I had barely arrived in Australia when I first heard the name Zoë Foster Blake.
I had recently moved to Sydney after leaving my features editor role in London to take up the same position in Australia. Not long after arriving, I found myself at a bustling Cosmopolitan magazine party.
The finer details have long since disappeared — I struggle to remember yesterday, let alone more than two decades ago. It was probably a launch party for an eyeliner. What I do recall is the raffle, and the moment the winner was announced among a crowd of tipsy magazine staffers: Zoë Foster Blake, then Cosmo’s beauty editor.
Everyone applauded enthusiastically as the bright-eyed, petite brunette bounded forward to claim her goodie bag.
The woman standing beside me leaned over and whispered that Zoë was someone to watch — young, attractive, driven and seemingly destined for major success.
“She’s one of the luckiest girls in Sydney,” she said enviously as we cheered Zoë on.
She turned out to be right.
Two decades later, Zoë Foster Blake is one of Australia’s most prominent businesswomen. She is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, founder of Go-To skincare and multimillionaire, as well as the wife of comedian Hamish Blake and the mother of two children, aged 12 and nine.
Zoë Foster Blake has built an extraordinary career as a bestselling author, entrepreneur and Go-To skincare founder. She is also a multimillionaire, married to comedian Hamish Blake and mother to two children, aged 12 and nine.
Amanda Goff argues that Zoë appears to have lost sight of the beauty standards she criticises — the same standards that helped make her wealthy. She is pictured promoting her Go-To skincare range.
Amanda Goff believes beauty entrepreneur Zoë Foster Blake has become disconnected from just how fortunate she is.
There is no denying that she is intelligent, accomplished and has created an empire most women could only imagine. And, genuinely, good for her. I am not interested in tearing women down, nor do I resent successful women for standing out. When achievements are deserved, I am entirely in favour of celebrating them.
But I also believe in calling things as I see them. Being a woman does not mean anyone should receive an automatic free pass. Women have written unflattering pieces about me over the years, but looking back, were they fair at the time? In many cases, probably.
That is how the media operates. I have always believed that publicity is publicity, and, as I have said before, I took the criticism on the chin and moved on fairly quickly.
Which brings me back to Zoë.
Oh, Zoë.
After hearing her recent appearance on Mamamia’s Unleashed podcast — an interview that left me cringing — I found myself wondering whether the woman who once happily collected a raffle prize at a magazine party has become too removed from the everyday realities of ordinary women.
Before anyone takes offence, this is not an attack on the podcast itself.
The focus is its guest.
Zoë is currently promoting her new novel, Group Chat, which follows a group of perimenopausal friends on a trip to Greece.
Let’s set aside the fact that nothing thrills this multimillionaire more than a spontaneous girls’ trip to Europe, while most of us baulk at the cost of a Jetstar flight to the Sunshine Coast.
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Zoë complained about how much preparation she needs for publicity appearances, while her husband Hamish can simply throw on some trousers, pop a hat over his messy hair, and walk out the door. (Hamish is seen here looking like he’s made considerable effort)
‘You built a multimillion-dollar beauty business selling products to us to improve our appearance, yet you now complain about the pressure to look good?’ writes Amanda Goff. (Zoë is pictured out exercising)
So it’s not her book that has my eyes rolling – although if I hear the words ‘perimenopause’ and ‘female empowerment’ again, I may start screaming, and not because of my hormones.
I just think Zoë has lost sight of just how fortunate she is. She’s on a book tour – a BOOK TOUR – which means endless media interviews for podcasts, TV, radio and magazines, all to promote her latest novel, but describes press interviews as ‘taxing in terms of energy… but also as female, taxing in terms of appearance…’
Woah, Zoë. Hold up.
I know the drill. I’ve written four books myself and done the publicity tour, the early starts for morning TV, crappy daytime shows (don’t get me started on reporter Sally Bowrey’s disgusting takedown of me on live TV – I’ll write about that in another column), the sitting around for hours waiting for your three minutes on camera. And yes, there’s the hair and make-up… done by a professional at the studio.
But here’s the thing. It’s a privilege.
Someone has published your book! Someone thinks it’s worth talking about! And with any luck, people might actually buy it.
Never once did I complain. Not once. I was always very, very grateful.
So imagine my disdain when Zoë began lamenting how much preparation she needs for publicity appearances, while her husband Hamish can simply throw on some trousers, pop a hat over his messy hair and walk out the door.
‘I just lost my s**t, it’s just so unfair,’ she whinged, insisting her job was so much harder. She complained she had to sift through the ‘shrapnel of clothes’ to choose from, make sure her nails were done, and her hair sorted – because all podcasts are filmed these days.
Quelle horreur! Imagine complaining about how HARD it is to be on a book tour, and how easy Hamish has it… because apparently she spends ‘hours’ getting ready, picking from her beauty products and designer labels, and agonising over that age-old question: has she done her nails?
Someone please fetch the smelling salts!
I’ll say it again: writing a book is a privilege. You’re not stacking shelves at Aldi or waxing ball sacks for a crust. Yapping on about how hard life is when you’ve been given a very public spotlight spruiking your chick-lit to the bobbing heads of Mamamia is a bit rich coming from a literal beauty mogul whose fortune is built on women overthinking their skincare (Zoë, do we really need an expensive oil for our lips? What happened to Vaseline?)
To see her using her book tour to yap on about double standards between men and women is so utterly out of touch, especially as the standards she’s speaking about are entirely self-imposed.
Zoë, your book will fly off the shelves if you go on a podcast with or without your undereye concealer.
You built a multimillion-dollar beauty business selling products to us to improve our appearance, yet you now complain about the pressure to look good?
You couldn’t make it up.
Isn’t this the very industry that has spent decades convincing women their faces and skin aren’t good enough?
And now one of its most successful entrepreneurs wants our sympathy because she feels obliged to look polished for a podcast, selling her books that will make her even richer.
Zoë, do you really want to challenge the beauty standards imposed on women? Maybe start with questioning the industry that makes you rich.