Holly Garber
On her skincare routine:
“For my face I use rosehip oil, followed by a moisturiser – currently Go-To but I mix it up. I always put on SPF, generally Aesop 50+. I like the smell and it also doesn’t leave a white residue.”
On her everyday make-up:
“Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser, M.A.C mascara (after curling my lashes) – I like the Haute & Naughty Lash as it has the thick brush for my top lashes and the thin one for my bottom lashes. Then Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon for cheeks.”
On how she keeps her skin clear:
“I don’t drink coffee or alcohol so that helps. I try to keep my skincare relatively simple and use largely natural products. Oil helps a lot, my skin seems to do well with oil. I’m always aiming for that healthy ‘glow’ and that tends to come about when I’m well, rested and not overly distracted or stressed. I try to keep calm and be gentle with myself as much as possible”.
“I’m not a big one for fragrance…but if I do wear anything it’s Philosykos by Diptyque for day and Daphne from Comme des Garcons by Daphne Guiness for night. It’s a pretty major perfume but really appropriate for a night out. And I spray rosewater on my face quite a bit as my partner likes the smell of that!
On her hair routine:
“I’ll occasionally use a bit of hair oil or a straightener to smooth it out and that is about it.”
On her hair maintenance:
“I recently tried to go shampoo free which in theory takes two to four weeks for your hair to recalibrate and be a better version of itself. However that is a lie because after two months my hair was still hideous. So now I am back to washing it every second day and I then just let it air dry.”
On her earliest beauty memory:
“It’s not glamorous but it was getting my legs waxed – I had wanted to get them done for a while and my mum finally agreed when I was about 13 I think. I remember the salon and the process in quite a lot of detail.”
On her product obsessions:
“Rosehip oil for my face and sweet almond oil for my body. I find having a hot shower and then moisturising with oil is the perfect way to relax before bed.”
On her favourite beauty treatments:
“I prefer to get a massage over anything else. I currently see Maggie at Sigh Massage who does an incredible myofascial release massage that sorts my whole body out, it’s a total transformation. She drops my shoulders down and back, evens up my hips, releases my jaw… life changing!”
On her kitchen skills:
“I like to bake, especially cakes. Current favourite is an olive oil, rosemary and dark chocolate cake.”
On her signature beauty look:
“Mascara and a touch of blush. If I want to take it up a notch I’ll either add a red lip using NARS in Dragon Girl or line my eyes in a kohl pencil.”
On the one product she can’t live without:
“Mascara. I have very pale lashes so they are invisible without it.”
On beauty as part of her style:
“It is in that I prefer a very un-manicured look. I like (hope) to look healthy and relaxed but not done up in any way.”
On what she loves about working in the fashion industry:
“I can’t distil it down exactly but I just really enjoy what I do. I love having my own business, I really enjoy working with my team and working with different brands and seeing their challenges and their progression. And I really enjoy working with creative people. I like both sides, the creative and the commercial and GOLIGHTLY allows me to explore and enjoy both. I can’t complain.”
On her exercise regime:
“I’m a bit obsessed with Pilates and specifically with Fluid Form pilates and my teacher Kirsten King. Not only is she a brilliant teacher but she is also a source of great information about pregnancy and babies as well as being caring and nurturing to boot. So going to my pilates classes is a total pleasure. And practicing pilates makes my body feel strong and work well. I tend towards bad posture and a sore back and pilates helps keep me a little fluid and feel good about my body. I’m a complete advocate for it.
On her personal style:
“Simple, clean, boyish.”
How how her beauty routine has changed since becoming a mother:
“It’s simplified. I use less products and try to use products that are relatively natural. I used to have more facials and manicures but I now choose a massage and pilates over those things. I remember when Violet was younger that having a shower felt like the most amazing thing in the world to have all that time to yourself just to stand and do nothing!”
