Even though it’s such a sophisticated scent, it really does work for everyone. There are some fantastic versions of the fragrance. Do you have a favorite?
I think the Sì Intense ($158). That was the first one that I tried. I’m not sure why, but it’s my favorite. The Passione ($158) is probably the runner-up, but I’d say those two are my favorites.
Are you a person who wears fragrance every day or are you a person who reserves it for special occasions?
I used to only wear it for a special event, but over the last year or two, I’ve definitely started wearing it every day. I think it’s so nice to have a go-to signature scent that people associate with you. You can leave a lasting impression on someone with it—just having a connection to a scent, I think, can be really powerful, and I’ve loved having that as of recently. I’m definitely very routine with applying fragrance every day.
Mai Ling is going on a bit of a sartorial journey in season three too. “We start the season off classic because we have to remind the audience because it’s been so many years. But then she just veers off,” Doan shares. “In season two, I was used to all of the greens, browns, blacks, maybe a very dark navy blue, and all of a sudden, they’re pulling out bright blues, pinks, and light purples.”
From the get-go, Warrior has been praised for its costume design. With Moira Anne Meyer at the helm and a team of talented local craftsmen, the show has put out enough noteworthy looks to fill entire warehouses. But it’s with its alluring female leads, particularly Mai Ling and brothel madam Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng), where the bold design work really shines. Think 1870s-inspired looks with contemporary touches.
Doan says she has a fondness for Mai Ling’s classic warrior garb. “As soon as that shift happened in power, I called it my uniform. It was full leather, a lot of buckling details, and even my posture changes. As soon as I’m strapped in, it zips up, and my whole body, my shoulders are up and back. It’s the most incredible feeling,” she says. Beautiful and powerful, yes, but definitely not practical. In the Cape Town summer, where temperatures regularly reach 95° to 100° Fahrenheit, Doan says the suit becomes a “sweatsuit sauna.”
For a character that is never allowed to wear the same costume twice and is often wearing three to four looks an episode, Doan is in the costume department the most out of anyone. She guesstimates Mai Ling has upwards of 50 costumes this season alone. “My favorite thing is going in the costume room and just flipping through the Mai Ling rack,” she says.
So we learn early on that Matt, played by Tom Bateman, is the West Side Ripper. What do you think it is about Tom that makes him such a good serial killer?
Oh gosh. For this particular show, you needed to find someone who was charming and attractive but also very menacing. So there has to be this likability in the actor and the character. … I don’t know how you felt, but you want him to get away with things. You want Nathan and Ava and Matt to get away with these things. What I found interesting when reading it was you start to really not want Priscilla’s character [Ruby] to win, which is just such a morally complex situation. I think Tom balances that line so perfectly. He’s a beautiful man to look at, and he is so charming and makes really cool choices. He’s such a thoughtful actor too. You can always see his wheels turning on set in how he’s going to tether that line.
Your character Tory is involved in some really funny scenes. What were some of your personal favorite moments?
There were so many. It’s really intimidating signing onto a show because you sign on pretty blind, especially in my case because I literally hadn’t even received a script. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, so I was like, “I hope that everyone likes me, and I hope I like them and that we become a family.” I would have to say that the first few days on set were really really fun for me because it dawned on me that I had hit the jackpot. I don’t know how they filmed the show because Kaley and Chris [Messina] were laughing all the time. And they would pick on you! They would literally pull pranks and do dumb stuff to you, and it was so fun to know that you were going on set to just play and have fun.
It’s a very fast scene, but the moment when the toilet overflows, I was covered in water just sitting in this bathroom waiting for [Kaley and Chris] to walk in, and when it was on my shot, they were messing with me the entire time. They were filming and recording me on their phones, making random things up and trying to get me to break, and I just had to ignore them and try to mop up this water. Also, the dinner scene, the party scene, that was an interesting time because we were filming all of those table scenes over the course of a week. We were getting a little stir-crazy because we were having to repeat the same things. It’s a huge table, and there is a lot of coverage that has to be done. … We all became a big family, and we were just being so goofy and unhinged that entire week. I think it definitely solidified a bond in the crew.
What’s your trick for not breaking?
I wish I had one. I don’t—I just crack. You kind of have to choose your breaks and be strategic about them. There are moments where you are like, “Okay, it’s crunch time. Get your shit together.” But it’s hard, honestly. I’m not super well-versed in the comedic world quite yet, which is why I love it. It feels very new and fresh to me. I’m still trying to get my footing, and watching Kaley and asking how do you not crack in these moments, it definitely feels like a learning lesson.
Earlier this year, you starred in Scream VI, and one of your upcoming projects is a film called Totally Killer. Do you have a thing for serial-killer storylines?
I really started noticing that pattern and was like, “This is weird.” I honestly just receive scripts, and if I like them, I audition for them, and if they like me, I do it. So there really was nothing strategic about that situation, but I do find myself in a big serial-killer world. It’s interesting, though, because I feel like every serial-killer project that I’ve done over the last year or so, they haven’t been very serious. I mean Scream is scary, but it’s also very satirical. And my character is funny for the most part. I love doing things that are very out of my comfort zone, a little bit feral, and wild, and maybe it just lights me up to get to go a little crazy. I feel really proud of all the projects, so I’ll keep doing them.
What was it like joining such an iconic horror franchise like Scream?
It was pretty surreal. I really wanted the job, obviously, and I went through a week of just waiting. Again, I had some type of internal thing where I was like, “I think this is my job, I really feel it.” I had to carry that trust throughout the filming process as well because it is such a beloved franchise, and it’s so precious to so many people, including myself. I didn’t want to disappoint anybody or mess anything up. Also, having been such a big fan of the fifth installment, I really trusted Radio Silence, which is Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin], Tyler [Gillett], and Chad [Villella]. They did such an amazing job on the last movie and honoring Wes but also doing a little bit more of a fresh take on things. Knowing that they trusted me with that role, it was like, “Okay, that’s all you can ask for.” And it really was just such an uplifting set. They were so open to collaboration, which is crazy to me given it’s such a big deal. You think you’d walk on set and they’d be like, “Don’t touch anything. Don’t change anything.” But that wasn’t the case at all. I think that’s why those movies really work because they hire really good people, and they are really great collaborators.
I’d love to pivot to fashion for a moment. I loved the Sandro shorts suit you wore for our photo shoot. How has your style evolved in recent years?
