve?
The coroner found diphenhydramine, Frantically, the girl explained that she Dana thought, looking at Hannah,
an ingredient commonly found in lived next door and had jumped out of the shortest member of the bunch. She
allergy medicines like Benadryl, her second-floor window. “Hide me,” looked much younger.) Hannah’s teeth
in the bodies of Sarah and two of the she pleaded. “They whip us with a belt.” were missing, Jen continued, because
kids; Jen’s blood alcohol content was Torches soon strobed over the front she’d knocked them out in a fall and
over the legal limit. No-one had been yard, followed by voices calling, didn’t want them replaced. The kids
wearing a seatbelt. The car’s computer “Hannah!” Several kids and two were homeschooled because one of
revealed that Jen had stopped on a women stood at the DeKalbs’ door. the boys, Devonte, had been bullied.
gravel pullout some 21 metres from Without asking permission, Sarah and “Why?” the DeKalbs asked.
the cliff moments before the free fall, Jen entered the house, looking all over “Hello?” Jen said. “We’re two
and then accelerated. “I’m to the point before jetting upstairs to the bedroom, lesbian mums with six black kids.”
where I no longer am calling this as an where Hannah was balled up between Dana asked if she could have a
accident,” the county sheriff declared moment alone with Hannah, but
10 days later. “I’m calling it a crime.” Jen declined, saying, “We do
Back near the Harts’ home in Each social media everything as a family.”
Woodland, Washington, approximately post reaffirmed the Then Hannah handed over a note
900 kilometres to the north, Dana she had scrawled in green letters:
DeKalb, 58, had yet to hear any of the same storyline: here “I’m sorry for telling lies to get
gruesome details. But when she saw are two mums and attention. I’m working on being
the pictures of the overturned vehicle more honest and finding better ways
on TV, she immediately said to her their rehabilitated to communicate my frustrations.”
husband, Bruce, “That’s our neighbours.” kids thriving Dana didn’t think the note sounded
The couple moved from a like something a child would write –
California cul-de-sac to this spot in against all odds the language smacked of parental




marieclaire.com.au | 59

coaching. But it also introduced an
element of doubt into the equation.
What if Hannah was a kid with a
troubled past who lied to get attention?
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The Hart
Plus, Jen had explained everything family home in Woodland, Washington; a
with such breezy confidence. “She sold Facebook snap of “mini Jackson Pollocks”
it well,” Dana recalls. “She was good.” Devonte, Sierra and Jeremiah in 2013;
the children, who were pulled out of
She still wanted to report what school in 2013, get an education in the
had happened, but her husband was great outdoors; Jen (on right) and Sarah
reluctant to create drama with the new celebrate 18 years together.
neighbours. Eventually, however, she
told her 80-year-old dad about
Hannah’s visit. Two months later Sarah was more sensitive. It was Jen’s said, hit his head on a closet wall and,
Dana’s dad, Steve Frkovich, called last name the couple used as their own. “in multiple voices”, claimed to be
emergency, telling the dispatcher, “I In 2004, in their mid-20s, Sarah possessed by demons. Yet she and Sarah
just can’t sit with this. I believe those and Jen took in a 15-year-old foster were committed to healing the kids over
kids are being highly abused.” The daughter. According to Smith, the time. “If not us – WHO?” she wrote.
county sheriff’s office followed up with couple immediately started complaining In the spring of 2008, they took in
Dana but did not investigate further, about the teen, saying she would pick three more foster kids: five-year-old
citing no new incidents, the lapse of food out of the garbage. (“It felt like Devonte and his younger siblings,
time and the third-party informant. mean girl gossip – like, ‘Ugh, she’s the Jermiah, four, and Ciera, three.
“There was nothing [in that call] that worst,’” Smith says.) That girl, now in From very early on, there were
said I better go up there,” says county her late 20s, told The Seattle Times that warning signs of abuse. According to
sergeant Brent Waddell. “There she lived with the Harts for less than a a police report, in September 2008
wasn’t anything we could have done.” year and never ate out of the garbage. six-year-old Hannah showed up at
Eventually, Dana would learn She said she believed she’d have a home school with bruising on her arm and told
that Hannah was actually 16. But with the Harts until she turned 18, a teacher that her mother had whipped
by then it was too late. but then the women dropped her off at her with a belt. Authorities interviewed
her therapist’s office and never returned. Jen and Sarah, who said they weren’t
arah Gengler and Jen Hart Two years later, in 2006, Jen and sure how it happened. Maybe, they said,
both grew up in small-town Sarah took in three siblings from the it was the result of a fall down eight
South Dakota and met at Texas foster system: Markis, seven, steps a few days before. No criminal
Northern State University in Hannah, four, and Abigail, two. charges were filed, and two months
SAberdeen. Sarah earned her Statistically speaking, the kids fell later the women took their three school-
degree in special education; Jen never into several categories that might age kids out of school. The following
graduated. Later Jen would describe have made them hard to place with autumn they were re-enrolled.
on Facebook how she purposely called adoptive families. They were black In early 2009, even though Priscilla
Sarah her “friend” or her “roommate” (black children are over-represented in Celestine – Devonte, Jeremiah, and
back then. Once they did come out as foster care and less likely to be adopted Sierra’s aunt – had been fighting for
a couple, “the Midwestern mindset out of it), and it can be more difficult to custody for more than two years,
was relentlessly unforgiving and find families willing to take on multiple the women adopted the siblings.
unaccepting,” she said. The pair siblings. In a Facebook post, Jen (The Harts changed the spellings
eventually moved to Alexandria, dramatically described her first night of the younger children’s names.)
Minnesota, where they worked at as a mother of three: Abigail “urinated Back in Minnesota, Jen stayed home
Herberger’s department store. everywhere”, Hannah smeared faeces with the kids while Sarah kept working
Jen was the bigger personality of on the wall and “gorged herself with in retail, eventually becoming a sales
the two – “kind of abrasive,” recalls food until she … needed the Heimlich area manager at Herberger’s. Later
Jordan Smith, then a 19-year-old [manoeuvre], resulting in episodes of that year the women married in
working at the Clinique counter, while projectile vomiting”, and Markis, she Connecticut with only their children




60 | marieclaire.com.au

CRIME










as witnesses, “because our support Jen was “adamant that many of the obstacle course just like everyone else.”
system was so small”, Jen wrote. family’s issues stemmed from others Later that year Jen took a six-month
But the Harts did find a community not understanding [their] alternative hiatus from social media. She
that embraced their rainbow family. lifestyle”. Physicals showed that all re-emerged in the spring of 2017, writing,
Over the years they became regular but one of the kids had fallen off the “This. Year. Slammed. Us. Hard” and
attendees at “transformational festivals”, growth chart for their ages. Oregon announced that the family had relocated
days-long socially conscious mashups CPS also checked in with their to Washington. She said they’d invite
of music, yoga and dance. In 2013, the Minnesota counterparts and found out people out “when the time is right”.
family relocated to Portland, Oregon, about the prior incidents at the kids’
where Sarah got a job at department school. According to the report, the fter the middle-of-the-night
store Kohl’s. They settled in a rented Minnesota child welfare worker interruption from Hannah,
ranch house in an upscale suburb, raising warned, “The problem is these women Dana says she spent a lot
goats and chickens in the backyard. look normal.” Officials determined that of time looking out of her
Between shows, the festival while “there are some indications of Afront window at the house
community kept close tabs on each other child abuse or neglect”, there wasn’t next door. “I was obsessed,” she says.
on Facebook, where Jen racked up the enough data. The state closed the case. Everything changed on a Thursday
likes. “She was a master poster,” a friend Jen and Sarah continued to use in March, when Devonte approached
recalls. Her feed showed Abigail and their family to attract attention. In Bruce in the driveway and asked for
Devonte eating breakfast with hens December 2014, the family attended a tortillas. They didn’t think this was so
Black Lives Matter protest in Portland. out of the ordinary – like a neighbour
There, Devonte, who was in tears – asking for a cup of sugar. But then the
One child welfare wearing a fedora hat, a leather jacket, 15-year-old returned Friday morning,

worker warned, “The and carrying a “Free Hugs” sign – and again Saturday evening just before
the DeKalbs were going out of town.
approached a cop in riot gear. The
problem is these cop would later tell reporters that he’d Once, he showed up with a wish list:
women look normal” said to the boy, “I’m sorry” and asked peanut butter, fruits, bagels, “cured
him for a hug. Devonte obliged and meats” and “non-perishables”.
photographers snapped pictures. Dana asked lots of questions and
perched on their heads; Devonte, The image triggered a nationwide after Devonte would leave, she’d type
Jeremiah and Sierra painting on the debate on social media. Was it a up notes on her phone. “I wanted to
living room floor; all six kids grinning symbolic moment of racial healing have enough information so CPS
with a “Kindness Is Contagious” sign. or – as Alex Riedlinger, a Portland couldn’t ignore me,” she says. She
Each post reaffirmed the same photographer who’d witnessed the noted that the boy’s head seemed
storyline: here are two mums and their moment, noted on Tumblr – semi- larger than his body, and that he
rehabilitated kids thriving against all staged theatre? “Every picture I’ve seen claimed his parents withheld food,
odds. With the Harts, the narrative was, crops out the circus of photographers sometimes for days at a time.
“You saved them, awesome,” according that surrounded these two,” he wrote. “Everything Hannah told you was
to family friend Ian Sperling. “Everyone “Devonte was crying before true,” he told Dana. “My mum just told
was envious. They were the perfect approaching the officer while he was you those things to make you happy.”
people with the perfect kids.” talking to his guardian, presumably On Friday, March 23, after 10 visits
But a different version of the because he was terrified. This brings from Devonte, Dana called CPS. That
Harts emerged in police files from the the question of coercion to my mind.” afternoon, a CPS worker coming to
Minnesota years. In November 2010, After the photo of Devonte went visit the Hart house saw Jen’s SUV
the mums were investigated after viral, Jen claimed that she was getting pull into the driveway. But when she
six-year-old Abigail reported “owies” (an death threats, though she stayed active rang the bell minutes later, no-one
injury) to her teacher. Soon after, the on Facebook. “We’ve come to realise that answered the door. (The Washington
mothers pulled all six kids out of school; some think our lives are next to perfect,” State Department of Social and
the Hart Tribe was officially off the grid. she wrote to her followers in 2016. “We’re Health Services says they attempted to
By law, parents who want to human, and we struggle through life’s contact the family on three occasions
homeschool their children must notify
their district, but the Harts never
registered their kids as homeschooled
FROM LEFT Jen
in Oregon. However, news of the family with Devonte at
still reached authorities in 2013, when a Bernie Sanders
rally; Devonte
two whistleblowers called CPS, reporting hugging musician
that Jen withheld food from the kids as Xavier Rudd.
punishment. “Jen does this thing for her
Facebook page, where the kids pose and
are made to look like one big happy
family,” one informant said, “but after the
photo, they go back to looking lifeless.”
A child welfare worker visited
their home in August 2013 and
interviewed each child. The resulting
report from a caseworker noted that

