Amanda Batula On Adult Acne, Mental Health and Her Love-Hate Relationship With Pimple Patches

If I got to give an award for the realest girlie on reality TV, Amanda Batula would be taking the trophy, the flowers and the cake too. While “reality television” in and of itself is supposed to represent real life, it’s easy for unrealistic beauty standards and petty drama to creep in, which is why we need authentic, unabashed figures like Batula to set the record straight.

If you’ve ever tuned into an episode of Summer House, you know Batula from her endeavors with canned cocktail company Loverboy or you’re a fan of her just-launched swimwear line, there is one thing that the New Jersey native carries with her throughout all of her star-studded adventures: honesty. On screen and online, Batula has been real about her struggles with adult acne and depression, making strides to remove the stigma surrounding beauty and mental health, whether she’s dawning a pimple patch on set or posting about dealing with depression on Instagram. Last month I had the opportunity to spend three days in the Catskills with Batula and her go-to acne brand, Face Reality, and not only did I leave the trip feeling like Batula was my close personal friend, I also left with a newfound appreciation for the skin I’m in, and a fair share of Bravo diva-approved beauty reccs, too.

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You’ve been honest about your skin struggles from the jump—can you walk me through your acne and skin-care journey and how it led you to Face Reality?

“I started having breakouts in high school like a lot of kids do, so I went to the dermatologist, went on birth control, and had amazing skin up until my late twenties, when I finally went off birth control. I stopped getting my period, I lost a bunch of weight and then my skin broke out like crazy. I mean big, under the skin pimples—the ones that are painful and almost itchy. I was very self-conscious about it and I sort of hid myself from the world. I wasn’t really going out, I wasn’t posting on social media at all, because I would open Instagram stories and all I would see was just acne. I don’t like using filters, I didn’t want to lie, so I just didn’t do anything.

“I went on Spironolactone for about a year, went off and then back on again, and it did help with those really deep, hurtful breakouts, but I was still continuing to break out after the fact. I needed to find a solution. My friend Paige [DeSorbo], who I do Summer House with, had worked with Face Reality before and loved the products, so I saw her doing that and I was like, ‘OK, Paige influences me all the time.’ We influence each other. So I tried Face Reality and I will never go back now. I’ve been using it for over three months and my skin has truly never looked better. I get compliments even when I have breakouts because the texture and quality of my skin is so much better.”

Face Reality’s message is all about beauty not being blemish free—what does that message mean to you, especially when you’re filming?

“I think beauty comes from the inside out. You can be absolutely breathtaking on the outside and if you are ugly on the inside, people are not attracted to you. They’re not drawn to you. And he same goes in the opposite way—just because your skin is breaking out and you feel gross doesn’t mean that you are not a beautiful person. There’s so much more to us than just our skin and our face. Is it something that we pride ourselves on? Yes, but there’s more to us than the physical stuff. It’s all temporary—there’s more to people than that. So, I think beauty truly comes from within. I think I’m a beautiful person, and I have breakouts and blemishes all the time! I don’t think there’s ever been one week where I’ve had nothing healing or something coming up. Beauty is not blemish free whatsoever, and those blemishes don’t necessarily mean just breakouts either. I think we all have our blemishes in some capacity and we all have our insecurities, but someone out there is looking at you and thinking that you are perfect and you should too.”

I’m a fellow New Jerseyan like yourself—what role did beauty play in your upbringing and how has that influenced your perspective on beauty today?

“I think it’s kind of funny. My grandmother—my mom’s mom—never left the house without makeup. Every day she had her hair done, makeup done, her little outfits on, and my mom sort of took that in. She would always wake up in the morning, shower, do her hair, do her makeup. I remember being younger and thinking, ‘We’re just going to the grocery store, why are you wearing so much makeup?’ And so, I feel like something was instilled in me to love myself for who I am and that I didn’t need to wear makeup when I was that age, and I started questioning why my mom was wearing makeup all the time. She’s actually come back from it a little now—she doesn’t wear as much or she’ll go out now without makeup, and I think that being able to see her in her adult life thrive without a full face of makeup also gives me confidence. I don’t always have to have a full face on, and I think we sort of bounce off each other in that way.”