The last time I dipped my toes into the fashion world, I was much younger. I don’t think I really had a grasp of what I wanted in the fashion world. I just nodded my head and wore whatever I needed to wear. It’s been really cool to discover what I personally like. I do in my day-to-day have such a weird spectrum of my fashion. I like a little bit more of an androgynous look. I like comfort. I love wearing men’s clothing, men’s pants, but then I’m also such a sundress girl. I want people to think I live in an English cottage. So it’s been fun to explore that. Compared to when I was younger, there is so much more space for evolution in women’s fashion. People don’t expect women just to wear a dress anymore. You can wear a pantsuit. You can wear loafers. You can wear really tall heels. I just feel like the options are endless now, which is really fun and allows me to expand my mind and lean into my own personal style.
Before I let you go, what are your summer fashion go-tos?
Linen is something I’m really into right now—something really breathable, flattering. I’m very selective with bold colors. I like more neutral tones. But a brand that I’ve always gravitated toward, especially in the summer, is J.Crew. I think that they just have really timeless pieces, and they very much lean into both of the aesthetics that I like. They have really good linen button-ups for women, but also, they have some of my favorite throw-on comfy dresses. So I’ve been a really big fan of them. I also love Sandro. I wore Sandro for two outfits that [junket] day. It was a really cute Jackie O kind of dress and then the shorts [suit]. Honestly, any brand that checks both of those boxes I gravitate toward.
The full season of Based on a True Story is now streaming on Peacock.
You voice Arcee in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. What excited you most about joining the iconic action franchise for this installment, and what can we expect from your character in this film?
Being approached to be involved in a project that is so globally beloved, such as the Transformers franchise, was so exciting to me, especially after understanding the vision of our genius director, Steven Caple Jr. He is a die-hard fan himself, so he understood what audiences not only wanted but needed in this film at this time by intentionally highlighting a cast inclusive of race, gender, and sexuality. There is something for all fans, both existing and new. I was most excited to hear that the superhero superbabe that is Arcee was featured heavily in this installment.
Let’s talk about your overall fashion vision for the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts press tour. What did you want to convey with your looks?
My assignment was polished, classic, and in the color scheme of Arcee … and I understood it well.
Tell us about the look you selected for the film’s premiere in NYC.
This look really spoke to me because, first and foremost, the color red mirrored Arcee’s hot cherry finish. Also, this stunning collection by Christopher Kane was inspired by origami—the traditional Japanese art of transforming paper into different shapes and animals. Like the film, it married the idea of both animals and transformers. The look managed to capture the essence of the film and transformed me into the feminine force I was on the more male-dominated carpet.
When Bailey stepped into the role of Ariel, she entered the world of FODs (First, Only, Different—a phrase coined by Shonda Rhimes). Bailey is quick to give flowers to the FODs who came before her, Brandy Norwood (who played Cinderella in the 1997 Rodgers and Hammerstein TV adaptation) and Anika Noni Rose (the voice of Tiana, Disney’s first Black princess, in The Princess and the Frog).
For a girl who once played with mermaids with her sister, landing the part of Ariel is a dream come true for Bailey, and she hopes her casting is one day seen as standard and not extraordinary. “It’s crazy, because we’re in the year 2023. You would think that these firsts are not firsts anymore,” she says with wistful optimism. “I just hope that for the future it’s not such a shock anymore for a Black woman to be cast as Ariel and for that to just be a normal thing.”
While the character of Ariel means so much to many, it’s beautiful to hear how much the character taught Bailey.
“I’ve been comfortable really just being with somebody all the time. Somebody has always held my hand. I’ve never had to do anything alone. So this was really my first venture into solo adulthood. I had moved to London, and I was in intense rehearsals and stunts and mermaid training, and all of a sudden, I’m going through this not only physical transformation but [also] mental and spiritual transformation of me finding who I am on my own and building that confidence within myself to be able to do these things,” she says. “So I truly feel like Ariel taught me that I’m worthy, and I’m stronger than I thought. We were filming in the middle of the pandemic and in London, and my family couldn’t come visit me. So I was very isolated. Everything was closed down. I would literally go from work to home, and I would sleep on the weekends because I’d be so tired, and then I’d go right back to work. But looking back, I am happy that it was that way. [It] helped me mirror the emotions Ariel was feeling in the film to where she felt trapped and isolated and ready to see a brand-new world where her heart belonged. I felt like there were parallels to both of our lives in the time that I was filming, and I was grateful for that.”
But perhaps one of the things the show does best is serve up nostalgia. While season one took place in the early ’90s, season two takes us back to the Y2K era, which has seen its own resurgence in recent months. Stanley was born in 2001, too young to have properly experienced the early aughts, but thanks to its Gen Z–inspired comeback both culturally and in the fashion world, Y2K was already influencing the trends in her life by the time the Cruel Summer script came her way. “I’m already starting to wear low-rise jeans and baggy pants, and the Y2K hairstyles and things are all coming back,” Stanley tells me. “Even the music, it’s all coming back, so I was like, ‘This is perfect. Everyone is going to love it, including me.’”
When I ask about Megan’s Y2K wardrobe specifically, Stanley’s eyes light up. She recalls the many conversations and fittings that went into Megan’s three very distinct looks. “For the first timeline … it’s a waterfront town, it’s a little bit coastal, and she’s a younger teenager. She’s a late bloomer, so she’s not really showing midriff or anything. She’s kind of a tomboy, so we did a lot of T-shirts [and] jeans, and overalls was a thing I [pushed for].” Stanley tells me the second timeline, winter 1999, is when we start to see Isabella’s influence on Megan. She’s loosening up a bit, and we see more midriff and more of those early 2000s trends. The third timeline brilliantly utilizes fashion and makeup to show that Megan is clearly masking something or using her look to protect herself. “That was a whole discussion and lots of different trials,” Stanley says. “We tried different hairstyles, different eye makeup, lots of different piercings, nose piercing, eyebrow piercing, and different clothes.”
Every new job for Stanley is like a master class in acting, whether she’s learning from the other actors she’s working with or being pushed out of her comfort zone by a challenging shooting format. On Cruel Summer, she was grateful to have castmate Lexi Underwood by her side. The two bonded instantly and are still close today. “It’s nerve-racking going into anything like this. It’s different from anything I’ve done before, and I wanted to do a good job, and Lexi is such a pro and so lovely to work with and such a great scene partner,” she says. Earlier this year, Stanley starred in the film Somewhere in Queens opposite two other industry pros, Ray Romano and Laurie Metcalf. “To be in scenes with them or just be in the vicinity was incredible and made me better,” she says.