CRIME








California’s Highway 1,
where the wreckage of the
family was found on March constantly took calls from her wife,
26, 2018. BELOW Jen caught who said the kids were “making her
on surveillance camera
buying groceries the day crazy”. Sarah had told colleagues that
before the fatal crash. Jen struggled with depression and
anxiety, and often stayed in bed to cry.
Maybe the women envisioned the
perfect blended family for themselves,
and even tried to manifest it with their
photos and stories, but had no idea
what day-to-day life would be like.
Once, Sarah told a co-worker she
wished someone had told her it was
OK not to have a big family, because
she never would have adopted children
at all. Or maybe they baulked at the
forthcoming financial strain: in
the past decade the Harts had collected
almost $400,000 from the state of
“It seems likely that Texas to help care for the children,
but as the kids grew up they’d no longer
the mums’ whiteness be eligible for subsidies. Sarah’s 2017

netted them multiple income statement showed she had
passes despite all earned just over $65,000 that year.
Or maybe Jen and Sarah really
– March 23, 26 and 27 – and were the warning signs” believed they were heroes, martyrs
unable to reach them.) Less than an who couldn’t overcome the tyranny
hour later, Dana saw Sarah’s car tear – Professor Stacey Patton of racism, childhood trauma,
up the driveway to the house. The prejudice and six kids who kept
next day Jen’s SUV was gone, and Armchair sleuths convened in running to the neighbours. Hannah
cinder blocks from a retaining wall private Facebook forums to pore and Devonte had already spoken up.
were scattered about the driveway, over each detail of the case. Jen was a Now CPS was on the case in a third
hinting at a hasty departure. “narcissist”, Sarah an “enabler”. One state. So they did what they’d done
On Sunday morning a surveillance observer pointed out that in a snap of before: they ran. And maybe, when
camera in a Fort Bragg Safeway kids posing in front of their artwork, they got to California, the ledge no
captured Jen, in glasses and a hoodie, there was no paint on their brushes. longer looked like a photo op. Maybe it
buying groceries. She was alone and Adding outrage was the fact the looked like the only way out. Maybe.
around 10kg heavier than friends had kids had been removed from their black Here’s what we do know: the system
ever seen her. On Monday afternoon a families and placed with white parents failed these kids. “When I bring up this
Kohl’s co-worker called emergency and who were deemed more fit. “For case in the professional community,
requested a welfare check on Sarah, the Harts, it seems likely that their there is a heaviness,” says April
who had uncharacteristically missed whiteness netted them multiple passes Dinwoodie, former CEO of the New
work all weekend and hadn’t responded despite all the warning signs,” wrote York City–based Donaldson Adoption
to texts. About two hours later, a Morgan State University professor Institute. “We all feel guilty, because
German tourist reported their car, Stacey Patton in The Washington Post. it’s the professionals’ fault.” And
just 25 minutes away from the Safeway. Shonda Jones, the Houston attorney perhaps more chilling, the smoke
The bodies of Markis, Abigail and who represented Sierra, Devonte and and mirrors of a compelling digital
Jeremiah were found a few hundred Jeremiah’s aunt in her custody battle, narrative clouded our sense of civic
metres from the wreckage. Two weeks says she’s still haunted by how her responsibility. Markis, Hannah,
later Sierra’s body washed ashore, and client was treated 10 years ago. “I Devonte, Abigail, Jeremiah and Sierra
a foot belonging to Hannah was found don’t believe that Ms Celestine had died because everyone saw something
later that spring. No trace of Devonte ever had as much as a traffic ticket. different when they looked at them:
has ever been found. She went to work, home and church,” the “perfect” family; some lucky,
As damning headlines dribbled she says. “The court seemed to have rescued kids; a symbol for post-racial
out, some who knew the Harts had a complete disregard for her.” kumbaya. Few saw six young people
scrambled to social media to defend Today, many questions still haunt in desperate need of help. No-one
them. Musician Nahko Bear, one of Dana. Should she have called CPS saw that there was no paint on the
Jen’s favourite performers, tweeted, sooner? Was it that very phone call paintbrushes until it was too late. PHOTOGRAPHY BY AUSTRALSCOPE; AAP; JENNIFER HART FACEBOOK.
“Devonte had a history of [an] eating that set into motion the events that Jen Hart’s final Facebook
disorder. It was not unusual that he ended with a car over a cliff? post, a video of a pair of ducklings,
was always hungry or not hungry at As for the hardest question – why? continues to live at the top of her
all.” Zippy Lomax, a festival friend, – we may never have a satisfying Facebook feed, the final entry in
was quoted in a local paper saying, answer. Maybe Jen, tasked with a story she no longer controls. “So
“Jen and Sarah were the kind of looking after six kids, became much joy in new life” it reads.
parents this world desperately needs.” overwhelmed. One co-worker at Like most of Jen’s posts, it has
But the public wasn’t buying it. Kohl’s told investigators that Sarah more than 100 likes.




62 | marieclaire.com.au



MAKE










o






































Three women open up about the moment

that almost destroyed their relationship

– and how they got through it

RELATIONSHIPS










the end of our story. We had a long
conversation about what went wrong,
how it could have been prevented
and, by the end of it, we agreed
we shouldn’t break up.
I’ve always understood that
climbing is a part of Alex; it’s his
life and his deepest passion. We’d
been dating less than a year when
Alex first attempted to free solo
El Capitan, a 900-metre rock
wall in Yosemite National Park
[California]. No-one had done it
before. It was his lifelong dream,
“MY BOYFRIEND his baby. At the time, a lot of

CLIMBED A 900-METRE people asked me how I allowed
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIMMY CHIN; JUSTIN BISHOP; KKGAS/STOCKSY.COM; COURTESY OF SANNI MCCANDLESS; COURTESY OF SASKIA TILLERS; COURTESY OF KAYLA WRATTEN. SANNI’S STORY AS TOLD TO ALLEY PASCOE.
VERTICAL ROCK FACE him to climb without ropes. I’ve
WITHOUT ROPES” never felt like it was up for debate.
It’s like dating a doctor and telling
SA N N I M CC A N D LE S S , 27 them they couldn’t be a

doctor anymore. It did take
me a while to get used to the
I once I fell in love with him,
idea of Alex soloing, but
met Alex [Honnold] in 2015 at a
book signing in Seattle for his tome
I decided to take him as he
Alone On The Wall, about his free
is. Plus, he’s been doing it
solo career where he climbs vertical
rock faces without ropes. He was
judgement. He is very
really honest, funny and a bit snarky; I for 30 years and I trust his
was immediately drawn to him. When capable of making good FROM TOP
Alex and
I went to get my book signed, I gave assessments of situations. Sanni
him my number and he messaged me When he first attempted to in their
campervan;
that night. We hung out three weeks free solo El Capitan in and the pair
later when Alex was back in Seattle and November 2016, he backed climbing
haven’t stopped hanging out since. off after less than an hour of together.
We’d been dating for six months climbing because the
when Alex invited me to go to conditions didn’t feel right. Alex started soloing at 5:23am and a
Switzerland with him on a climbing While he was preparing to do the director of Free Solo, Elizabeth Chai
trip. I quit my job and we started living second attempt in June 2017, which Vasarhelyi, sent me updates as he
together in Alex’s van on the road after was chronicled in the documentary progressed. I tried to take deep
that. The whole process of climbing Free Solo, I definitely felt like an breathes. It was out of my control.
is special to us, we both love being outsider. Soloing requires a very After climbing for four hours,
outside, pushing ourselves and then particular mindset and Alex had to Alex rang me when he got into phone
coming home to our van and relishing protect that, so he didn’t tell me when reception at the top of the cliff. It was
the memories. I always joke that me he was planning to do it. the best phone call of my life. I could
and Alex are very different people – When Alex did eventually tell me, hear his smile through the phone.
I’m super emotional and he is much he asked me to leave the valley the day I remember being so proud of him
more straightforward and rational – before the climb. I broke down and and happy that he had done it.
but we have climbing in common. cried in the car alone, saying, “What if Alex isn’t a big celebrator, so we
When I was still fairly new to something happens to him? What if I didn’t have a party. But we went to
climbing, I dropped Alex. I was don’t see him again?” It was probably brunch with everyone involved in
holding onto his ropes when they the only time in two years that I really the film the next day and relived the
slipped through my hands and he fell let myself consider the worst. It was process, watching some of the uncut
three metres, landing on his side. It incredibly painful, but also cathartic. I footage. The best celebration for Alex
was one of the worst days of my life. went home to Las Vegas the day before and I was our lives going back to
At the time, we thought he had two the climb and the film shows our last normal without the climb looming
compression fractures on his back. hug. I was trying to act totally normal, above us. It was such a big part of the
When he fell, he didn’t yell at me so I just told Alex I’d see him in a few first year of our relationship, so it was
or blame me at all. He did sort of days. I had to be neutral. I couldn’t a sigh of relief when it was over. We’re
break up with me, though. He said, show excitement because it would in our own routine now at home in
“Climbing is the most important thing put pressure on him to do it, but I Las Vegas and can look to the future.
in my life and if being with you hurts also couldn’t show worry because I’m working on my life-coaching
my climbing then I don’t know if I can it would put doubt in his head. business and Alex is still training and
be with you.” I told him we shouldn’t I didn’t sleep very well the night climbing, but he’s not planning another
break up over the fall, that I knew I before the climb, but when I woke up audacious ascent anytime soon. I’m
messed up, but I didn’t want it to be the next morning, I felt relatively calm. happy to move on to our next chapter.




marieclaire.com.au | 65

FROM ABOVE Saskia
“WE LEFT OUR LIVES, and her fiancé Jack in
Italy; and back home
JOBS AND FAMILIES in Australia before
BEHIND AND MOVED their big voyage.
TO THE OTHER SIDE OF
THE WORLD TOGETHER”