This is make or break—Is it Taylor Ham or Pork Roll? (If you know, you know)

“[Laughs] Okay—if I’m like in the bagel shop, I’m going to order a Taylor Ham egg and cheese. But sometimes when I talk about it to other people, I will say Pork Roll, egg and cheese. But if I’m ordering, it’s a Taylor Ham egg and cheese off the menu.”

Having been a tv and social media personality for some time, what have you learned about on-screen beauty tips and tricks? 

“Literally, no [laughs]. I say no because even at the most insecure I’ve been, it’s all been in my head. I think less is more honestly. I think people can see right through when you have an insane amount of makeup on, and I think that people are the most beautiful at their most natural. I’m all for makeup, but I love natural enhancements. I wear makeup all the time, but it’s a very natural look, and I think that embracing your natural beauty is the biggest thing for reality TV, because when you’re so done up, it’s so obvious. And then, when you get caught without your makeup on, it’s all ‘This doesn’t even look like you.’ So it’s really all about embracing your natural beauty and embracing your flaws. We all are human and just because I’m on a TV show doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle with the same things that other people do.”

The peeing your tan off story is iconic. Are there any on-screen-specific beauty mishaps that you’ll never forget?

[Editor’s note: Batula told us at dinner the first night of our trip about how she peed off her spray tan in the shower before going on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.] “Funny enough it’s another spray tan-related story. I had a spray tan and I had a few breakouts, so I put pimple patches on, not knowing that you can’t do that after you get a spray tan. So, when I took my pimple patches off, I just had circles all over my face. That was fun to film! I’m huge on pimple patches. I wear patches at the beach and I’ve worn them in the spray tan booth. That’s my biggest faux pas. I love a pimple patch, but they don’t love me.”

Obviously you have a lot going on between your fur babies, Loverboy, Amanda Batula Swim et al—do you have any non-negotiable parts of your day that help you stay grounded?

“Yes! I do morning and nighttime cuddles with my dogs. Their food is frozen, so they get very cold after they eat. I call them morning cuddles because right after they have breakfast, we get on the couch and one gets in between my legs under the covers and the other one gets right under my arm, and I sit there and I scroll social media or answer emails or respond to text messages while laying completely horizontally on the couch, cuddling with my dogs. It’s so cute. We also do that at 5 p.m. because that’s when they eat dinner. We get on the couch and I warm them up and we all cuddle—it’s so regulating because it’s just like having a big weight on you. Every morning after my husband and I take them out we both come in, I feed them and I get right on the couch. They eat so quick and come running to the couch because they love morning cuddles. I will never miss that opportunity.”

What’s is one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?

Less is more, and do what you feel comfortable with, not what everyone else is doing because what works for other people is not going work for you. Don’t just give in to the trends. The smokey eyes I would try to do when I was younger? Oh my gosh, I looked like I had two black eyes. A tight line with black eyeliner was really popular when I was growing up and all my friends looked so snatched, but it would always run down my face. I just looked tired—I looked like I slept in my makeup! It did not work for me, but think that less is more and leaning into your natural beauty and emphasizing your natural features and not trying to change them with makeup is key, because otherwise you’re not going to love yourself without [makeup].”

If you had to pick three desert-island items what would they be?

“Sunscreen. That has to be number one. I unfortunately feel like number two would be my phone—not even to connect with people, but just to scroll TikTok and play my silly games [laughs]. And third would be chicken fingers. Not from anywhere specific, just good, deep-fried chicken fingers with honey mustard.”

I always have to ask—do you have a signature scent?

“The perfume I get the most compliments on is definitely Glossier You ($78), apparently it works for me. One I do really love wearing though is Gucci Flora Gorgeous Magnolia ($138). I was also sent one of the Juliette Has a Gun perfumes and that one is really nice too.