Pimple Patch or Accessory? How Starface Changed the Way We See Breakouts
March 5 | 5 minute read
Words by Izzy Wight
It wasn’t surprising to see Charli XCX sporting black Starface pimple patches in her new mockumentary, The Moment. In fact, it made perfect sense – the Brat-era satire is about as zeitgeist-y a film as they come, and Starface is a conversation-starting, perception-shifting breakout brand with serious cultural cache.
Starface is behind the novelty-shaped patches seen on the runway of New York designer Ashley Williams, in campaign photos for Marc Jacobs’ Heaven and on the faces of Gen Z juggernauts like Iris Law, Tate McRae, PinkPantheress, Alysa Liu, Amelia Gray and Central Cee (to name a few).
With a hydrocolloid layer, the patches not only look adorable, but work to absorb fluid, reduce redness and shrink spots. Put simply, Starface makes breakout treatments that feel like a delight to apply – something former beauty writer Julie Schott had never experienced prior to launching the brand in 2019.
“I think I'm a pretty nostalgic person,” she says on her first-ever trip to Australia, visiting from LA with co-founder Brian Bordainick to celebrate the launch of Starface on MECCA’s shelves. "I remember growing up, the beauty ideal was really binary. I was writing about it and observing it and also coming of age at that time.”
Schott, a self-professed ‘magazine nerd’, spent a decade as a beauty editor for publications like xoJane and Elle, writing about product launches and model makeup routines while navigating her own acne journey.
“I know it's hard to believe, but you couldn't get decorative pimple patches, period. We were starting to be able to get clear patches. We didn’t invent the product, but we believed that if it could be decorative, there would be a switch that flipped,” she explains.
And flip it did. Working in collaboration with Bordainick, an entrepreneur, the pair created a brand built on something that felt completely new: a sense of humour. Laughing, the pair recall the era of sobering acne infomercials, ‘miracle solutions’ and dramatic before-and-afters: “When we started in the skincare space, it was so fear-based. You were made to feel there was something wrong with you,” Bordainick says.
In a time of ‘undetectable’ beauty (read: covert cosmetic procedures and non-surgical tweaks), Starface chooses to “address the elephant in the room,” as Schott puts it. “I always thought acne was cute. I personally find it, like, very sexy and endearing to see human skin – texture, breakouts, pimple patches, the whole thing – versus what looks like an AI amalgamation of a person.”
It’s true that as brand founders, Schott and Bordainick have a knack for making the taboo feel endearing. They’re honest, self-aware and passionate about creating a product that works, but never takes itself too seriously. Case in point: their other brand Julie, the next-gen emergency contraception pill Olivia Rodrigo handed out to Missouri concertgoers back in 2024.
Editor’s note: Julie is a levonorgestrel medication only available in the United States. It is not regulated or approved for sale in Australia or Aotearoa (New Zealand).
I ask Schott why, after skincare, they chose to create a contraception brand. “We’re inspired by experiences we’ve lived through – that's first and foremost. The experience of not wanting to be pregnant and looking at your options is something that many, many individuals, men and women, can relate to. And we knew there was this safe option that people were underutilising,” she says.
Bordainick continues: “I think when we're doing our best work, it's connected to something that people feel is affecting them, but there isn't an outward conversation happening around it. It can be a very isolating experience. That's been very cool for us, to build a sense of community around these moments.”
Whether they’re tackling pimples or unwanted pregnancy, Schott and Bordainick do so without shame – and encourage their community to follow suit.
“We're showing up in a time that feels serious. When you're dealing with feelings of self-consciousness and low self-esteem, it’s hard to talk about,” Schott explains. “With Julie in particular, I thought, ‘How do I actually talk about this with my friends?’ Making someone laugh is disarming. It’s the quickest way to connect.”