SA S K I A T I LLE R S , 2 8





hen he told me the
news, it sounded so
romantic – a year in
Italy, living la dolce
Wvita! I would write on
the balcony of my spacious apartment,
wander the cobbled streets, make
interesting new friends and spend
the evenings sipping Aperol Spritzes.
Jack and I both grew up in the
same small town, and while we
dabbled in a bit of light flirting over
MSN Messenger as 14-year-olds,
we didn’t get together until we rules, and here I was in a country
reconnected at Sydney University. where I had no way of knowing
Eight years on, and newly engaged, our the cultural nuances. One hot day
lives were firmly rooted in Sydney. We I decided to take a solo dip at the pool.
had jobs we loved – his in marketing Dunking my head underwater, I
for a clothing and motorcycle company, resurfaced to the sound of a shrill
and mine at a magazine – a booming whistle and an angry woman wildly
social life, tight-knit families, a gesticulating as she scolded me in
brand-new baby nephew and my rapid Italian. Turns out I needed
93-year-old grandma close by. So when a swimming cap – who knew? I
Jack’s work asked him to relocate to sheepishly lifted myself out, next to
their Milan office for a year, our neat men with far more offensive back hair. once more up the eight flights to our
world was thrown into disarray. We Just a few weeks in, Jack had new house, I threw the tantrum of
agreed this was an opportunity he work mates and was practically a local. all tantrums. I was ready to book a
couldn’t pass up, but long-distance Already fluent in Spanish, his grasp one-way ticket home – with or without
was not an option. We were doing of Italian was effortless, while I could Jack. But as I sat sulking, he handed
this together, or not at all. barely order an espresso without the me a water bottle, kissed my sweaty
A few months later, we headed waitress rolling her eyes and pointedly forehead and hauled my 40kg suitcase
to the airport en route to the land of replying in English. I pushed aside up the narrow stone staircase for me.
carbs and cannoli. Not surprisingly, the tinge of jealousy. All was forgiven.
our suitcases were overweight. I sat After navigating endless The Italians have an expression
on the cold linoleum floor sobbing as appointments with greasy real estate they use with great frequency “piano
I handed my mum photo frames and agents and their dingy one-bedders, piano”, meaning “step by step, slowly,
packets of Tim Tams too heavy to take. we finally found an apartment we slowly”. So our reality wasn’t exactly
When we finally arrived in Milan liked. On moving day, it was 41°C. like the fantasy I’d envisioned. Our
– sans Tim Tams – after 28 hours of Thin on cash, Jack suggested we apartment wasn’t spacious, but there
travelling, two connecting flights and ditch the removal van. It was only two was always Aperol on hand. There
a tense hour at the baggage carousel, train stops, with a short walk at either were no friends yet, but despite his
the culture shock hit me hard. end. How hard could it be? Midway occasional error in judgment, Jack
Unfortunately, I’m someone who likes through our third trip, about to trudge was still my favourite person.




66 | marieclaire.com.au

RELATIONSHIPS

















brain scans, blood tests and MRIs.
They revealed nothing. He was
pushed through the hospital cycle
and confined in a mental-health
care ward for 10 exhausting days.
Zak was diagnosed with brief
reactive psychosis due to acute stress,
which meant he was experiencing
paranoid delusions leading him to
believe he was being singled out for a
harmful purpose. The term psychosis
filled me with fear. I instantly felt as stress stacked up like water filling
though I had lost my soulmate – our a cave, until Zak couldn’t breathe
future dissolving before my eyes. anymore. He quit his retail job,
BELOW RIGHT We had met in our first year of his beloved car was damaged by
Kayla and her partner
Zak during happier university, both studying journalism, mechanics, and his bank balance
times in Brisbane. and after flirting between classes for was shrinking by the day. Any one
months we soon became inseparable. of these events is enough to spark
Three years later, we graduated with a meltdown, but combining them
“MY PARTNER HAD A not just a degree, but a partner for life. ignited something else entirely.
PSYCHOTIC EPISODE At university, Zak was charismatic, Watching Zak suffer was
AND WENT MISSING” generous and had an infectious laugh. heartbreaking. On his second day

K AY L A W R AT T E N , 21 In his spare time, he played Billy Joel in hospital, I received a call from his
on piano, John Mayer on guitar and mum. In the background, I could hear
drove me through winding mountain muffled voices, machines beeping, and
ranges in his bright orange car. Zak sobbing. Terrified I was in danger,
t was a Sunday morning in After graduation, the pressure to he was calling my name and was
March when I rolled over in bed secure a job in our industry became desperate to hear my voice. Within
to find my boyfriend missing. extreme. With every rejection letter, 20 minutes I was by his side, our
He had spent the previous night fingers interlocked, pretending
Irestlessly pacing back and forth tears didn’t blur my vision and that
in my bedroom, worrying about our I hadn’t screamed at cars to get out
safety to the point of tears. This of my fucking way on the drive over.
wasn’t Zak’s usual behaviour. Grief, confusion and anger
For the past two weeks he had consumed me for the 10 days Zak was
been jumping from one conversation in hospital – and the emotions didn’t
to another and drawing correlations dissipate when he was released. My
between events that had no logical family and friends were a life raft
connection, ruminating on the idea throughout it all. The one thing that
that he and I were both in serious kept me moving from day to day was
danger. A crime scene interstate the hope that my boyfriend would
was somehow inexplicably linked fully recover – which he has. Since
to the whirlwind of paranoia his release in April, Zak has been
invading his thoughts. taking medication to control his
I reached for my phone, my anxiety, checking in with a social
stomach churning with fear. The worker every week and keeping
person who answered wasn’t the boy stress at bay. He now has a fresh
I had grown to know and love over the outlook on life, blessed he has been
past two years. On the other end of the given the chance to start again.
line, Zak was rambling incoherently, Although I am still afraid he might
crying and convinced he was being have another delusion one day, I feel
watched. My 20-year-old boyfriend like if we can endure something as
had walked barefoot from my house frightening as psychosis – without
onto a high-speed road nearby, where losing grip of each other – we can
he could have been hit by the peak- endure anything.
hour traffic rushing to work. Four months after the worst
I threw on a pair of jeans and raced morning of my life, I am curled up
out the door to get to him. My dad in bed next to Zak when our 7am
came with me and we drove Zak to alarm goes off. I reach across my
an emergency department, where he boyfriend and press snooze; I’m
underwent a rigorous onslaught of not letting him go anywhere.

PARTY LIKE IT’S
































Flip phones, frocks and fears ... 20 years

since the turn of the millennium, four
women recall what they were wearing,

doing and thinking as the clock struck 12
















Leah (left) relives her
night on the town;
and in the early
hours of New Year’s
Day, 2000 (far left).











T H E PA RT Y G I R L
L E A H , 42


In 1999 I was a 22-year-old fashion assistant, still trying to
figure out who I was. It was a pretty exciting time. The new
millennium and the Sydney Olympics were coming; the vibe
was celebratory and alive. My friends and I went out every
weekend in Sydney. No-one was interested in “wellness
inspo” like today’s 20-something influencers. We never
did any exercise – except of course bopping away to house
music at Goodbar till 2 or 3am, then Q Bar till about 10am.
Hungry Jack’s was like a disco the next morning with all the
clubbers chatting and eating burgers.
At the turn of the millennium I partied all night with my
best friends. We went to Gas, a fun little Sydney basement
club and I was wearing a new Alannah Hill dress, the height of
fashion at the time. I met a boy and we went back to his place
for an afterparty; I was dying to pash him although I didn’t get
to. My girlfriends and I laughed our way home through the
streets of Woollahra at 8am, still dressed in our finery (above).
My life is hugely different now. I’m a fashion buyer with
kids under 10. On that New Year’s Eve I hadn’t experienced all
the wonderful and horrid things the world has to offer. At that
age you don’t know what’s ahead, but it’s an amazing ride.

REAL PEOPLE













T H E S TAY-AT-H O M E T E E N

N I KO L E , 33

I come from a South-East Asian Who I am now would surprise me
background, and we joke that if then. I was meant to finish my degree,
anything hits the news, it’s going to become a married lawyer with two
be hyped 10 times by our community. children and follow the path of a
The fears and paranoia about the Y2K respectable Asian girl. Instead, I moved
Millennium Bug (based on a potential interstate (from Adelaide to Melbourne),
global computer crash when digits which was a really big step, and started
clicked over from 99 to 00) were breaking away from cultural norms.
pretty hilarious. I had never seen the I didn’t finish my degree, I moved in
Asian grocery stores so busy. Everyone with a partner and I landed a job in PR
was stocking up for the apocalypse. (I wouldn’t have even known what that
My mum bought canned food, rice, was as a 13-year-old piano student).
two-minute noodles and a gas stove But I feel really good about
in case the world shut down! My my life. I’m 33, single and I love the
family has lots of friends but the independence that comes with being on
fear kept them home. We had to your own, succeeding at your job and
be with each other, waiting to see earning your own income. My parents
what would happen. taught me to always ask, how can I do
That night I was in my pyjamas with things better? I just did it my own way.
a silk robe, hanging out on the couch
with a blanket. I remember looking at
our microwave and every electronic
device obsessively. The TV was on,
the big moment came and ... nothing.
It was quite a shock. Then, what are
we going to do with all this rice?

“EVERYONE WAS
STOCKING UP FOR THE
APOCALYPSE. MY MUM
BOUGHT CANNED FOOD
AND A GAS STOVE
IN CASE THE WORLD
Nikole (right) spent
New Year’s Eve 1999 SHUT DOWN”
in her PJs at home with
her family (pictured far
right at back).




















PYJAMAS AND ROBE, HOMEBODII, HOMEBODII.COM.

REAL PEOPLE









T H E N U R S E

NA R E LLE , 51


On New Year’s Eve 1999/2000, I worked
at Westmead Children’s Hospital in
Sydney. I had to see 27 patients and we
had double the staff in case the Y2K bug
shut the computers down. I remember
how worried we were that our bank
accounts were going to be wiped out.
We had to carry walkie-talkies in case
the phone lines failed. Then the clock
ticked over, nothing happened and we all
looked at each other and laughed, “What a
“WE HAD TO bunch of bullshit!” I was annoyed because I
CARRY WALKIE had so many extra staff twiddling their thumbs.
TALKIES IN CASE As a nurse, I have gone through all the
THE PHONE evolving fashion looks, starting with the
LINES FAILED” little button-up pinstriped dresses and white
stockings. By 1999 I was in NSW scrubs
– so practical for lifting someone into bed!
They were nylon, drip-dry and didn’t need
starch. But on New Year’s Eve we got a
little festive with our uniforms.
Since then, life has dealt me a few curlies.
My husband left me in 2010 and I had to raise
my kids solo. He had gambling debts, an
alcohol problem and Post Traumatic Stress
Narelle sports Syndrome from his work in the police force.
her festive scrubs When he died, we were still married, but his
today; and a
’90s headshot girlfriend took me on a four-year Family Court
of the nurse battle for de facto money. Today I am a lot
(above right). poorer but a lot stronger. That’s just life.