Meghan Trainor is the kind of person that you’d meet in a bar bathroom and instantly become friends with. She just has the energy of someone who would hype you up as you put on your lip gloss in the mirror and tell you she thinks you look pretty. In fact, when I sat down to talk with her in a sun-soaked room at the Public Hotel in Lower Manhattan, she made me feel like a million bucks every few minutes—pausing to compliment my makeup, laughing at all the right moments, and exuding a warmth that’s no doubt part of the reason she’s risen to fame.
I met Trainor right before her new book,Dear Future Mama, hit the shelves. The book is a funny, realistic guide for expecting mothers. It’s touted as “a TMI guide to pregnancy, birth, and motherhood from your bestie,” which couldn’t feel more true to Trainor, who is famously very TMI. We know quite a bit about her and her husband Daryl Sabara (of Spy Kids fame), like how they have two toilets in their bathroom to use at the same time.
The “All About That Bass” singer’s transparent nature is part of the reason that Nexxus chose to partner with her for its Unbreakable Care collection. As Trainor is currently pregnant and experiencing hair damage, the partnership was a no-brainer.
“[The Unbreakable Care collection] is taking care of the root issues of thinning hair and breakage and all this stuff that I’m dealing with,” says Trainor. “I was like, ‘I’ve needed this for so long. Thank you so much.’ I’m pregnant right now, so I need a product that will be here for me during this part and the postpartum. I’m glad I found it now. I wish I had it in my first pregnancy, but that’s okay.”
Since discovering the products, Trainor has been using the shampoo and conditioner from the Unbreakable Care line every day. “It’s in my shower, and I packed it and brought it to New York. That’s all I use now, which is great,” she says. “And the root spray is nice if I’m trying to do my hair and do a blowout and go be fancy somewhere or if I do a podcast or something.”
She finds the products especially helpful considering she washes her hair every day. “I went to a doctor years ago and was like, ‘Dude, my hair just doesn’t grow. What is it? What’s wrong?’ He looked at each pore, and [there] was guck blocking [them],” Trainor says. From there, she took the doctor’s advice and started washing her hair daily—something most of us have been trained not to do—and has had better hair because of it, particularly during pregnancy, when she noticed her hair getting more damaged.
Hair damage is one of the many things that Trainor has dealt with during pregnancy. At the American Music Awards last November, Trainor felt like she won the night because she loved her look, but behind the scenes, she was dealing with another pregnancy side effect that isn’t often discussed: cramps.
“I was cramping so bad,” says Trainor. “I texted my doctor sitting in the seats like, ‘Dude, are you sure cramping is okay because this feels violent.’ And she was like, ‘It’s because you’re in heels. Cramping is totally normal. It’s just spooky. You’re okay.’ So I didn’t feel great, but I looked great.”
How did you first hear that Kitty Covey would be getting her own spin-off series?
It was initially talked about when I was shooting the third movie [of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before], and it was just an idea—like, “Oh, that would be so cool. Imagine if that happened?” I was like, “That would be great. I would love that.” But I really did not take it seriously. I honestly thought they were joking. And then a little bit of time went by, and it started being talked about more seriously at the end of 2019. But still for the longest time, I was like, “It’s not going to happen. There’s no way this is actually going to be a thing.” Just last year when we started shooting in March and we started getting ready at the start of the year, it was like, “Oh my god, this is actually going to be a thing. This is reality, and we’re going to Korea, and we’re doing this.”
What excited you most about where they were taking Kitty’s story and what audiences would get to see with this character that we didn’t with the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before films?
Kitty in the movies, we always see her very confident. She knows who she is. She knows what’s going on, which is always something I’ve loved about her and have admired throughout the movies as well. She’s just very sure of herself. Now with the series, that is quivering for the first time, and she’s not sure of herself, and she doesn’t really feel like she’s got it under control, and she doesn’t quite know what’s going on or what’s going to happen next. That’s a really powerful thing because that’s often what happens when you grow up or when things progress. It’s like, “Oh, things aren’t always as simple as they might have been when I was younger or that I might have pictured in my head.” So I love that we see Kitty unsure for the first time and dealing with that and navigating what that is like. Also, being okay with not knowing and not having it all figured out is something that a lot of people can relate to, and I’m glad they explored that with Kitty.
Jenny Han—who penned To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and last year’s hit The Summer I Turned Pretty—is a writer, EP, and showrunner on this series. What do you personally love about her approach to writing coming-of-age stories?
I read the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before books back when we were doing the movies, and I love just the details of having a teenage girl’s voice, and I can relate to Lara Jean in lots of ways—just the accuracy of the little things in her brain and how she sees the world. I think it’s really cool that Kitty is so different from Lara Jean and the things that she’s going through and her worries and her concerns are very different from Lara Jean’s. Even with The Summer I Turned Pretty, I watched the whole series and am a big fan, and that’s also a different world than Kitty and all the differences of the other characters and dynamics. None of them are the same. It’s very cool to see all the worlds within the JCU, which is what we like to call it, the Jenny Cinematic Universe.
You started playing Kitty when you were 14 years old. Now, you are 19, and Kitty is a junior in high school, so you have essentially grown up together. How has playing Kitty impacted you as a person?
I definitely feel like I’ve grown up with her by my side, which is pretty crazy. I had just finished grade eight when I was first auditioning. I was just about to turn 14, and now, I am almost 20 and going to university. I am at a different stage in my life, and Kitty is also in a different stage of her life, so getting to hold her hand through growing up is pretty crazy, and I feel lucky that I have that unique experience. Kitty is obviously going through different things than I am, but at the root of it, [there] are a lot of the same messages and things that we are both learning, like how to be independent, how to grow up and be close to your family, figuring out who you are, and not losing yourself but following your heart. All of those things I am very much going through in my personal life, too, so having Kitty going through that in her own way alongside me is very cool.
Kitty is a hopeless romantic who loves grand gestures. Where do you think her extreme love of love all started?
I think she is so close to her family and values her family so much that… In the movies, we see her get so obsessed with her family’s love lives, and I think that drives from the love that she has for her family members. She wants to see them at their best and meet people who bring out the best in them. So I think it stems from her immense love for her family and now for her friends and people in her life.
Would you say you are similarly a hopeless romantic?
I think so. I love good, cheesy love movies and … cute things. I get very excited about people’s love lives.
