Talking Shop is our series where we talk to interesting people about their most interesting buys.
There’s a high probability that Hannah Berner has made you laugh… I mean giggle. Between her podcast, Giggly Squad, which she co-hosts with Paige DeSorbo (the duo also wrote a bestselling book), her stand-up comedy shows and her man-on-the street style social media videos, odds are you’ve found yourself pulled in by her relatable, authentic, witty sense of humor. And while Berner isn’t totally straying away from what she’s known for in her upcoming Hulu comedy special, she’s getting deeper than ever before.
“I feel like my first Netflix special [We Ride at Dawn] was kind of my introduction to the comedy world, being like, This is me. This is what I’ve been working on the last seven years,” she says. “Now, with this next hour, I feel so free to talk about whatever the hell I want. I get a little more personal — I talk a little more about my own insecurities, I talk about my marriage, I talk about gender roles. I feel like as a comic, you grow every year, so I’m really excited to show people where I’m at now. I’m so proud of this one woman show.”
When it comes to performing, Berner isn’t stopping at stand-up. “Baby, I’m going into acting,” she told me when I asked what’s next. It’s something she’s always wanted to do, and she’s been enjoying the challenge of learning a new skill while taking acting classes and auditioning. “Stand-up is like a one woman Broadway show, so taking the live performance to a screen is fun for me,” she says. “I like creating and entertaining and making people laugh. I love that acting is just a different form of it.”
I caught up with Berner between filming episodes of Giggly Squad, making stops on her tour and taping her comedy special later this month. Below, she shares her green room essentials, what she’s known for Instacart-ing to hotels and how her recent partnership with Lactaid upgraded her morning coffee routine.
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Backstage, Berner says her green room has a relaxed vibe, and she loves chatting with her team and laughing with loved ones before every show. “Comedy is an interesting thing where you almost have to get in a goofy mood before you go on stage. It’s weird to just be serious or sad, and then turn it on the second you’re on stage,” she says. “In my green room, we’re riffing and we’re chilling. People are like, Are you nervous? And I’m like, This is my warm up. I’m having fun.”
Berner always looks over her set list before she does stand-up, and she tries to prioritize hydrating. “You’re supposed to drink a lot of water, but I hate water,” says Berner. “I like to add Nuun or Emergen-C. I throw those in.” Nuun’s electrolyte powder comes in single-serve packets, and you can buy it in flavors like pink lemonade, orange, lemon lime and strawberry kiwi.
Another one of Berner’s pre-show rituals? Opening her Furbo app and checking on her cat, Butter. “The hardest thing about tour is being away from your pet,” says Berner. “My husband, I can talk to, but Butter doesn’t know what’s going on. The Furbo is my Bible. Right before I go on stage, I’m like, I love you, Butter. I miss you. I’ll see you soon. Mommy is working for a better life for us.” The Furbo pet camera, which rotates 360 degrees, lets Berner talk to, hear and see Butter through the app, and toss her treats, too.
“Sometime before I go on stage, I’ll be just scrolling through The RealReal,” says Berner. “Whatever calms you. I don’t want to be on social media because I don’t want to get worked up about something, so I’m on The RealReal or Depop thrifting.” Berner loves searching for vintage fashion, especially from the 90s. “I think it’s fun to be sustainable, but it’s also fun to be wearing stuff that everyone else isn’t wearing,” she says.
“Tour is about the little things because you’re just fighting for your life most of the time,” says Berner. “So when you have a second to just put on a face mask, you’re like, Okay, everything’s great. I have a lot of eye patches, and I have the Biodance face masks, which are great.” Biodance’s face masks are soaked in a serum made with ingredients like collagen and hyaluronic acid, which help moisturize skin, make it more radiant and decrease pore size, according to the brand. The mask turns transparent after you wear it for three to four hours, indicating that your skin has fully absorbed the serum. Alternatively, you can leave it on overnight.
“I’m always ordering Hanes underwear on Amazon because I don’t have time to do laundry on tour,” says Berner. “When I have a long run, I’m only at hotels for so long. I guess I could wash underwear in the sink, but I’m tired, and are we blow-drying them after? I don’t know how that would work. So I’m ordering stuff on Amazon and Instacart-ing stuff all the time. I love me an Instacart.” These Hanes undies are made from a stretchy, lightweight, moisture-wicking cotton fabric, and they’re tag-free to reduce potential discomfort.
“I love iT Cosmetics’ CC cream. It’s so good because it has SPF in it,” says Berner when I asked about her current go-to makeup routine. She uses that as a base to even out her skin tone and contours with Charlotte Tilbury’s bronzer, then moves on to the rest of her makeup. She adds color to her cheeks with Saie’s Dew Bush and enhances her lashes with a swipe of L’Oreal’s Telescopic mascara, then focuses on her lips. “I’m obsessed with Maybelline’s lip liner in the shade On It, and I also love Makeup Forever’s lip liner,” she says. “I’m really into browns right now. I like adding Tower 28’s lip oil jelly on top.” (Editor’s note: Maybelline, Saie, Charlotte Tilbury and L’Oreal have been sponsors of the Giggly Squad podcast.)
“I love dairy, and I love whole milk. I’m not not eating dairy — that’s not going to happen,” says Berner. “When I discovered Lactaid and how they just take out the lactase [from their products], I was like, Women in STEM. These people are geniuses.” Berner has worked with the brand before, and she was especially excited to partner with Lactaid this year as it launched its creamers. “My coffee order is fun. I’m whimsical, I’m cute, this is bringing me joy. I’m not drinking black coffee. Do I respect those people? Yes, but I don’t have anything to talk to them about,” she says. “I’m not torturing myself. I want my coffee to taste like ice cream. I don’t drink alcohol, so this is my party at 8 a.m., and I’m not a morning person, but this gives me something to look forward to.”
Berner’s favorite Lactaid creamer is the sweet cream flavor, but she often mixes it with the brand’s caramel and French vanilla flavors, too. “I’m a woman of the arts,” says Berner. “I love a latte with a flavor in it — I’m at the point where I can’t have a latte without flavor in it, or it feels boring.”
I’m a reporter at NBC Select who writes our Talking Shop series, interviewing people like Chace Crawford, Dorinda Medley, Miranda Kerr and Brooke Shields. To write this article, I interviewed Hannah Berner about her favorite products.
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