T H E R AV E R
LI B BY, 41


1999 was a really momentous time for me personally,
so all the cultural buzz matched how I was feeling inside.
I was working as a nanny for a wealthy family, who of
course asked me to babysit on new millennium night.
Nannies were charging desperate parents $100 that
evening, which was massive in 1999. Not. A. Chance.
This was a once-in-a-thousand-year moment and
there was no way I was going to spend it anywhere PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIZ HAM. STYLED BY NADENE DUNCAN/DLM. PROPS: ERIN FAIRS. HAIR AND MAKE-UP BY DESIREE WISE/NETWORK AGENCY. TEXT BY CLEO GLYDE.
but on the dance floor.
I spent the night at a rave out at Homebush,
Sydney. Disappearing into a trance of German
electronic music was my escape; easy to do when
you have no real responsibilities. I wore my usual
club-kid uniform of flared jeans, Vans sneakers
and a Hello Kitty backpack, with my prized Nokia
5110 in tow. You had to push the button three
times ... but I could text at hyper speed.
My boyfriend and I danced all night and
everything seemed so optimistic. Two decades on,
I‘m now consumed with my life rather than myself.
My beautiful, intuitive daughter Isabella was born
with cerebral palsy and it’s a 24/7 job to support
Libby (above)
her. I want her to have a full, happy life. I thought revives her
my tenacious battler personality was leading me original club-kid
to (be an) entrepreneur, but now I know my uniform (far left).
path was leading me to advocating full-time.




7
70 | marieclaire.com.au0 | marieclaire.com.au

New









Hyundai










Venue.










Fits in anywhere,



stands out everywhere.

































































The Hyundai Venue is the newest addition to the Hyundai SUV range. It’s small but tall and
packed with standout features like the 8" multimedia touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay™
1
3
2
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definitely not one to shy away from the crowd, with a variety of vibrant colours and two-tone
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hyundai.com/au/venue






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registered trademark of Hyundai Motor Company. Safety features are not a substitute for attentive driving. 4. Only available on the Elite variant.

FOR YOUR EARS ONLY...







THE RISE OF










PODCAST






PORN

SEX

















’m in the kitchen, slicing eggplant Evan Spiegel, launched audio platform
and listening to Tulum, a story Quinn in the US, intended, in her
being broadcast from my iPhone words, to be a “much less gross, more
about Cee Cee and Noah, an fun Pornhub for women”. From France
IAmerican couple who’ve just comes Voxxx, a podcast collaboration
arrived at their Mexican hotel. between feminist pornographer
“This place is insane,” declares the Olympe de G and porn star Lélé O,
actress playing Cee Cee, who is raspy who writes and voices many of the
and slightly smug-sounding. “Noah episodes (some in English). With
walked ahead of me into a giant room, names such as Tendre Gang-Bang,
absently dropping his bag off his they’ve each been listened to upwards
shoulders to the floor. It was a tree of 15,000 times. Meanwhile, in late
house on the beach with dark-wood 2017, Audible launched romance
floors and furniture made with what audiobooks that allow listeners

In Silicon Valley, looked like twisted driftwood.” to skip straight to the dirty bits.
Wait, where’s the pause button? I’m But for now, the leader of the pack
erotic podcasts listening to Dipsea, a new app that – is Dipsea. Its founders, Gina Gutierrez

specifically aimed according to the blurb – delivers “sexy and Faye Keegan, both 29, won’t say
at women are audio stories that set the mood”. But how many visitors the site’s attracted
this is more like a travel brochure
since its US launch in December 2018
the latest hot than the smut I was hoping for. (it’s since arrived in Australia), but
I press play again and, while
investment. But searching for coriander, listen to Cee they’ve raised an impressive
$8 million from investors.
can they really Cee rave about the hot tub on the deck The app’s origins lie in a late-

take a cut of the overlooking the white-sand beach. night, giggly conversation around
$141 billion porn Finally Noah starts running his fingers Keegan’s kitchen table, where
up and down Cee Cee’s spine under her
her and Gutierrez’s gang of
industry? Julia T-shirt. This is a bit more like it. He twentysomething girlfriends began
Llewellyn Smith carries her to “our palatial bed”. Hooray! discussing the time-travel TV drama
But then … fade out. Next thing I
Outlander, whose steamy sex
gets hot under know, Cee Cee is waking up. By now, scenes have a cult following.
her headphones I’m stir-frying paneer and “It struck us that

to find out thinking I’d find more filth THE STEAMY Outlander was the only
if I switched over to ABC piece of erotica that our
Radio National. Still, I SEX SCENES friends were able to bring
persist as she explains OF TV DRAMA to the table,” Gutierrez
they’ve chosen a resort OUTLANDER tells me from her home in
with a nudist beach. Oh, INSPIRED THE San Francisco. “It’s such
hello! Cee Cee has a naked DIPSEA APP a different conversation
swim during which she when you’re asking
spots the man staying in someone about a vibrator
the neighbouring cabin, who’s “ripped – then they say, ‘Oh, I have one I love,’
like a Brazilian soccer player” and has or, ‘I wouldn’t recommend this one.’
a “Penélope Cruz look-alike” girlfriend. But when it came to sexy content,
By the time I’m putting on the rice, all you might hear about a book you
four are in the tub, drinking champagne picked up in high school and still have
and getting frisky. “I watched Noah’s on your nightstand, but generally the
eyes close in pleasure as she lowered pickings were very slim.”
her mouth onto his ...” “Mum!” bawls During the next few months,
my 12-year-old, marching into the Gutierrez, then working as a designer,
room, oblivious to my frantic attempts came to several more realisations
to turn down the volume. “I need $2 about how women might be able to
for casual clothes day.” enjoy more erotica in their everyday
In Silicon Valley, audio porn lives. (The friends avoid the word
specifically aimed at women is the “porn”, which doesn’t go down so well
phenomenon du jour, with a range with conservative investors, although
of apps harnessing the ever-rocketing Gutierrez says, “If people want to use
podcast craze to seize their portion of that term, that’s OK.”) “I was listening
the $141 billion global porn industry. to the meditation app Headspace and
In April, 22-year-old Caroline was really struck by what a powerful
Spiegel, the sister of Snapchat CEO medium audio was for storytelling,




marieclaire.com.au | 73

SEX

















how its super-immersiveness Like many women of my era,
could really allow your imagination my pornographic imagination
to run wild.” was shaped by the oeuvre of author
The “seminal” inspiration, however, Jilly Cooper, renowned for her
came from Keegan reading the book tantalising tales about horsey,
A Billion Wicked Thoughts, an upper-class Brits (think showjumping
investigation by neuroscientists into and bedhopping). Web porn, on the
sex-related terms entered into internet other hand, is my antithesis of erotic,
search engines – the idea being that involving – in my limited experience
people were far more likely to be – videos of hard-faced actresses, who
honest with the internet than with I’m sure are drugged or trafficked or
a researcher with a clipboard. This both, usually having degradations
showed what Gutierrez calls “a heaped upon them.
psychological abyss between the sexes”, ABOVE Dipsea co-founder Such thoughts, Gutierrez explains,
revealing that while men searched for Gina Gutierrez saw a market typically impede female arousal, since
gap for “aural” sex.
“graphic, visual stimulation, women our desire tends to be “responsive”,
preferred stories, preferred more signifying “this idea of diving into depending on multifarious factors:
chemistry and connection”. a sea – that moment when you feel such as mood, room temperature and
Women were desperate, the friends exhilarated”, Dipsea – which sits on my whether our partners have done the
concluded, for female-friendly “sexy phone next to my Woolworths app – washing-up. Hence Dipsea’s emphasis,
short stories”. So they wrote a handful, today contains more than 100 stories, as in Tulum, on creating atmosphere,
found some voice actors and – with each between five and 20 minutes with the sound of waves crashing on
Keegan in the role of sound engineer long. There are searchable themes, the shore and all the descriptions of
and Gutierrez as director – recorded including group sex and dominance. hotel fittings, which bored me silly
them in Keegan’s kitchen. Three new stories are added each but obviously work for some.
They uploaded six stories onto a week, which you can listen to as In contrast, male desire is more
website, alerted 200 acquaintances much as you like for $13.99 a month. “spontaneous; so if men see something
and overnight found the site had In the depths of a so-called “sex that’s a turn-on, then out of the blue
registered 1200 unique visits. recession” (American research shows they’re like, ‘I’m horny,’” says Gutierrez.
Convinced they were on to a winner, that in the ’90s the average adult had It’s a fascinating theory, but
the pair then spent some frenzied sex 62 times a year, according to Cindy Gallop,
months creating and recording more but in 2014 the figure UNTIL NOW, a British former advertising
stories. They now employ a team of was down to 54), THE PORN executive who now runs
freelancers with a range of sexualities perhaps Dipsea is just INDUSTRY HAS Make Love Not Porn, a
and erotic proclivities – “to understand what we need to start crowdfunded website of
the experiences of as many people as the juices flowing again. DONE LITTLE TO videos of people having
possible” – not to mention voice actors Gutierrez concedes that WIN THE CASH what she calls “real-world”
“from all over the world, who can work some women will be OF WOMEN sex, “It’s f***bollocks – and
remotely”. Named in honour of a using the site as a you can quote me on that”.
San Francisco walking trail, as well as masturbation aid (there are “The presumption that women are
“guided masturbation” clips to tell not turned on by visual porn is part
you what to do), but claims that many of a huge body of received wisdom
will be listening – through headphones that operates around sex because
AUDIO PORN PICK S during the evening commute – “to help we all feel shame telling the truth,
transition your frenetic work brain so it’s much easier to default to the
when you don’t even want to engage stereotyped version of femininity
with the idea of having sex with your [where] women only like porn with
partner. It’s those shifts that women narrative and emotion and white
have a hard time with, but a sexy curtains fluttering gently in the
story can really help with that.” breeze,” she tells me. “Well, I know
As with anyone selling sex to just as many women [as men] who
Dipsea, Fangasm, women, Gutierrez uses words such as like hardcore and violent porn.”
dipseastories.com fangasmpodcast.com “empowerment” to describe Dipsea’s This isn’t just anecdotal: there’s
“mission”. But justificatory waffle aside, plenty of research to support this.
it’s extraordinary that when the Fifty One study, for example, employing
Shades of Grey trilogy has sold more thermal imaging to monitor rising
than 150 million copies (in general, temperatures in genitalia, showed
erotic fiction is the biggest driver of the that both men and women took more
publishing world), the porn industry or less exactly the same time – 10
has so far done so little to win the cash minutes – to reach peak sexual
Ferly, Quinn,
linktr.ee/weareferly tryquinn.com of 49.6 per cent of the population. arousal. But Gallop argues that

