“We all have bad days”: Anna Paul on privacy, her new skincare brand and her meteoric rise to fame
IMAGE VIA @ANNAPAUL/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“I used to post and not care what everyone got to see, but I’ve learnt that I have to have some boundaries for my safety.”
Anna Paul has been posting snippets of her life on the internet since she was 12 years old. Now at 25, she has a cumulative 9.6 million followers across her social media platforms; a testament to the idea that consistency is the key to success. But despite her newfound fame, Anna never started this journey with a specific goal in mind. As she told News.com.au back in 2020, “I had TikTok when people would make fun of you for having TikTok.”
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Most recently, Anna’s made her foray into the world of beauty with Paullie, a vibrant, accessible skincare line designed with her dedicated Gen Z fan base in mind. After announcing the launch in September, Paullie has amassed a six-figure waitlist, with fans holding out for its fruity lip scrubs and candy-coloured clay masks. Ahead of her Melbourne Central Paullie pop-up this weekend, we spoke to Anna about fame, self-love and starting a business.
Your rise to internet fame seemed to happen within a matter of months. How did it feel to have so many people invested in your life suddenly?
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I have always been online – I even used to stream live on Twitch – and then during Covid, I started vlogging my life just to show people how you can have fun with the small things in life, particularly when you are locked inside your house! [It was] things that seemed boring like my morning routine, what I was eating and the fun things I was doing with my family during lockdown, but making it fun. Then, as my following continued to grow, people would ask me every day for updates and what I was eating, so I just kept posting every day and the community just grew and grew.
Why the move into skincare and beauty?
Skincare has always been a passion of mine. As someone who hasn’t always had clear skin, finding products that actually worked for me has been a struggle. Just like my content, I also felt like every brand was trying to be perfect – the perfect aesthetic, the on-trend beige colour – and that was too serious for me. I wanted to have fun.
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Skincare should be fun, it’s like a little ritual. I wanted to create my own [skincare line] that worked for my skin and hopefully others, while also putting a smile on your face. The other thing that’s crazy is the price of skincare. It’s so expensive to keep up with the latest trends so I wanted something fun, exciting and affordable. I know from my childhood what it’s like to be excluded because of price… I wanted everyone to be able to have something from Paullie.
What challenges have you faced starting your own business?
It’s been overwhelming. I didn’t even know what a formulation chemist was but wow, they’ve taught me a lot. You get these long and in-depth documents that explain the clinical benefits, and the trials that the ingredients have been through. It’s been really cool to learn so much about how skincare works, and also what’s safe for skin at different ages.
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And then on top of that, we had some small supply issues with our manufacturer, which meant our products (which amazingly sold out), have taken longer to get back in stock than I would’ve liked. Luckily we have plenty of new products coming out that everyone is loving!
How have you changed since you first launched your TikTok account?
I’m more careful about my home! I used to post and not care what everyone got to see, but I’ve learnt that I have to have some boundaries for my safety. But personally, I’m still the same. I love hanging out with my family and spend most of my time (when I’m not travelling) at home with them.
Can you describe a typical working day in your life?
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Every day for me is different, and I wouldn’t say I have a typical working day. It changes depending if I am home or travelling, but I am always vlogging so that takes up a lot of my time throughout the day. Then I take business calls for Paullie, sample new products and meet with my team to chat through any upcoming content I need to film. Then I go home and cook a delicious home-cooked meal because that’s one of my favourite things to do.
What’s something you wish people knew about you?
That’s a tough one. I share so much of myself online that I feel like everyone knows almost everything about me. But I will say that even though I feel so blessed to have everything I do and for how amazing my life is, it isn’t perfect. I hope people know that we all have bad days and weeks. I recently posted a video and said “If you’re having a bad day, treat yourself like a baby”.
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I believe that – we’re all too hard on ourselves. When you’re ready, tomorrow or next week find something that makes you happy and do it! Even if it is just rewatching your favourite movie, it doesn’t matter. Do something for yourself because you deserve it.
You can follow Anna for more here.
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