P.E Nation co-founder Claire Greaves has teamed up with Australian celebrity Celeste Barber to launch a new beauty brand called Booie Beauty.
It comes a few months after Greaves stepped down from the P.E Nation helm, leaving co-founder Pip Edwards and CEO Hamish Stuart in charge.
The brand launched today via a dedicated website, selling a five-piece makeup collection. This includes an illuminator moisturiser, a lip, eye and cheek tint, mascara, eyebrow gel tint and lip balm, with prices ranging from $21 to $39.
Speaking with Ragtrader, Greaves said the transition from P.E Nation to other creative opportunities such as Booie Beuaty has been natural. Greaves is still involved with P.E Nation in a strategic director capacity and as a major shareholder.
“The opportunity to co-found a beauty brand came at a time in my career when I really wanted to be open and available to additional creative endeavours,” Greaves said. “And while it’s one of many ventures I’m part of, it’s a really, really exciting one.
“The opportunity to co-found a beauty brand with Celeste was a no-brainer. I have so much respect for her and what she has done with her career, and when she told me about the beauty brand, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved in any capacity.”
Greaves said Booie Beauty and P.E Nation are both creatively run product brands, making it easier for her to transfer her insights and learnings from one to the other.
Ultimately, Booie is a designed product in a different form, and so, understanding the customer, their preferences, and trends and then adapting to market needs has been key.
“With Celeste understanding her audience in such an intrinsic and personable way, we’ve been able to clearly identify and build a brand story that resonates, and then make really sound solutions-based decisions specific to our target market.
“While the fashion and beauty categories differ, effectively the principles of customer focus, brand building, operational efficiency, digital engagement, and innovation remain crucial for success across both.”
Greaves confirmed that the new brand will initially launch entirely online, utilising press exclusives, a targeted rollout, appearances on morning TV, and radio segments.
“Of course, we’ll leverage Celeste’s social media channels to maximise reach and engagement, but ultimately the goal is for the brand to stand on its own – we really believe the brand’s values and offerings will deeply resonate with our target market.
“Over time, we’ll expand our touchpoints with other activations.”
Greaves said she met Celeste through a mutual friend around six years ago.
“We were having lunch late last year when she told me about her vision around Booie. She had this incredible idea, and I had the operational know-how to help her get it to market.
“Celeste and I worked closely on selecting production partners, warehousing, design, branding and developing a clear ethos. Once all of these were identified and in place, we started hiring from the top down.
“Throughout my career, I have worked with extremely talented and creative people who I rallied together to bring the brand to life.”
Amid the dive into beauty, Greaves has also entered the consultancy arena as a creative business consultant.
“I also recently co-founded Sun Ranch – a Byron hotel steeped in classic Californian horse ranch influences and 70s nostalgia. And in between all of that, I just held my debut art exhibition, ‘I’ll Go Wherever’ at Comber Street Studios in Paddington.
“This collection was really about celebrating the beauty of transformation. I’ve always had a lifelong dedication to art and my newfound exploration of painting culminated in this exhibition that I felt was both deeply personal and also (hopefully others found!) universally resonant.
“In any case, transitioning from my roots in charcoal, pencil, and pen to embracing full-colour painting, is equal parts therapeutic and a whole lot of fun.”
Co-founder Barber said the launch of Booie resolves a glaring gap in the market.
“We conceptualised Booie as a brand for people who the beauty industry forgot about,” she said. “For those who aren’t necessarily confident with makeup and who often feel totally overwhelmed by the abundance of choice, but still love makeup and would love to be included.
“Those people are my people, my audience. There's a definite need in the beauty industry for high quality, straightforward, cruelty-free, and affordable products. Booie meets that need. At its core though, Booie is for everyone.”
Barber said she has built her career on “exposing bullshit”, and that to have ownership over this venture means she has full authority to meet consumer needs.
“I’m all about people celebrating the best version of themselves, however that looks,” she said. “Right now, it’s five products that’ll get you out the door, it’s buildable if you need it to be, and you can add it to a full face if you just need a little finisher for your beauty regime.”
Greaves agreed, saying individuality and accessibility is the cornerstone of the business.
“It allows people to be who they are - just fresher. It’s exactly how I wear makeup.”