In contrast, it’s very easy to
download the well-financed Dipsea.
“Audio start-ups are more palatable
to investors than what I’m doing, as
they’re not actually showing anything,
which makes everyone feel a whole
lot more comfortable,” Gallop sighs.
Sex columnist Suzi Godson is more
sympathetic to Gutierrez’s arguments.
“Text and audio work for women
because they can be the central
character,” she says. “When they’re
looking at an Amazonian big-breasted
blonde, there’s always more of a
disconnect. It’s hard to visualise
yourself in the story.”
My disconnect to Dipsea is that
I’m a good decade older than its “sweet
spot” audience: women aged between
25 and 35. Unlike them, I rarely
have the necessary privacy (even
with headphones on, I can’t imagine
listening to Show Me What To Do with
teenagers barging in demanding their
tops be ironed). Nor, sadly, do many
of the stories – flatmate romps and
hikers’ woodland frolics – resonate
with my experiences. Currently,
Dipsea’s most popular serial is Hot
Vinyasa, in which Laura and Mark,
a former marine, get bendy during
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEANDRO CRESPI/STOCKSY.COM; WINNI WINTERMEYER/THE TIMES MAGAZINE/NEWS LICENSING; GETTY IMAGES.
yoga class. “I mean, that’s a hyper-
relatable experience. We all know what
it’s like to be in this hot, steamy room,
seeing someone taking their shirt off
and thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a really
society doesn’t want to acknowledge attractive person,’” Gutierrez enthuses.
such facts “because that doesn’t fit If only I did, but never mind,
in with the patriarchal ‘nice girls Gutierrez promises me Dipsea plans
don’t’ mythology”. to add content for women in their
So what about my argument that 40s, 50s and 60s.
watching young people with dead eyes Then there’s the question of
gang banging is not, at least for me accents. I tell her that a survey
personally, an aphrodisiac? The of millennials asked to test-drive
problem, Gallop explains, is that I’m the app for a UK newspaper mainly
looking for porn in the wrong places. liked the idea, but were put off by the
“We all watch porn but we don’t transatlantic nature of it all. “I would
talk about it, so it tends to exist in a never say ‘nasty girl’ while having sex,”
shadowy universe, with no socially was the reaction of one 34-year-old
acceptable navigation and curation,” man. “Maybe it’s an American thing.”
she says. “It’s OK to come into the I contemplate Hot Vinyasa retold
office and stand by the water cooler by an upper-crust British guy or Aussie
and say, ‘I’m bored of the restaurants jackaroo, and ask Gutierrez if going
I’m eating in. Can anyone recommend “AUDIO WORKS international is on the cards. “We’re
a new one?’ But you can’t say, ‘I’m FOR WOMEN AS going to be adding as many accents
bored of the porn I’m watching. THEY CAN BE as possible,” she promises.
Who can recommend new porn?’ In the meantime, I’ll be watching
I have female queer friends making THE CENTRAL Outlander or reading Riders by Jilly
innovative, disruptive porn that I CHARACTER” Cooper. I just hope Audible’s software
guarantee you’d love. The problem – Suzi Godson, lets me jump straight to the bit where
is no-one can find it.” sex columnist they romp in a bed of leaves.




marieclaire.com.au | 75

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AQUA BLU








RESORT AUSTRALIA’S SWIMWEAR
FROM THE CATWALK
TO THE BOARDWALK,



DARLING TAKES IT TO
RULES AND BEAUTIFUL RESORT
THE NEXT LEVEL WITH
A BRAND NEW BOLD


COLLECTION


It’s no secret Aqua Blu creative
director Kristian Chase has a
love of colour. Matched with
his enviable fashion pedigree,
Chase has taken Australian label
Aqua Blu to the world. The
label continues to grow, with
a brand new resort collection
launching this season. Here’s
what you need to know.


Q. WHAT INSPIRED THIS
YEAR’S COLLECTION?
My 2020 collection is called
‘Eden’ and is the embodiment
of paradise, with a focus on
bold colour and lush prints,
textures and details. It’s bold
but very chic!

Q. TELL US ABOUT
YOUR NEW RESORT
COLLECTION...
Resort is very different to ‘over
swim’. My resort line is about
effortless glamour – statement
dresses you can wear to summer
weddings or cocktail parties.


Q. WHAT ARE THIS
YEAR’S KEY PIECES
AND SILHOUETTES?
I am known for my one-pieces,
CPF VJG[ CTG OQUV FGƂPKVGN[
a standout, but my new resort
pieces are pure old-school
glamour. The silhouettes are
“WE BELIEVE ƃQY[ GVJGTGCN CPF JGCF VWTPKPI

IN LOOKING AS
CONFIDENT AS Q. WHO IS THE AQUA
BLU WOMAN?
YOU FEEL” 5JG KU DQNF CPF EQPƂFGPV 5JG

KRISTIAN CHASE KUPoV CDQWV DNGPFKPI KP QT ƂVVKPI
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, in. She is all about embracing
AQUA BLU herself and empowering others
to do the same.





VISIT AQUABLU.COM.AU

YOU

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A









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D






























































Twenty-twenty is shaping up to be a big year full of change, challenge and triumph.
Yasmin Boland reveals what’s in store for you in our annual horoscope guide



ANALOGUE COLLAGES BY MAXWELL N. BURNSTEIN



marieclaire.com.au | 77

Elie Saab
Resort 2020.
Chanel bag, ALL ABOUT ARIES Ruled by mid-January and early April
1300 242 635. blazing red planet Mars, are stand-out periods.
you’re the fireball of the WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE IN
zodiac. You take the party 2020 You have as good love
with you wherever you go, stars as anyone else but you
and we love you for this. also have incredible work
You charge through life at stars. The potential problem
full speed – go for it, but is that you could work so
remember that not everyone vhard you leave little time
can keep up with you. for romance. Be warned!
Also, you have a temper BEST TIME TO MAKE MONEY
that can melt plastic! Making money online will
really work for you this year
2020 OV ERVI EW – whether that’s about
running a site or doing
2020 will be high pressure online consultations.
for you but it will force you Early March looks
to transform into the best especially auspicious.
person you can be. Your YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
challenge now is to leave THAT September 10 to
behind the old you and
March 21 – April 19 large part in this process. rare retrograde cycle. This
November 14 sees your
allow a new you to be
planet Mars going into a
reborn. Work will play a
is a reminder from the
YOUR 2020 AFFIRMATION
universe to slow down.
When you’re stressed,
TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
remind yourself, “Pressure
OF YOUR SOUL Slow down.
turns carbon into diamonds.”
Breathe. Create a morning
routine dedicated to calm.
THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR
YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE
All of 2020 is potentially
– and anything else that
sets pulses racing.
amazing for you, but FASHION NOTES Wear red






Rochas Resort 2020.
Frances Valentine
ALL ABOUT TAUREANS WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE IN bag, at shopbop.com.
Your symbol is a bull and 2020 The danger now is that
they can be both stubborn you’re evolving as a person
and raging. But you’re also and leaving your partner
ruled by Venus, the planet behind. If you’re attached, April 20 – May 20
of pleasure and caresses. make sure you keep them up
Summing up: you’re strong, to date with where you are in
earthy and gorgeous. life and what you’re planning.
BEST TIME TO MAKE MONEY
20 2 0 OV ERVIE W Mid-year looks extra
These are amazing times to promising. Golden 2020
be a Taurean, thanks to the rule: the more financially
relatively recent arrival of independent you can be,
the planet of electricity and the better.
changes, Uranus, in your YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
sign. If you’re feeling like THAT You should work very
you’ve stuck your fingers into hard from January to March,
the great socket of life, now because the efforts you put
you know why. Manage in then are likely to pay off
this long cycle with regular long-term, once Saturn
grounding; take your shoes moves into your career
off and walk on the earth. zone on March 22.

YOUR 2020 AFFIRMATION TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
“I am liberated from the OF YOUR SOUL Once a
ties that bind!” week (at least) take yourself
THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR off into nature to relax.
YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE FASHION NOTES Taureans
With the planet of radical are all about earthiness,
change, Uranus, in your so look to organics such
sign, change is inevitable as natural cottons and
for you now. Go with it. breezy linens in neutral
tones for your style fix.




78 | marieclaire.com.au

HOROSCOPES









ALL ABOUT GEMINIS Without want to make massive life
Gemini, there would be no changes, then early June
conversation, no exchange is the ideal time.
of ideas and no fun flirting WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE May 21 – June 20
at parties. You are the social IN 2020 Relationship changes
butterflies of the world, in are a major 2020 theme for
the nicest possible way. And you. Good relationships can
you’re smart. Yes, of course go to the next level, weak
one can talk people into and ones will flounder.
out of things, but does that BEST TIME TO MAKE MONEY
mean you should? Check 2020 opens with you having
your heart before you engage super powerful money stars.
your mouth and you won’t This lasts up to March 22.
go too wrong in 2020. Financial strategies are
called for, though.
YOU ALSO NEED TO
2 02 0 OVE RV IE W
KNOW THAT Because
If you have overspent there is an eclipse involving
recently, use the 2020 your sign mid-year, 2020 is
energy to rein in things, a big one for you. So decide
and disciplined Saturn at the start of it where you
will help you. By mid-year, want to be by the end of it,
Geminis who wish to travel and make a list of the
for work or study abroad, inspired action you need
have super supportive stars. to take to get there.
YOUR 2020 AFFIRMATION “All TRY THIS, FOR THE
my relationships are evolving!” GOOD OF YOUR SOUL
THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR Some quiet time.
YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE YOUR FASHION FORECAST
The June 6 full moon eclipse Geminis change all the Carolina Herrera Resort
2020. Kate Spade bag,
is like a portal opening up for time, so your style is katespade.com.au.
you to move through. If you ever-shifting and eclectic.







