“Growing up in a very small country town in Australia, I had an appreciation for fashion, but I never thought it would be a career option for me. I saw people working in fashion on TV, sure, but we didn’t even have boutiques.
I began working for the Australian government straight out of high school. It’s so crazy to look back now because it feels like a different life, but I started as an admin officer in the state government. I spent about four years there, and during that time, I made my first luxury purchase. I remember so vividly the day I walked into the Celine store and walked out with the Celine Trapeze bag in all black. It was the first bag that I bought myself.
Even though I was working full-time, I had a little blog on the side—this was during the heyday of blogging—where I documented my outfits and latest buys. Eventually, I realized that there was a creative streak in me and that fashion is really where I wanted to be, so I resigned from the government in 2015. Styling felt the most organic to me, so I went down that quest in a very simple way. I did a few little campaign shoots and styled a few private clients, which took me to Los Angeles for a couple of months.
In LA, I had this lightbulb moment where I thought, ‘Wow, they’re getting so much stock over here that I know Australia doesn’t get.’ I knew that there was a luxury consumer in Australia, so I also knew that there was a market potential for sourcing.
CAREER
I began crafting a business around the idea of being a ‘luxury personal buyer,’ which later turned into sourcing, in January of 2018. I was only serving clients in Australia when I launched in July, purely because I never thought that I could go international. I had maybe 3,000 Instagram followers, and I was sourcing a lot of Celine and Chanel at the time. Then in December of 2018, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley posted on Instagram that she was looking for a specific Celine coat. I remember thinking, ‘I can find that coat, but I have no way of getting a hold of Rosie.’ Maybe two weeks passed, and a girl that had followed me on Instagram messaged me and said, ‘Hi! I’m speaking with Rosie. I’ve been keeping an eye on what you’re doing. Is this a coat that you could find?’ I said, ‘Yes.’
When I found it, Rosie did a 12-Story series on Instagram about track ing it down, and she also put it on her Instagram Feed, writing, ‘Coat of my dreams … tracked down by the amazing Gab Waller.’ Suddenly, 10,000 followers came in from all over the world, and within 24 hours, American Vogue did a story called, ‘Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Just Found the Secret to Tracking Down Old Celine.’ Very shortly after, I sourced the same coat for Hailey Bieber. I went from having this tiny business to sourcing for international clients. I look back now, and Rosie’s post was the changing moment for my career.
Towards the end of 2019, I thought the next step was to base myself in LA, and I eventually moved two years later because of the pandemic. Once I was in LA, I obtained more clients like Lori Harvey, Hilary Duff, and Khloé Kardashian. I’ve sourced numerous pieces for her and for little True. Actually, the first item that I sourced for Khloé was for her daughter; it was a pair of baby Dior sneakers that she wore for Christmas in 2021. Following that, I sourced a couple more pieces for Khloé, like a pink Alex Perry jumpsuit and matching Dior looks for True’s fourth birthday.
At present, I’m sourcing a lot of Alaïa. The most requested item is their fishnet ballerina flats. I’m also getting a lot of requests for Miu Miu; I’m still getting requests for their biker boots. I’m seeing Sofia Richie Grainge’s effect firsthand. She wears a piece or a brand, and in come the requests. For example, I didn’t get a whole lot of requests for brands like The Row, Khaite, or Toteme previously, but they’re three of my most requested right now.
SKINCARE
I swear by an Australian brand called Rationale. They have a cult following in Australia for creating beautiful, glowy skin, and they just launched in the States late last year with a flagship on Melrose Place. I am one of those people that once I find what works, I’m nervous to introduce anything new, so right now, my morning routine is made up of just Rationale products. First, I cleanse with their #4 Cleanser. I follow it up with their #2 Serum. Their #3 Enriched Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 15 is my ride-or-die—if I were stranded on an island and I could only take one product, it would be this jar. SPF is the most important part of my beauty routine, especially with my love of the sun, but my skin has a tendency for redness and the #3 SPF immediately softens it. That said, since it’s only SPF 15, I like to layer Rationale’s #3 Tinted Serum Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ on top. It gives me this real glow as well, and that’s always the goal.
At night, I use Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water to get any makeup off. Melanie Grant, who’s also Australian and an amazing facialist here in LA, got me on to Bioderma after I told her I was struggling to get my makeup off. Then I cleanse with my Rationale #4 Cleanser again. I’m loving the Joanna Czech C+ Serum at the moment, which is very out of character for me because I stick to what I know and love. It is incredible and makes my skin feel so nourished. Then I use Rationale’s #6 Night Crème.
I explored fillers in the past, but I had a bit of a jarring experience with some terrible bruising, and that scarred me. However, I started getting Botox when I was either 25 or 26 to soften my frown lines. Now, I usually just get it on my forehead and my crow’s feet. It took me a little while to find a go-to place, but I found the most incredible injector, Xochitl Renteln, at Facile on Melrose Place. I’ve had Botox done at places where it felt so rushed. At Facile, they sit you down and talk through what you want, almost like a consultation. It’s the only place I’ve gone where it felt like they really cared.