Kitty is the ultimate matchmaker. What about you? Do you have that instinctual feeling when you know two people are right for each other?
I don’t know. I definitely think Kitty is the pro at that, and she’s definitely better at that than I am. But I know Kitty gets very involved with her sister’s love life, especially in the movies, and I have an older sister who is my best friend in the whole world, and I definitely love getting involved in her love life. I don’t think I would ever do what Kitty did and send out secret letters, but I am definitely someone who gets very excited and loves love.
A consistent theme in the series is that a lot of the characters, even Kitty, feel a need to hide certain aspects of their true selves. What do you hope audiences take away from their stories?
I really like that we explored that type of storyline, and I think it’s something that so many people can relate to in different ways. That feeling of having to hide a part of yourself or that you are unsure about a part of who you are is something that is part of life, and I think it’s great for viewers to see that so many people go through it. It’s a great reminder that you don’t know what someone might be going through or the struggles they are facing or what’s going on in their brain when they are doing something and to just remember that and treat people with compassion and kindness because you don’t really know what’s happening in everyone’s personal lives. I think also a big message is that Kitty doesn’t [have it figured it out] at the end of the season. She’s not like, “Oh, well, I’ve got it again. I’ve figured it out and know who I am and know what this means.” She’s very unsure and learning to be okay with that uncertainty. The scene with Kitty and her dad is one of my favorites. She’s having a low moment and feeling really overwhelmed, and love is still number one at the forefront of her family. You can see how much care and how close-knit they are, and I know that’s not everybody’s experience, but I think it’s amazing to have that portrayed, such an amazing, caring, loving family. I love that she doesn’t know because that’s often what happens.
Can you tell me how your beauty routine has evolved over the years?
Oh, I was Basic Betty back in the day. My mom didn’t have an extensive routine, and my older sister didn’t, so I was literally washing my face with a bar of soap… whatever was in the shower. It was more when I got older and my hormones changed that I was like, “Uh-oh, what’s going on?” I had started using the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Cleanser ($10) that had salicylic acid. I must have mentioned it, because I became a Neutrogena spokesperson, so I was using all Neutrogena products.
As I got older and the hormone situation just kept changing and changing and changing, I started going to a dermatologist and trying to figure out how to combat hormonal breakouts and dark spots and blackheads and cystic acne. As we moved into high-def, I was like, “Agh! The world is going to see the evolution of this zit. How do we deal?” I’ve tried so many different things. I’ve just had to piecemeal my skincare over the years.
I use the brand Topicals. I use the Little Herbs Co. skincare line. I use 111Skin as well. I just keep switching it up. I’m blessed that people send their new offerings, so I’m able to try things and see what works and what doesn’t.
Are there any beauty trends you’re happy you embraced? Are there any you regret buying into—like, “Why did I do that?”
Let’s start with the “Why did I do that?” I was the chip in the cookie. I lived in predominantly white communities. There was a trend of wearing the Wet ‘n’ Wild frosty-pink lipstick for ¢99. Everyone was on the frosty-pink lipstick. I was like, “Yes, of course it’s for me,” and it was absolutely not for me. When you pair that with a powder blue eye shadow, which looked amazing on my friend, it didn’t play out the same for me. I regret thinking that every trend is created equally. I remember trying that frosted pink with one of my cousins, and she was like, “Girl, haven’t you ever heard of frosted brownie?” I tried it, and that was the move.
What I love and what I’m all about today is the darker chocolate liner with a lighter gloss or nude lipstick. I’m all in. Me and Maddy from Euphoria, we’re all in. I also never have given up on my cat-eye winged liner. I’ve been rocking that since the late ’80s. I won’t give it up. I won’t do it.
Oh, never give that up. It’s the most classic look. Speaking of makeup, are there any specific products you love?
I go with any of the eyeliner pens. I’ll use store-bought no problem. If I run out, I just run back to the store. I don’t see a big difference between the super-expensive ones or the drugstore ones. They’re about the same.
I don’t generally put on makeup every day unless I have to be fully presentable. I use the Pat McGrath Foundation ($69). I like to tan, so I have 24, 25, and 26, and I’m obsessed with her Concealer ($34). Those are amazing.
I only wear Fenty lip glosses, and I worked in some Mario glossy lipsticks…
I love those ones!
I use the Caramel one all the time. I’m not “I gotta fully beat for the cheap seats” every day, but when I do… Charlotte Tilbury has this Finishing Spray ($38) that I gag for. There’s a Glossier lip treatment, and it comes in different flavors. It’s kind of fire.
I love the Balm Dotcom! They have a Birthday one that I’m obsessed with.
Yes! That’s the one I used today! I have all the flavors. I literally have a problem. I rarely shop online, but when I do… Yeah, it’s a problem. It’s a haul.
That’s how I am. Finally, what’s your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?
Do you. Do what makes you happy.
People are going to have a lot of say about everything for your whole life. You’re never going to make 100% of people happy. Start with yourself—start and end there. Don’t make excuses for it. Don’t explain it. Do what makes you happy. If you want thin eyebrows, bitch, you better go for it! It’s no one else’s business.
Experiment. Try on different hats. Try on different styles. When you travel, if you see something you want to try out but you’re worried about what people might say, who gives a shit? They’re going to say something no matter what. Do what makes you happy.
If you’re anything like us, you waited with bated breath to watch the finale of The White Lotus. You probably also couldn’t stop talking about it with friends, colleagues, and even random acquaintances at the hair salon. While there are so many characters to discuss, one of our favorite ones was Daphne, the breezy hotel guest who always looks effortlessly put-together under the Sicilian sun. Meghann Fahy, who plays Daphne, seems similar to her character, in that she has a friendly, approachable way about her and a rather effortless approach to beauty. We caught up with the actress to talk about all things skincare and makeup, including how she prevents allergies from wreaking havoc on her routine, the ins and outs of her decidedly minimal makeup bag, and the beauty tools and devices she swears by. Ahead, learn everything there is to know about Fahy’s personal beauty routine. We think it would make Daphne proud.
Fahy has partnered with Astepro, a brand that’s known for its antihistamine medication that relieves allergy symptoms like congestion, sneezing, and runny nose. She says it’s “essential” in her day-to-day life to keep symptoms at bay. So in a way, it’s kind of like the first step in her daily beauty routine. “I’ve suffered from seasonal allergies for my entire life in a debilitating and miserable way,” Fahy says. “Between shooting and my love for the outdoors, Astepro has become a crucial part of my routine because it starts working in 30 minutes and is steroid-free. It’s super convenient to throw in my purse and bring with me on set, so I can be as active as I want without constantly suffering from congestion, sneezing, etc.”