June 21 – July 22 ALL ABOUT CANCERIANS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR
YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Ruled by the beautiful
January, June and July are
silvery moon, which
ripe for you changing things
waxes and wanes, you have
up. Tip: release the past!
a well-deserved reputation
WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
for being mysterious, highly
emotional and nearly always
IN 2020 Learn the lessons
nurturing. Just as you are
that your partner is teaching
there for people, they tend
to be there for you. This is a
if and when you need to.
good thing, as you can also you. Be nice and say sorry
BEST TIME TO MAKE MONEY
be quite needy sometimes! Mid-year sees the planet of
drive, Mars, in your career
2020 OVERVIEW zone, so you should be

The good news for you is feeling driven towards work
that at least some of the and financial success then.
pressure of the past few YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
years is finally going to THAT 2020 is going to be
ease off. March to July easier than 2019. So even
gives you breathing space, though you still have a
so take some time off if you chance to fulfil your life
can. Eclipses in your sign potential and purpose,
and opposite sign mean which can be as intense
2020 is still a year when as it sounds, there should
you need to focus on be more fun (and travel)
personal growth and in the new year.
self-transformation. This TRY THIS, FOR THE
cycle won’t last forever, GOOD OF YOUR SOUL
so ensure you make Follow the moon. Make
the most of it. wishes at new moon, and let
Nina Ricci Resort 2020. YOUR 2020 AFFIRMATION go of all upsets at full moon.
Brock Collection shoe,
at net-a-porter.com. “I make the most of FASHION NOTES You suit
all opportunities!” florals and warm colours.

ALL ABOUT LEOS You’re teach me the most!”
the superstar of the zodiac THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR
and we all bow down TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE
before you. You are April. And changes you make
generous, magnanimous now to the minutiae of your
and, just sometimes, a bit too life will have a big impact. July 23 – August 22
amazing for your own good! WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
You light up any room you IN 2020 From March to July,
walk into, and you know it. there could be tensions
Confidence is your middle in your most important
name. But don’t overdo it. relationships. It’s vital you
work as hard as you can
20 2 0 OV ERVIE W to sort things out by acting
grown up and responsible,
Eliminating anything from if you want to avoid bigger
your everyday life that feels problems later on.
toxic or otherwise wrong YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
should be a priority. Getting THAT The roller-coaster ride
into healthy daily routines of your career continues now
will be life-changing and will as irrational Uranus ploughs
also help you to navigate the through your career zone.
ever-changing career vista. If you can work online or as
A major event for you this a solopreneur, do so. It will
year is serious Saturn in your work out the energies well.
love zone from March to July. TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
During this period, pay OF YOUR SOUL Next time
attention to the life lessons; you spend time with
your most important someone less self-assured
relationships are teaching than you, bolster them up,
you about yourself. instead of outshining them. Rosie Assoulin
YOUR AFFIRMATION FOR FASHION NOTES Resort 2020.
Valentino belt, at
THE YEAR “The people who You’ll wear anything net-a-porter.com.
push my buttons the most that turns heads.







August 23 – September 22
ALL ABOUT VIRGOS Virgos all bring chances for you to
are the quiet achievers of the dream it and do it!
zodiac. You’re helpful and WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE IN
modest and we all love you. 2020 You have fabulous
Make sure you aren’t too love stars this year. If you’re
modest for your own good, single, you’re definitely the
though. You can’t do enough sign most likely to meet a
for other people, but issues soulmate. If you’re attached,
arise when you do so much it’s all good as long as you’re
that you end up becoming with someone trustworthy.
resentful. That’s toxic. You make a great partner
because you’re so keen to
2020 OV ERVI EW be of service, but you have
The good news for you is been known to nitpick
that it looks like you’re going a romance to death.
to have more fun in 2020. YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
You tend to minimise your THAT If you want to make the
own need to let your hair most of the good astrological
down at the best of times, juju in your love zone, you
but this condition became need to seek out people who
acute in 2019. Thankfully inspire you and make you
the worst of that cycle is over feel uplifted. Spiritual people
and while you’re probably will do you good in 2020.
still a little bit too diligent TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
for your own good, overall OF YOUR SOUL Next time
2020 should bring more fun. someone asks you to do
YOUR AFFIRMATION FOR THE something that you don’t
YEAR “The most important want to, work out a nice
MSGM Resort people in my life inspire me!” way to say no.
2020. Lelet FASHION NOTES Yes, you’re
NY hair clips, at THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR
net-a-porter.com. YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE modest, but also not afraid
February, July and October to try more daring looks.




80 | marieclaire.com.au

HOROSCOPES







September 23 – October 22
ALL ABOUT LIBRANS Librans in your personal life are
live to relate. You’re happy likely. On March 8 anything
when you’re with a best could happen and it could
friend or a lover, and be exciting.
happiest when your lover WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE IN
is your best friend. You’re 2020 Focus on people who
suave and debonair, stylish make you feel good and
and sometimes just a tad, who can help you to heal
dare we say, looks-obsessed any past traumas. Avoid
or sometimes even vain. people who seem to want
to see how far they can push
2020 OVERV I EW you. Your toughest time is

The pressure at home, when you don’t have anyone
with family specifically special in your life. Luckily
and your private life in you’re an amazing flirt and
general, is lightening at attract admirers wherever
last. Yes there will still be you go, naturally.
fireworks but there should YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
also be a lot more fun, THAT Introducing a daily
too. In relationships, the spiritual practice will be
roller-coaster ride is over life-changing. When you
and the healing has begun. sit in silence to meditate,
If you’ve become addicted for example, amazing
to someone who is just too things happen. Clarity
unpredictable, this is the comes. Answers come.
time to make self-love TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
your priority. OF YOUR SOUL Go to a
YOUR AFFIRMATION party not looking your
Alberta FOR THE YEAR “All my best and see how well
Ferretti relationships are healing.” you relate to people.
Resort 2020. THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR FASHION NOTES
DLYP bag,
dlypstudios.com. YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE One word to describe
In April, when massive shifts Libran style: elegant.







Ulla Johnson
ALL ABOUT SCORPIOS You’re have the best chance Resort 2020.
a mysterious sign with depth you’ve had in 12 years Zara earrings,
and substance; mindless to really transform. zara.com.
chatter and superficial WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE IN
nonsense are not for you. 2020 Your love life could
You want to taste life. You’re feel a little out of control
not afraid of your dark side. this year but try not to panic.
No-one could accuse you of The more you cling on,
being a social flibbertigibbet. the weirder the ride. If
We get it. You’re profound! you’re single, someone very
Just don’t insist that we also different could be the One.
“go there” every time. YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
THAT This year can be
2 0 2 0 OV ERV IEW positively liberating. It’s

You’re now under the all about you evolving.
influence of the planet So give yourself the time
of mayhem and madness, you need to work through
Uranus. It has taken up whatever you know is
residence in your seventh holding you back. Someone
house, where it’s sending or something could really
beams of craziness and “wake you up” this year.
daring you to break out of Expect changes and embrace
anything in your life that feels them for the best 2020 has
restrictive. This year is about to offer you.
you really learning to drive TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD October 23 – November 21
this energy. Dropping any OF YOUR SOUL Go to
control-freak tendencies a party and work the room.
will really help you. Have several meaningless
YOUR AFFIRMATION FOR THE conversations and see
YEAR “Live and let live!” how they make you feel.
THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR FASHION NOTES
YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE Indulge your dark side in
At the end of June you’ll Gothic velvets and lace.

HOROSCOPES






November 22 – December 21
ALL ABOUT SAGITTARIANS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR
The eclipses herald big YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE
changes for you. You’re June, November and
a fun-loving, risk-taking, December, when eclipses
adventurer who knows that are triggering your chart.
life is meant to be enjoyed WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE IN
with gusto and a good laugh. 2020 This year could be one
While we could all learn a you remember as a turning
lesson from you about not point where relationships are
taking life too seriously, concerned. Venus retrograde
sometimes you don’t take could bring back an old lover
life seriously enough! in May or June.
YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
2020 OV ERVI EW THAT 2020 brings an eclipse
This year sees a series in your sign and your love
of rolling connections zone. So if you want to
between your planet Jupiter change your life, you really
and boundary-dissolving can. Releasing the past and
Neptune, the planet of any dramas will make space
the divine. So it could for whatever you want to
be a rather mystical and bring into your life. Think of
magical year ahead for you, 2020 as a chance to change
where you feel at one with to a new way of being.
the cosmos, or just feel really TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
good about life in general. OF YOUR SOUL Instead of
If you don’t already have wise-cracking your way
a spiritual practice, get one. through your next highly
It will do you a power emotional moment, be still
Chanel Resort of good. and feel all your feelings.
2020. Gucci YOUR AFFIRMATION FOR THE FASHION NOTES Sagittarians
sunglasses, at
matchesfashion.com. YEAR “We are all connected love to travel, so resortwear
to all life everywhere.” is always a good idea.








ALL ABOUT CAPRICORNS opposite sign open up Stella McCartney


The hardworking and life-changing portals. Resort 2020. Gucci
down-to-earth sign of the WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE hat, gucci.com/au.
zodiac, you’re also the most IN 2020 Capricorns are far
ambitious. Just make sure gentler and more loving
you don’t become ruthless than you might first expect,
in your pursuit of power! and love and nurture their
partners, between working
2 0 2 0 OV ERV IE W too hard. There will be more
happiness and fulfilment if
You are the sign with the
biggest astrological drama you “do” 2020 in a
in 2020. Planetary patterns relationship, even
(especially) if your partner
playing out in your sign
mean you can do just about pushes all your buttons.
anything you set your mind YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
THAT Because you have
to now. It might not always eclipse energy around
be easy but if you put your you, as well as Jupiter,
head down and work slowly Saturn and Pluto for
and methodically towards much of it, 2020 really is a
your goals, it will all have year to live consciously
been worth it. Make and intentionally.
“transformation” your Decide what you want
word of the year. By now and work out how
year’s end, life is easier you can make it happen.
than it has been in two years. Stay open to changes but December 22 – January 19
YOUR AFFIRMATION FOR THE stay focused on goals.
YEAR “My life is transforming TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
in amazing ways!” OF YOUR SOUL Do some
THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR charity work.
YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE FASHION NOTES
January, June and July. Capricorns sway towards
During these months all things structured and,
eclipses in your sign and of course, tailored.