BODY
Salt and Stone’s Bergamot and Eucalyptus Body Wash has the greatest scent in the world, and every once in a while, I’ll use Osea’s Salts of the Earth Body Scrub to exfoliate. But my real ride-or-die is Sol de Janeiro’s Brazilian Bum Bum Cream. The scent is just unreal. I won’t wear perfume, but I’ll go outside and everyone compliments my scent. It’s always the bloody Bum Bum cream! My sister, who I’m very close with, had a baby last year. I wasn’t in Australia when she went to the hospital, so she took a container of the cream with her because it smelled like me. It made her feel like I was there. And because I love a sunkissed look, I always put on some sort of bronzing liquid before I head out. Summer Fridays’ Pool Time Glowing Body Oil is the best.
MAKEUP
Pia Mance got me onto the Augustinus Bader The Cream. I mix it with the Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Face Primer to prep for makeup. That combination really amps up my skin’s glowiness, and my foundation goes on so smoothly, too.
I had been a Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation gal for many years—and I still love it—but I was ready for a change maybe eight months ago. I kept hearing about Kosas and then I went to a dinner where the founder, Sheena Zadeh-Daly, was sitting next to me and she was talking about her brand. I started with their Revealer Foundation in shade 230, and I have not looked back. It’s lightweight, but it has the amount of coverage that I want. I also use Kosas’s Glow I.V. Skin Illuminating Enhancer in Awaken Medium Tan. And for concealer, I use the Hourglass Brightening Vanish Airbrush Concealer in Dune. This is all being applied with a Beautyblender, which I love.
I’m not really a blush gal because I’m trying so hard to get rid of any redness or pinkness on my skin with makeup. And also, I’m more about looking bronzed. I love Patrick Ta’s Major Sculpt Crème Contour & Powder Bronzer Duo in She’s Chiseled, and Hourglass’s Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light. Usually, I’ll do a very basic contour underneath my bronzer with Merit’s Bronze Balm in Seine, and then I add the Patrick Ta or Hourglass bronzer on my forehead, cheeks, and chin. Merit is a relatively new brand that I’ve been introduced to, and I’m also loving their tubing mascara so much. I like that it doesn’t clump, and you can layer it on if need be. It’s just a very natural everyday mascara, too.
And then I have little sticks of Rhode’s Lip Treatment everywhere. I love the Salted Caramel flavor, and I will reapply throughout the day if I want a little bit of a glossy lip. But my usual lip is Fenty’s Gloss Bomb in FU$$Y over Hourglass’s Unlocked Satin Crème Lipstick in Oasis 312. I just love the color combination.
FRAGRANCE
I always wear perfume. I definitely lean more towards ‘feminine’ scents—fresh, sweet, and kind of floral. Armani’s My Way is probably the one that gets me the most compliments, but I’m testing a few, including Byredo’s Eleventh Hour, right now.
I’m also such a candle gal. I love vanilla and caramel scents for my home. I can spot at least five candles just around my desk space. [Laughs] Hotel Lobby Candle’s Island, which has a vanilla base, is great. The other ones I’ve been lighting recently are Diptyque’s Baies, which is semi-new to me, and Le Labo’s Santal 33.
HAIR
I love Milbon’s Repair Restorative Shampoo and Restorative Treatment, but I also love Crown Affair as a brand. I do a slick look if I’m on the run in the mornings, and their Finishing Gel really helps. I also swear by their Dry Shampoo.
I get my hair colored by Alexis Von Kuykendall in Venice. I’m in West Hollywood — that’s a trek for me—but I’m very particular about my color, and finding the right hair artist is quite challenging. I connected with Alexis when I visited LA in 2016. She dyed my hair blonde just before I went home to Australia, and for years, I followed her on Instagram. When I moved to the States, I went back to her.
I’m quite simple with my styling. I’ll usually have it straight, if I’m doing it myself with my Dyson Corrale straightener. Otherwise, I love a blow dry when I have to go to big events. The particular beachy wave that I really like I just can’t do myself—I’ve really tried—so I go to Nicolas Flores at the Sally Hershberger Salon.
NAILS
I used to get nail extensions because I had this idea in my mind that I just couldn’t grow out my nails. Then I was connected to nail artist Olivia de Montagnac last summer. She’s known for doing natural nails, but I saw her and said, ‘Can we put extensions on?’ [Laughs] She asked, ‘What are your thoughts on growing out your real ones? We can do it. Just trust the process.’ I did, and my nails have never ever been longer and stronger.
Olivia applies a hard gel on your natural nails, so they feel quite tough. That obviously prevents me from biting or chewing them, and now, they keep growing and growing and growing. Finally, they’re exactly where I’ve always wanted them to be. However I’m not one to put colors on my nails—I feel like they won’t work with my outfit. If I have red nails and I wear something brown, I feel like it’s too much.”
—As told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Brittany Bravo in Los Angeles on November 14, 2023