As fellow allergy sufferers, we wanted to know if she had any tips and tricks for relieving redness and puffiness. As it turns out, she does. It’s a TikTok-backed tool that we use in our personal beauty routines on days when we’re feeling like our skin is puffier or more inflamed than normal. “I’m a big fan of ice face rollers,” she says. “It feels great and always helps with puffiness and redness!”
As for the other skincare products she swears by, Fahy relies on a couple of effective basics to keep her skin protected, glowing, and clear. Like we said, she’s a beauty minimalist at heart.
The first is Paula’s Choice Essential Glow Moisturizer ($12), which is a two-in-one sunscreen and moisturizer. It offers SPF 30 along with niacinamide, resveratrol, and vitamins C and E. Together, these ingredients defend the skin against environmental aggressors and the damaging free radicals they create.
At night, she uses Origins’ Super Spot Remover ($20) to treat any blemishes that might pop up. Its hero ingredient is saw palmetto, which helps control oil production, reduce shine, and prevent breakouts.
The fourth and final essential product in Fahy’s routine is an LED light mask. She says she’s a big fan of red-light therapy, and we are too. After all, it’s been shown to reduce inflammation and stimulate the skin to produce collagen. Over time, this can reduce and prevent fine lines and wrinkles from forming.
We like Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s DRX Spectralite Faceware Pro ($455). It has three light options: red light, blue light (which can help treat and prevent breakouts), and a combination of the two. The idea is that you can customize your treatment based on your skin concerns.
When it comes to makeup, Fahy is just as minimal as she is with her skincare routine. “I think I’m more of a minimalist, even though I buy like I’m a maximalist,” she says. “My go-to routine is a tinted moisturizer and mascara. I love mascara.”
Her go-to product to defend against allergy-related redness is an iconic one that, if we might add, works just as well to disguise dark circles and blemishes. “I always have my YSL All Hours Concealer in my bag in case I need to cover up any redness around my nose and, of course, purse-sized packets of tissues!” she says.
Lastly, we had to know what makeup products were used to create Daphne’s signature summery look on The White Lotus. According to Fahy, the vibe was “look put-together without looking like you tried,” which fits our idea of Daphne being somewhat effortless.
“We kept Daphne pretty glowy and natural,” Fahy says. “The Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation was a staple as well as cream eye shadows.” This foundation, though expensive, is an iconic product. Makeup artists and editors love it thanks to its creamy formula, natural-looking finish, and buildable coverage.
From the beginning, it was important to Eaton that Lottie, who could have a mental illness, wasn’t portrayed as a villain. “I think there’s a lot of that in our industry today,” she says. As Eaton describes, Lottie is a character who walks a fine line. From one scene to the next, her actions beg certain questions: Did this trauma exist before the crash? Is it the crash trauma itself? Does she have a gift, or is she struggling with mental health? “It can be challenging some days to not lean too much one way, and our writers and directors on set are really great at giving me little hints here and there—like, ‘Yes, you are in the right direction,’ or ‘Maybe less this way.’” she says. Not knowing which way she’s going to go is a fun challenge for Eaton. And even though she’s very protective of the character, she’s happy to go blindly into the darkness of the show and where they take her.
With season two, we finally get to see what has come of Lottie 25 years after being found. Played by Simone Kessell, older Lottie is the founder and leader of a cult-like group, or “intentional community,” called Camp Green Pine. Though the teen and current-day versions of each Yellowjackets character never share scenes, there seems to be a special bond between the actors, which was the case for Eaton and Kessell too. “I love Simone with all my heart,” Eaton gushes. From the moment they met over dinner, Eaton trusted Kessell with Lottie wholeheartedly. “We are almost the same person. We’re flopsy and probably a bit annoying, but we always talk about it as Simone being the light in Lottie and my version being the darkness, and she’s on her journey there.”
That darkness is what excites Eaton the most as she thinks about what’s next for teen Lottie. With a third season confirmed by Showtime, she’s convinced it’s going to be a rough road ahead for not just Lottie but also the whole group. “I don’t know what kind of journey that will be, but it will probably be pretty dark,” she alludes.
For as long as she can remember, Kansara has wanted to be an actor. Chalk it up to the Bollywood films she’d watch with her mother or her dad’s love of action movies or the fact that her family would try to go to the theater every Christmas. The arts were ever present in her life growing up. “It was such a big thing that we all used to love and enjoy with each other,” she shares. “To have that influence at such a young age and to also have so many forms of escape and adventure in your life through the arts and through film, television, and theater, I couldn’t help but want to be a part of all of it.” But leaving her secure job for the unpredictable entertainment industry wouldn’t be easy. She had to get her family’s approval first.
Mirroring a scene in Polite Society when Ria tells her parents she wants to be a stunt woman post-graduation, Kansara sat down with her mother, father, and brother and confidently told them her new career plans. “I remember sitting at the dinner table … and being like, ‘I’m going to quit my job and be an actor,”’ she tells me. “And they were like, ‘Um, do you want to book a job first?’” Kansara understood the pivot would come with some risks, but she couldn’t wait any longer. “Some people would call it brave, and others would call it psychopathic. I mean it’s terrifying—I won’t lie,” she says. “To leave that system and be on my own and have to fend for myself in that way was terrifying, but it was also truly freeing.” It took one conversation for Kansara’s family to be on board, and shortly thereafter, she booked her first job.
Kansara made her small-screen debut last year playing Miss Eaton in season two of Bridgerton, which she described as “an incredible learning ground,” followed by the Netflix series The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself. After submitting a self-tape for another part in Polite Society, she was asked to come in and ready for the film’s lead, Ria. Walking into the Working Title offices and meeting the producers and writer-director Nida Manzoor—whose previous work, such asWe Are Lady Parts,Kansara admired—was both terrifying and incredibly rewarding. “I remember reading with them that day and them helping me to lean into the craziness of the story and lean into how wired Ria is as a person,” she recalls. “Ria is just this spirited, determined young lady, and she’s just such a fun character, and the story is absolutely bonkers. You have to be ready to go on this ride.”