ALL ABOUT AQUARIANS Late December – change
You’re the maverick of will become inevitable
the zodiac. It’s your quirky, around then. Don’t worry,
forward-thinking mind that it could be amazing.
helps humanity progress. WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE IN
Really! In some ways, you’re 2020 You love to be adored
like a star person, seeded and love a partner who January 20 – February 18
from another galaxy, here allows you to shine. But this
to teach us how to save the year you need to deal with
planet. But do be nice as all the things you don’t want
well as logical. to talk about. Once you’ve
worked through these hidden
2 02 0 OVE RV IE W dramas, you’ll make a better

It’s a massive year for you partner, friend and relative.
as the mighty planet Saturn YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
makes its first foray into your THAT Saturn moving into
sign in 30 years. You have your sign in March is an
tons of lessons to learn from amazing opportunity. It will
this cycle. As 2020 dawns, be a challenge, but handled
think about what scares you, well it can make you wiser
see where the fear comes and more able to step up
from and deal with it as best to the life you were born to
you can. The more you can lead. Work hard on whatever
work through your fears needs your hard work.
before March, the better TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
the rest of your life will be. OF YOUR SOUL Be as

YOUR AFFIRMATION FOR thoughtful to your partner
THE YEAR “I am inspired and friends as you are to
by money – in the best humanity as a whole. Alberta Ferretti
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YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE fashion-forward.






ALL ABOUT PISCEANS WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
You’re the dreamer of the IN 2020 September turns
zodiac, the mystic and a your focus to your love life.
romantic. You know those The trick is to think about
“funny feelings” you get what you want, rather than
about things? Trust them. worrying about whatever
The force is strong in Pisces. has happened in the past.
Without you, there would Single? You could turn a
be no dreams and no music friend into a lover this year.
but you’re also an elusive YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW
little fish! THAT Your ability to think
differently is your secret
2020 OV ERVI EW super power this year (and
for the coming few years).
The struggles you have had So don’t worry about people
with friends in the past few thinking that you’re weird.
years will ease up now. Be Just be open and honest
honest if you have been a bit about your ideas. Also note
too hardline, and see if you that in the second half of
can change the energy. You 2020, you will find more
February 19 – March 20
should find you are more fulfilment at home than
popular than you have been in professional success,
in years, too, so make the as alluring as it is. So
most of it. Your friends have don’t go losing yourself
a lot to teach you and some in overwork.
will even transform you.
TRY THIS, FOR THE GOOD
YOUR AFFIRMATION FOR OF YOUR SOUL Tap into
THE YEAR “Solutions lie in intuitive powers with
thinking outside the box.” daily meditations.
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marieclaire.com.au | 83

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G I R L O F T H E M O M E N T

KILEY




REID





Put this debut author at the
top of your reading pile

Nine is Kiley Reid’s number. It is the
number of years she lived in New York
City as a babysitter, spending her evenings
hugging other people’s children goodnight.
It’s the number of crushing rejection letters
she received from every graduate school
she applied to in 2015 after finally pursuing
her lifelong dream of being a writer. And,
amazingly, it’s the number of triumphant
acceptances she received from those
same nine schools the very next year,
culminating in her attending the prestigious
Iowa Writers’ Workshop (yes, that’s the
one Lena Dunham attended in Girls).
It was those three moments of her life
that led her to write the summer’s most
hotly anticipated debut novel Such A Fun
Age. A sharp, observant and sometimes
uncomfortable story about power, race
and class told through the conflicting
perspectives of a 20-something black
babysitter and her wealthy, white boss.
“It’s a story about well-intentioned
people who sometimes make mistakes
and you don’t tell the reader which people
READ IT
Such A Fun Age are good and which ones are bad,” says
by Kiley Reid the 32-year-old, who grew up in Tucson,
(Bloomsbury, Arizona, before moving to New York
$29.99) is out where she worked as a babysitter and
January 7.
became obsessed with class dynamics.
“I was fascinated by the very strange
dynamics of the relationship between
parents and the people they pay to take
care of their children,” reflects Reid, who
after her recent wedding to scholar Nathan
Rosenberg moved to the leafy suburbs of
Philadelphia, where her novel is set.
“Publishing a book is a big dream come
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID GODDARD. it’s the best challenge to do it again. But
true, and now as I start novel number two,


every day I’m realising how much work
I have ahead of me so I might be a few
years,” says Reid, with a nervous laugh.
Let’s hope we’re not waiting nine.








marieclaire.com.au | 85

BOOK OOK
B








CLUBLUB
C








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POEMSIA YOUR OWN KIND GRAND UNION DEVOTION BRUNY
by Lang Leav OF GIRL by Zadie Smith by Madeline Stevens by Heather Rose
(Andrews McMeel by Clare Bowditch (Penguin Random (Faber & Faber, $29.99) (Allen & Unwin, $32.99)
Publishing, $29.99) (Allen & Unwin, $29.99) House, $32.99)
In Devotion, Bruny throbs with
With more than Clare Bowditch is a Zadie Smith’s first the sensual and the clash of rapacious
530,000 followers on born storyteller. In her collection of short stories suspenseful debut development versus
Instagram Lang Leav is song “Your Own Kind is made for beach-side from Madeline a simpler life. Astrid
one of the trailblazing of Girl” she sings reading. Not only can Stevens, an unlikely Coleman returns to
“Instapoets” who has about a girl struggling you take a dip in the friendship between Tasmania and the
used social media to with body image and sea between each story, two women catches family fold as the
bring the art form the pressure to be but Smith’s beautiful fire and fuels a story political campaign
to new generations a certain size and musings, sometimes of intense desire. that pits her siblings
of fans. Now, she fit into a fixed box. devoid of plot, are However, as against each other
is trying her hand Likewise, Bowditch’s perfectly digestible imbalances of power gets underway, and
at fiction in an memoir is the brutally in smaller doses. and privilege become tries to discover why
emotionally charged honest story of a girl A common thread more pronounced, a bridge is being built
story about friendship, struggling with fear, between the stories is obsession turns into between their tiny
first love and betrayal. self-doubt, anxiety hard to detect as she resentment. Stevens’ and idyllic Bruny
Leav writes masterfully and acute grief, told ricochets between place, deliciously descriptive Island and Tasmania,
from the perspective with her trademark perspective and genre, writing will have you and why there is
of her protagonist, humour and warmth. however, her trademark absorbed in the such urgency to
an aspiring poet, Listen to our Finding playful wit is ever- captivating plot get it done.
and gives readers a Fearless podcast with present. As with all of and love-to-hate Crisp and evocative PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA.
backstage glimpse Bowditch to hear Smith’s work, you will characters as she writing makes this
into the new-wave more about her finish this book feeling explores just what a hugely enjoyable
poetry movement. incredible story. wiser than before. devotion means. page-turner.





86 | marieclaire.com.au

CULTURE









SILVER THE WRITING ON YEAR OF

by Chris Hammer THE WALL THE MONKEY
(Allen & Unwin, $32.99) by Juliet Rieden by Patti Smith
(Pan Macmillan (Bloomsbury, $29.99)
Martin Scarsden is Australia, $32.99)
back, baby! In all his Those familiar with
curious, smart and Following the death Patti Smith’s writing
flawed glory. The of her father, burning know how deeply
sequel to last year’s journalistic instinct drove personal it can be.
stand-out read Juliet Rieden to set in However, even her
Scrublands sees motion an 18-month biggest fans will be
Scarsden return to investigation to uncover taken aback by Year Of
his home town of the story of how he The Monkey. Beginning
Port Silver, where survived the Holocaust. on New Year’s Day
murder and mystery “Although he didn’t 2016, Smith navigates
await. “You can bury talk about it, my father’s her 70th year in the
your past, but you past revealed itself in context of a world
can’t escape it,” the everything he did,” gone mad during the
cover taunts – and writes Rieden in her presidential elections.
“IF YOU LOVED the inside pages gripping memoir. Beautifully written
LAST YEAR’S deliver. Another Her investigations with dreamlike prose,
BOY SWALLOWS masterpiece from take readers across Smith’s emotional and
UNIVERSE, former journalist the globe, but what she intellectual musings
YOU WILL Chris Hammer. finds will hit closer to on loss, death and
LOVE SILVER” home than she could ageing are both
have ever imagined. profound and moving.




THE DUTCH TALKING TO
HOUSE STRANGERS
by Ann Patchett by Malcolm Gladwell
(Bloomsbury, $29.99) (Penguin Random
House, $35)
Anne Patchett’s
latest novel is a In his most recent
slow-burning foray into theories
family saga about why people
that puts the act the way they do,
indestructible Malcolm Gladwell
bond between asks, “Why is it so
siblings under the hard to detect a lie,
microscope. As the read a face or
protagonists Maeve judge a stranger’s
and Danny cling motives?” Gladwell’s
to each other ideas will challenge
over the course you and force you to
of five decades, question everything
this becomes a you know. This is the
story of emotional kind of book that
survival. The Dutch will have you
House is a quietly reading passages
brilliant novel that aloud to anyone who
will move you. will listen, debating
the findings and
thinking about it
long after you
put it down.

CULTURE







CUZ WE LOVE HER









DID YOU KNOW?
LIZZO’S REAL
NAME IS MELISSA
VIVIANNE JEFFERSON



She’s got serious social media
7 skills and used the video app
TikTok to transform ”Truth
Hurts” (a song she released in
2017) into one of 2019’s biggest
hits, breaking the record for
longest-running number one
by a female rapper.
8 She’s honest about her mental

health battles. In June 2019, she
took to Instagram to talk about
her struggles with depression
Ahead of her Australian headline tour, we’ve in an emotional video.

9 fuckboys. In ”Good As Hell”,
rounded up the top 11 reasons we She doesn’t take crap from

adore the supremely talented Lizzo she croons, ”If he don’t love you
any more, just walk your fine ass
out the door.” BRB while we get
that tattooed on our rib cage…


She is not afraid to make a
10 bold fashion statement or
wear an outfit twice. She
re-wore her iconic Met Gala
look to the airport the next
day, because why the hell not?

She is proof that hustle and heart
pay off. Lizzo has been in the
game since 2005, and admitted
she nearly gave up on music
when her 2017 record ”Truth
1 She is a beacon of self- Hurts” didn’t take off at the
confidence and self-love.
time. Now she’s finally getting
Her album Cuz I Love You the respect and admiration
has been called an anthem 11 she deserves. We Stan.
for female empowerment.
Case in point, her lyrics: She wrote the best lyric of
“No, I’m not a snack at all. 4 the decade, “I just took a
Look, baby, I’m the whole DNA test, turns out I’m PHOTOGRAPHY BY GETTY IMAGES. EDITED BY MAEVE GALEA. ADDITIONAL WORDS BY ALLEY PASCOE AND KATE FRASER.
damn meal.” Yes you are 100 per cent that bitch.”
Lizzo, yes you are. Her crew is made up of
2 She’s a quadruple threat: 5 the best/baddest women

rapper, singer, flautist and
in the business, including
actress. Lizzo slays next creative director Quinn
to J.Lo, Constance Wu Wilson, DJ Sophia Eris and
and Cardi B in the film dancers Grace Holden
Hustlers. Should we add and Courtney Hollinquest
pole dancer to that list? (dubbed The Big Grrrls).