On how she got into fashion:
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for a long time and then after doing political economics at university I realised that I wanted to work in fashion. From there I used a process of elimination to decide to go into PR. I knew I didn’t want to design or do production and I wasn’t that interested in sales. I knew what PR was and thought that sounded interesting and also a potential stepping stone into the business side of the industry which I was and still am really interested in. I started out as PR assistant at sass & bide and then started GOLIGHTLY. It’s a nice mix of working in fashion and PR and running my own business which is something I was always interested in. So it all worked out well”.
“I like to keep things simple in terms of what I put into and onto my body. In the same way I don’t eat processed foods, my preference is to use products that are as simple as possible.”
On her product pick-me-ups:
“Mascara and a whole lot of moisturiser.”
On her favourite designers:
“My favourite brands to wear are Lover, Dion Lee, MARNI, CAMILLA AND MARC, Isabel Marant and Acne.”
Pictured: Holly’s dog, Dash.
On her ideal Sunday morning activities:
“Very little, breakfast with my partner Huw and daughter Violet and a trip to the playground afterwards for Violet.”
On her earliest beauty memory:
“It’s not glamorous but it was getting my legs waxed – I had wanted to get them done for a while and my mum finally agreed when I was about 13 I think. I remember the salon and the process in quite a lot of detail.”
“I’m not really one for sentimental pieces of apparel. However my engagement ring is pretty special, I’m super delighted to be engaged to my partner Huw and it’s nice to have a permanent reminder of that on me at all times.”
On what’s most important to her:
“Family.”
For someone who recently celebrated an incredible ten-year anniversary in a career navigating the mercurial Australian fashion racket, Holly Garber is remarkably Zen.
As founder and director of boutique agency Golightly PR, Holly represents a world-class slice of Antipodean talent (Dion Lee, Karen Walker and Lover) and influential global giants (Uniqlo, Stylebop.com), and she has an eye for fashion talent that’s borderline prophetic.
She was, for example, tuned-in to the internationally acclaimed talents of home-grown stars Dion Lee and Tome long before their collections were ubiquitous on the runways of New York Fashion Week and in the pages of Vogue. Her professional MO is never pandering, always cool, composed and charming – and with a refreshing intolerance for bullshit.
Considering how influential she is in the surging microcosm of Australian fashion and beyond, she’s probably – and maybe surprisingly – one of the most contentedly domestic women imaginable.
Her favourite pastimes are almost hilariously anti-glam: gardening, reading and the warm sense of hospitality that is the stuff of folklore among her friends (“I like to bake, especially cakes. Current favourite is an olive oil, rosemary and dark chocolate cake.”). Recipe to, hopefully, follow.
And, since becoming the smitten mother of gorgeous one-year-old daughter, Violet, whom she had with long-term partner, Huw Bennett, she says she’s simplified her approach to beauty.
“I used to have more facials and manicures but I now choose a massage and pilates over those things. I remember when Violet was younger, that having a shower felt like the most amazing thing in the world to have all that time to yourself just to stand and do nothing!”
Despite an obvious appreciation for the smaller luxuries, Holly easily admits the more simplified philosophy has occasionally misfired when experimenting with beauty trends – like the fabled (and historically somewhat successful) anti-shampoo technique used to bolster hair condition.
“So I recently tried to go shampoo free” she said, “which, in theory, takes two to four weeks for your hair to recalibrate and be a better version of itself. However that is a lie because after two months my hair was still hideous. So now I am back to washing it every second day and then just let it air dry. I’ll occasionally use a bit of hair oil or a straightener to smooth it out and that is about it.”
If you browse Google Images – as one does – Holly’s like a human highlight reel of great taste (but she’ll probably kill me for saying that). “Simple, clean, boyish” is how she describes her personal style with an aesthetically apropos line-up of favourite brands to wear that includes Lover, Dion Lee and CAMILLA AND MARC as well as MARNI, Isabel Marant and Acne.
Outside of the considerably chic business milieu of her office and showroom, she’s enamoured by her partner and daughter and making time for their family. Because, as the work-life equilibrium is concerned, Holly’s grasp on it is incredibly well-earned.
Photographed by Rudy Zverina
Words by Susannah Tucker