And ready to go on the ride she was. The day after landing the part, Kansara started her prep, which consisted of three to four days a week of grueling martial arts and stunt training. Kansara was quite literally living out her character’s dream. Although she had no prior martial arts experience, her background in dance gave her the stamina to keep up. “I wanted to try everything from the beginning,” she says. “Whether I was a natural at it… Look, I probably had a false sense of confidence. I was probably like, ‘I’m so good!’ And they were like, ‘We’re using a double.’”
When I ask Rice about her fondest memory working with Garner, she tells me about a time when they were filming on the Fox lot in the summer. The weather was gorgeous, and Garner would often ride a bike from her trailer to the sound stage. “I was like, ‘That’s so cool. I love that!’” she says. A few days later, a brand-new green bike showed up in front of Rice’s trailer, courtesy of Garner. “I was over the moon,” Rice says. “We would go through the works, and then when we were ready, we would ride our bikes to the sound stage.”
Rice’s previous work runs the gamut from loveable comedies like TheNice Guys and Honor Society to action-adventure must-sees like the recent Spider-Man franchise to poignant dramas like the Emmy-winning series Mare of Easttown. But the actress does have a particular affinity for literary adaptations thanks to her love of reading. A bibliophile, she hosts a podcast called The Community Library, where, twice monthly, she goes on a deep dive into the stories she’s consumed recently. At the time I’m writing, the most recent episode is an investigation of the “sad hot girl” genre. I ask her opinion on what we should all be reading now, and she’s quick with the disclaimer “whatever you want!” but does mention the recipe book Midnight Chicken (& Other Recipes Worth Living For) by Ella Risbridger. “It’s mostly comprised of recipes, but it’s also about grief and mental health and healing and how food can heal your relationship with yourself and the world around you and how it can give a person purpose to get up every morning,” she says. “It really hit me for some reason. It was the perfect blend of memoir, self-help, mental health, and recipes, so that’s one that I’ve really loved recently.”
As far as the books she’s excited to see make it to screen in the near future, she adds, “I recently read the last book in the AGood Girl’s Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson. It’s a British YA series about a girl in high school who decides to solve a cold-case murder in her town. They are turning it into a series. I think the BBC is doing it.” She’s also ecstatic about the new Percy Jackson live-action series currently in development at Disney.
Are there any red carpet looks you’ve picked up over the years and have you picked up any tips on set?
On set is sort of the time where I would ask what product they were using. But because it’s character makeup, it’s normally how they’re applying it that I’m paying attention to rather than what they’re applying because it’s so specific to the character. For red carpets, my amazing makeup artist Lynsey Alexander taught me that when you’re doing an eyeliner flick with a liquid eyeliner, the way to make it perfect is by using a q-tip more than you’re using the product.
You put on the eyeliner and then, with one of those really thin q-tips, you flick it to how you want it so you don’t have to spend hours trying to perfect it! You can just put that eyeliner on and then get your q-tip and form it to how you want. Your eyeliner flick should look like an extra eyelash. That’s how you open the eyes up!
I did want to ask you about your brows since they’re bold, big, and beautiful. What do you do to them?
I leave them alone but I do get them threaded so I don’t look like Elmo! You know how sometimes you get eyebrow hairs that are down here? I’m not shaping them, but I’m just threading excess and then I brush them and that’s it.
They’re absolutely beautiful and so expressive! Now, if you had to give your younger self some advice, what would you say?
Don’t ever bleach your hair. Oh no! It’s too late. You already did. Also, to always cleanse and moisturize but I always have done that so it’s really tricky. My younger self had as good as an idea about what worked for my skin as I do, but I’ve tried all the different things and now I’m right back to where I started.
The entire production team was very intentional about not only researching the plausibility of the film’s plotline but also ensuring they paid homage to the surroundings of Harlem. As someone who grew up in Harlem, what does it mean to be a part of a project that highlights your community?
It meant the world to me. One of the major pluses of the project… When I saw the synopsis and the fact it would be filmed in Harlem, I was like, “Oh yeah, this is mine.” It felt amazing to go back home to a warm and genuine welcome and be able to be back for this project. And it was also fascinating to see how much the neighborhood had changed over the years because I’ve had a salon out there and have always been back and forth. But still, to be there on set and see how the art department could completely dress up a building to look like how we used to look in the ’90s and ’00s, that shit felt good. Living a little bit in how it used to be like [and seeing] it again before it changed for a little bit was special.
We can only imagine how special that was, especially considering how much generification has changed so many boroughs in New York. One of the other things that’s beautiful about this film is that, in addition to honoring how the city used to look, it feels like the costumes, hair, and makeup reflect the community. What was it like to work with the costume and makeup departments for this film? Was it a collaborative effort?
Oh yeah, absolutely. Everything was a collaborative effort. And I think that that’s what made it dope. … Some of us came from different eras, and some of us came from different places, but we all came together to, you know, make that happen and create Inez.
We’ll finish with one more question. Obviously, you’ve spent your career being a multi-hyphenate creative—from working in music to fashion to films. Now that this film has come out, how do you hope to continue to push yourself forward, and how do you hope people perceive this project through the wider lens of your career?
I hope to push myself by remaining a student—always being willing to learn and take in new things and, most importantly, taking accountability for my continued growth. I think that’s the most important thing because I still have much more work to do. A Thousand and One is my first big film where I’ve been able to show people what I can do. It’s already been an incredible learning experience to be able to go back and watch myself and be like, “Okay, wow, this was really dope” or “This is how I want to improve my craft.”
I’m always working on how to be a better version of myself, whether as a singer, an actress, a mom, a wife, or who I am as a person in general. And hopefully, that’s what reads through my portrayal of Inez as well. Look where her character came from: She was a young 22-year-old scamming girl to where she ends up at the end of the film. In that role and in my life, it’s all about evolving. And I hope people take away from this project and my career in general that change is essential. We’re all still learning, and it’s important that we take accountability for our life and become okay with that evolution. We’re in charge of our own stories.
Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh beauty series where you’ll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities and content creators. They’ll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute-routine product lineup they can’t live without, the one good-skin tip they’ll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy.
Up next, we’re getting to know actor and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks. Below, she’s answering all of our rapid-fire questions and sharing her favorite products, best-kept beauty secrets, and more. Enjoy!
No7 is such a beloved brand. It’s been a go-to for so many people for so many years. Can you talk about when you were first introduced to it and how it fits in with your beauty routine?