3 Her laugh is the cutest 6 brought back the Lizzo is headlining FOMO Festival
She single-handedly
2020 as it tours across Australia in
evil cackle we’ve ever
heard. Google it. scrunchie-high-pigtails look. January. Visit fomofestival.com.au

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When Nicola Kilner itting in the white-walled world, with more than 50 products
Deciem store in The Rocks, in 15 markets and backing from Estée
co-founded Deciem, Sydney, wearing a Réalisation Lauder, who invested in the brand
“The Abnormal Beauty Par love-heart dress, Nicola in 2017. Kilner was the business

Company,” with Brandon SKilner sparkles. It’s not and operational mastermind, while
just the Brit’s glowing skin (from
Truaxe was the creative genius –
Truaxe in 2013, she her 10-step beauty regimen); it’s passionate and fun, but tough and
couldn’t have imagined her glittery personality. Kilner, 30, quick to anger. “In the early days,

how much the slogan credits that same sunny disposition Brandon and I did it all: we swept
the floors, met with investors and
for getting her through the toughest
would ring true. She opens period in her life and career. everything in between,” reflects Kilner,
up to Alley Pascoe about When Kilner co-founded Deciem, who studied business management
The Abnormal Beauty Company, at at Nottingham Trent University in
triumph after tragedy age 24, the most atypical thing England, where she is based, travelling

about it was the fact they launched to Canada every month. “Brandon was
10 beauty brands at once – including the best entrepreneur on the planet.
cult-favourite The Ordinary. Kilner’s He always used to say, ‘We don’t want
Canadian co-founder Brandon Truaxe to be in the safe place with everyone
(who she first met in 2011 when she was else. We have to be on the edge.’”
working as a buyer at UK pharmacy However, working so close to the
chain Boots) was driven by an ambition edge, Truaxe eventually fell.
to prove all the haters wrong. When The “abnormal” antics started in
they told him, “You can’t do 10 things January 2018 when Truaxe, then CEO,
at once,” Truaxe said, “Watch me.” announced he was taking over the
Together Kilner and Truaxe brand’s Instagram account. Over
built Deciem (which is Latin for 10 the next year, his erratic behaviour
in a sequence) to be one of the most increased: he started fighting with
influential beauty companies in the customers in the comments section of

CAREER















“BRANDON
IS STILL VERY LEFT Deciem
PRESENT IN co-founder Brandon
EVERYTHING Truaxe before
his rapid decline.
WE DO. HE IS BELOW Kilner with
OUR DNA” her daughter Mila.
– Nicola Kilner


















Instagram, unceremoniously dropped gave birth to her daughter Mila in
brands in posts without alerting them late December, she didn’t take any
first, and stripped team members of maternity leave and was answering
their titles. He binned his mobile phone emails from hospital. All the while,
and email, allegedly took psychedelic Kilner maintained her aforementioned
mushrooms in front of employees, and sunny disposition, despite Truaxe’s
fired the company’s human resources anger at being removed from Deciem, happy tears because we’re surrounded
director. When Kilner called him out, his increasing paranoia and obsession by what he built, his legacy,” she says.
he fired her – and then begged her to with US President Donald Trump. “He’s still very present in everything
come back six months later. She did, “It was horrible watching Brandon’s we do. He is our DNA – and that’s
mostly out of concern for her friend. behaviour during that time. I could see something that can never be deleted.”
“I was five months pregnant when he was struggling, and I would have Instead of remembering Truaxe for
Brandon asked me to come back. It given my life to make him better, but the tabloid headlines he made, Kilner
was a really hard time because I had I felt helpless and like there was remembers him as a friend. “He was
a human growing in me, but I could nothing I could do,” explains Kilner. just the best person to have in your
see how much Brandon was in a bad “We all had this belief that he’d get life,” she says, her eyes glistening.
place. He was my family and you better and that we’d all be reunited. Determined to honour him, Kilner
need to be there for your family.” It didn’t happen that way.” has taken Deciem from struggle to
Despite Kilner’s calming presence, In the early hours of January 21, strength. Today, Deciem has sold
Truaxe’s unpredictability continued. 2019, Truaxe was found dead after more than 65 million units. They now
He was reportedly committed to reportedly falling from his Toronto sell one product every second, have
hospitals four times in three countries. apartment. Kilner was breastfeeding 50 stores across the globe and are set
In October last year, he geo-tagged an her daughter when she found out after to become a billion-dollar-per-year
Instagram post at The White House journalists emailed one of Deciem’s business thanks to their legions of
announcing he was closing down publicists for comment. She is still devoted customers. She jokes that
Deciem until further notice, accusing dealing with her grief and has found Truaxe would have revelled in the
his employees of being involved in solace in keeping Truaxe’s Deciem brand’s triumph but hated the
“major criminal activities” including dream alive. “It’s difficult. I still have structure that came with it.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEROME CLARK; GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF DECIEM.
“financial crimes”. In the same post, sad days at the office, but we also cry Kilner puts her success down to one
he threatened people including Brad thing: kindness. “Everyone is capable of
Pitt and Steven Spielberg, and brands being kind and it goes such a long way.
such as It Cosmetics and Too Faced. You never know what someone’s going
Three days after shutting the through; look at what we went through.
website down, Truaxe was removed Last year was not kind to our team
from the company by a court ruling, and because they showed so much love
and Kilner was tasked with the role during that time, we want to give it
of interim CEO. At seven months back to them. We want them to feel
pregnant, she took on the mammoth safe and happy again,” says Kilner,
job of running a company with more who is excited to lead Deciem to
than 700 staff, who had felt the brunt greater heights in 2020 – and
of Truaxe’s turbulence. Kilner set launch her pet project, a baby beauty
about blending his creative genius with brand called Hippooh, in April. “If you
the structure the company desperately show people respect and kindness,
needed, introducing HR policies, plus ABOVE Kilner and Truaxe they show it back to you,” she says,
a legal and finance team. When she in an Instagram post from 2018. shining her trademark sparkly smile.




marieclaire.com.au | 91

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CAREER





























The Sydney panel
on stage. RIGHT
In Melbourne, Kate
Morris, Jessica
Macpherson and Ally
Watson drew a crowd.












SHE MEANS






BUSINESS






All the tips, tricks and trade secrets from the marie claire

Small Business Brilliance series, presented by Salesforce


ou can’t be what you can’t see.”
“There’s no such thing as work-life balance.”
“Sometimes you just need to have a cry
and a glass of wine.” These were some
Yof the pearls of wisdom shared at the
marie claire Small Business Brilliance masterclass
series, presented by Salesforce, celebrating
“AS A BUSINESS OWNER, Small Business Month in October.
Given the number of female small business
YOU’VE GOT TO LIVE AND owners has increased by nearly 50 per cent in
BREATHE WHAT YOU DO” the past two decades, the panels were the perfect

– Pip Edwards of P.E Nation (above) opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to pick
the brains of the women who’ve been there,
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHLOE PAUL; HIKARI PHOTOGRAPHY. TEXT BY ALLEY PASCOE.
done that and built empires.
At Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art,
girl bosses Pip Edwards of P.E Nation, Bridget
Loudon of Expert360 and Sally Obermeder and
Maha Corbett of Swiish, took to the stage to reveal
the biggest challenges they’ve faced on their start-up
journeys and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way.
Rule number one: back yourself and ignore the haters,
because no-one is going to cheer you on every day.
In Melbourne at Two Ton Max, Kate Morris of
FROM LEFT Maha
Adore Beauty, Jessica Macpherson of St Kilda Mums
Corbett, marie
and Ally Watson of Code Like a Girl got candid about claire editor Nicky
how they built their organisations from the ground Briger, Pip Edwards,
up – inspiring the 120 boss women in the room, Bridget Loudon and
Sally Obermeder
over coffee and pastries. Watson’s rhetorical after sharing their
question summed up the morning: “If you’re wisdom at the Small
not being your true self, what’s the point?” Here’s Business Brilliance
masterclass series
to being our true (boss women) selves. in Sydney.




marieclaire.com.au | 93

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HE AT WAV E

Join us on a summer sojourn with
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORRIE BOND. STYLED BY CHLOE BUTTENSHAW.
fashion fit for an Australian road trip
and Tokyo city break alike. Plus,
we’ve rounded up the latest trends in
swimwear and sunglasses, along with
party-ready pieces for every personality.

Nova wears (left) Strateas Carlucci top,
$270, strateascarlucci.com; Aqua Blu bikini
briefs, $80, aquablu.com.au; Zara earrings,
$26, zara.com; My Island Home necklace,
$82, www.myislandhome.com.au; Tigmi
Trading bag, $290, tigmitrading.com;
Lucy Folk cuff, $320, lucyfolk.com.
Britt wears Christian Dior jumpsuit,
$2800, 02-9229 4600; Dinosaur
Designs earrings, $205, 02-9361 3776.






marieclaire.com.au | 95

Pack your bags and hit the road – the holidays are made for sandy feet,


salty hair and living in your cossie from dawn till dusk

Nova wears (left) Matteau
bikini top and briefs, $135
each, matteau-store.com;
Lucy Folk earrings, $425, and
necklace (worn throughout),
$950, lucyfolk.com.
Britt wears Bondi Born
swimsuit, $275, bondiborn.
com; Zimmermann sunglasses,
$330, zimmermannwear.com;
Petite Grand earrings, $190,
necklace, $220, and bracelet,
$180, petitegrand.com.














































































PHOTOGRAPHED BY CORRIE BOND STYLED BY CHLOE BUTTENSHAW

Holiday bikini top (sold as
a set), $130, holidaythelabel.
com; Gucci skirt, $2600,
1300 442 878; Birkenstock
shoes (worn throughout), $150,
at theiconic.com.au; Poppy
Lissiman sunglasses, $130,
poppylissiman.com; Poms
earrings, $150, pomspoms.com.
au; Dinosaur Designs bangles,
$70 each, 02-9361 3776. Roxy
wetsuits (on clothes line),
roxyaustralia.com.au.