I’m a recent convert, to be honest, but I’m newly in love. I’m getting older. I’m finally paying a lot more attention to everything, and I was really impressed with, frankly, how much retinol is in No7. That’s something your dermatologist is always like, “Maybe it’s time,” and I was like, “Wait a minute. There are these incredible products that already have a lot of retinol in them.” I got really excited for a nighttime ritual with retinol that doesn’t dry me out because that’s always been my fear about retinol. It’s kind of why I shied away from it. None of these products do that to me. My skin is just smoother, and I feel like I’m really working toward… I don’t really like to say anti-aging. I’m not anti-aging. I’m pro-aging, guys. It’s always better than the alternative. For me, it’s about managing my skin to feel like my best self as I get older—that’s what I feel the No7 Pure Retinol does.
If you could only use one No7 product for the rest of your life, which one would it be, and why?
Okay, I’m debating. One is the Night Repair Cream ($40) because that’s been a delight. But here’s the thing: You got to have SPF. They have so many great day creams that are fragrance-free and that have sunscreen in them, so I think I’d have to say their Day Cream with SPF 30 ($28). You have to protect. That’s number one—protection. Everything after that, the hydration and the lifting and the illuminating, none of that matters if you haven’t protected your skin first.
Yes, 100%! Sunscreen is so important, and it’s great that it’s a one-and-done thing.
Yes, everything’s in it. You’re lifting, you’re illuminating, you’re protecting, [and] you’re toning—all of it. I love it.
I love a simplistic routine. Speaking of, what’s your daily skincare routine like? Are you more of a minimalist or maximalist when it comes to skincare?
I’m pretty minimalist. I’ve even actually started not washing my face in the morning if I wash at night. I feel like it’s just a little extra moisture before I put on my makeup. I’m finding that I don’t want to overcleanse. You know what I mean? For me, I don’t feel the need to cleanse my face more than once every 24 hours unless I’m covered in makeup.
I’m also really into No7’s Exfoliating Cleanser ($10). I think you can use it every day. I just love the way it feels. That’s what I use when I feel like I have to get rid of build-up. So sometimes, I’ll do that. And just as a reminder, anything you do on your face you should do on your neck. I’ve known this for a while, but I love being reminded, and I love reminding people.
Then, I’ll use the Radiance Serum ($25), which is vitamin C. Throw that on, throw your day cream/SPF cream on, and you’re off to the races, and you can layer makeup on it with no problem.
That’s my biggest problem with skincare. You know when it pills or you feel that residue? I can’t stand that.
Yes, or if it’s too white when it goes on and you’re worried about how it will react with your foundation. I don’t have any problems with that with these products.
How has being an actor, being on set, and spending time in the makeup chair affected your skincare and makeup routines?
Beauty begins with your insides, like internally. Are you eating well? Are you hydrating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? All of that affects your skin, especially as you get older and especially when you’re working long days on set like I do. That’s become my number one. That’s why serums with vitamin C feel like healthcare but for your outer layer. I’ve come to understand my exterior is really a reflection of my interior. I have to take care of that first. So hydration and sleep are my number one.
Definitely. What’s your post–set day routine like to get the makeup off and reset your skin?
No7 has a really great everyday cleanser. I keep one in my shower and one on my sink. Again, it’s keeping it simple. It’s a wash, a serum, and a cream. They also have an eye cream that I put under and over my eyes. I use the cream I use on my face on my neck. They even have an incredible moisturizing body serum that I’ll use as well. I’ll be honest. I take too-long showers, which is bad on every level, but I’ll admit it to you. Don’t judge me too much, but I love a long, hot shower. It’s not good for your skin.
It’s not, but I think everyone does it. I do it.
Same. I guess you just have to have the products to deal with it.
Totally. Could you walk me through your daily makeup routine, if you have one? What’s your makeup aesthetic? Has it changed over time like your skincare routine?
I call it the “morning drop-off” look, so it’s just getting me out the door. It’s super simple. It’s just foundation, some pink lipstick on my lips and cheeks to just pop my cheeks, and a little mascara. It’s like, how do I make my routine as simple as possible while feeling like I’ve brightened myself up? The pink tends to bring out my blue eyes, so again, I’m just trying to highlight some natural features without going overboard. I don’t love to wear a lot of makeup when I’m not at work because I have to wear so much makeup when I’m at work.
Understandable. Do you know the name of the pink lipstick and the foundation?
Oh gosh, I couldn’t tell you. I can tell you my mascara is the really old-school bright-pink tube.
With the green top?
Yeah, Maybelline Great Lash ($6)! I’ve been using it for 30 years. It never lets me down. And it’s affordable; that’s the other thing. I’m a high-low person. I don’t mind the drugstore bits. It’s all good for me.
Absolutely. That one’s a classic. You’ve played so many iconic characters over the years. Which one was the most fun for you in regard to beauty and fashion?
Of course, Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games. That was everything. I had to dye my eyebrows. It was four hours in the makeup chair, and then there were the nails. Everything we did for that was incredible. We used a lot of products that you couldn’t even get in America, like these incredible eyelashes that were just beyond. We could do anything we wanted—there were no restrictions. I loved playing Effie Trinket. I loved her outfits, and she definitely influenced my fashion a bit after the fact. I was like, “I can be a little more outrageous and wear different shapes and colors.”
The other is Seabiscuit. Playing in that movie, in that time period, I absolutely loved it. Judianna Makovsky,who’s an incredible costume designer, custom-made these incredible suits for me. It was the 1930s and an incredible look. I absolutely loved the beauty in Seabiscuit.
Wait, how long did you have dyed eyebrows?
Girl, I had that on and off for two years. The worst part was the grow-in. It looked like I had blonde tips in my eyebrows.
That’s so funny because the bleached brow is a trend now, so really, you were just ahead of the game.
Yeah, but you can’t really get away with that unless you have, like, Kate Moss’s face. You gotta really lean into it if you’re going to do it. I looked like I was ill. I didn’t look good.
Oh yeah, I would too. That’s a trend I’m never going to touch, but I love it on other people.
Agree. It wasn’t great for real life—I can tell you that.
Did you ever use a brow pencil or anything, or did you just roll with it?
Oh no, I covered those babies every day. But even that felt weird because I’m not a big fill-in-my-eyebrows person. I’m very fair, you know? I don’t have a big eyebrow anyway, but suddenly, I did have a big eyebrow because I was covering up these bleached brows. It was a lot.
Did you have a go-to product to fill in your brows?
I don’t know if it’s discontinued, but … please have them send me some if they’re not—it’s called Vanity Mark. It was my favorite brow collection. They had pencils and a powder with a custom brush that I loved. I have a little bit still, but it’s hard to get, and it might be discontinued.
That’s always so scary when you have to hoard your product because you don’t know if it’s still around. Finally, what’s your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?
Here we go. Age gracefully, whatever that means to you. Everyone has their own relationship with their skin, their face, their routine. There’s too much judgment about how everybody ages, and I would just love it if we were moving toward encouraging people to age gracefully, whatever that means to them.
What was your reaction to seeing the final film for the first time?
It was really exciting because I hadn’t seen anything from the film since two and half years ago when I initially filmed it. So it’s been quite a long time since I’ve revisited the world of 65 and my character. While watching it, I couldn’t help but remember what was going on behind the scenes. I will take myself out of what I’m supposed to be watching and be like, “I remember that day. I fell off the tree or whatever it may be.” I have my embarrassing stories attached to the scenes I’m watching. But it was really cool! It was sweet to see my 13-year-old self with my short hair. Finally seeing the dinosaurs put in and the sound effects and the lighting, it was like whoa! At the moment, I couldn’t picture what it could possibly look like because it’s this ginormous dinosaur that you can’t even fathom what it would look like in real life, so that was definitely cool—to see how they put it together and the details.
Up next, you have the highly anticipated Barbie movie. Can you tell us a little about your role in the film?
Okay, so what I’m going to tell you is what you’ve seen so far is the tiniest little bit that you could ever picture. I’m never on Twitter because it’s a dark hole that I don’t want to go down, but when I was, when the little leaks were coming out, I was just filled with malicious excitement because I was like, “They have no idea what’s going on.” They are coming up with these stories, and it’s like, “You’re cute, but you couldn’t be farther from the truth.” So that’s really exciting. You can expect a lot of fashion moments, a lot of pink, and a lot of Greta Gerwig geniusness. [I] somehow [fit] into the story some way, but I can’t tell you. But you are going to love it, and I feel like it’s going to be such a beautiful and exciting movie that you can watch a thousand times over at sleepovers or wherever, and you are never going to get tired of it. It’s just a really fun, big surprise with a lot of fun people, and I am just so grateful to be a part of it.
Did you play with Barbies when you were younger?
So that was my thing when I first got the whole memo of the project. I was like, “Okay, this is fantastic because Greta Gerwig is writing and directing, and hello, I’m one of her biggest fans.” Margot Robbie, one of her biggest fans. I was like, “Okay!” I had the Barbie Dreamhouse, but I put Monster High dolls in there and put all of these really weird not-Barbie dolls in the house. I just liked the flushing sound effect and the elevator and the fireplace. That was my jam! I liked that I had my own house that I could make little things in, but I never played with Barbies. It was definitely interesting. I was like, “Oh no, I hope not everyone on set is a huge Barbie fan because I’m not.” But it worked out in the end.
You also have the film Borderlands in the pipeline, which is an adaptation of the popular video game. You have Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black in this film. Can you tell us about your experience working on it?
What I can tell you with this one is I auditioned for Borderlands in the midst of filming 65. I remember I got home one day and was literally exhausted, and it was midnight. I’m trying to find all of this research on this character—her name is Tiny Tina. Why is her name Tiny Tina? This is wacko. I looked it up and fully indulged myself and was like, “This is kind of lit. I love it.” So then my lovely mother was like, “Okay, I’m going to go.” And I was like, “What?” And she was like, “I have to get something!” She comes back from Walmart (we love Walmart in New Orleans—that was like our second home) … and she has all these little gadgets that she created so I can look kind of like this video game character with the dirt and Band-Aids and all of the above. So it’s the middle of the night, and we’re trying to film this tape, and I was like, “This isn’t working.” But at the end of the day, it completely did because you see the insanity going on in my brain and me just falling apart, and that worked beautifully for the character because she is psychotic.
Working on the film, it was my biggest nervousness dream come true—starstruck, everything. … From the age of 6 when people would ask, “Who is your dream person to work with?” you are going to expect [my answer to be] like Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, whatever, but my go-to answer was Kevin Hart every single time without fail. I wanted to work with Kevin Hart my entire life. So obviously when I heard he was a part of it, I was like, “I can’t. I can’t do it. I can’t meet him.” And then I go, and I’m meeting everyone, and they are all so lovely. I fell in love with everyone on set. Working with Jamie… First of all, let’s cover her beautiful soul. She is indescribable because she is just this caring, loving, sweet, professional, adoring person. She takes pictures every day. She’ll be like, “Don’t move. I’m making a black-and-white. I’ll edit it and send to you later.” She has endless amounts of stories. I mean, she is literally an icon.
And then Cate Blanchett. I really admire her. She always came to set looking fabulous, and she has the best personality. When we filmed reshoots a couple of weeks ago, we saw each other for the first time in a few years, and we bonded so much more, I think, because she finally feels more comfortable telling her dirty jokes. She told me, “I couldn’t say this stuff when you were 13.” So we definitely were able to banter back and forth a lot more. The whole cast weirdly and perfectly meshed together. And it’s such a weird group to put in one place and be like, “Okay, go crazy with these characters.” Florian Munteanu, who plays Krieg, is like my best friend even though he’s 32 and a boxer from Romania. He couldn’t be more like me!
You are only 15 and already have a very impressive acting résumé. Who are the women and/or careers you look up to in this business?
I love this question, and I spent a lot of time writing the people down because I don’t want to miss one person. … Trust me—I have many. I look up to Natalie Portman because she is fantastic. I look up to Saoirse Ronan. I would love to work with her. I think she is brilliant, and she is also in the family of Greta. Mia Goth, especially recently. She has blown everyone away and has created her own definition of camp and chaos. I’m obsessed with what she’s done. Anya Taylor-Joy—sick, cool. The Menu was dope. I would love to work with Zoe Saldaña. Although, I played a younger version of her, so it seems like I have, but I didn’t play one-on-one with her, and I think she is incredible.
I want to work with Winona Ryder because I recently watched Girl, Interrupted. I’m very late, I know, but I watched it, and it’s one of my favorite movies now. There are just so many people who I’ve looked up to for years, even behind the scenes—writers, directors, costume designers—because everyone plays such a huge role and part, and it can break or make the movie. I just have a big dream list in my brain, and whenever there is a full moon, I just say a name and say, “Alright, universe, line it up for me!”
Can you share a little about your experience being a Clinique brand ambassador and what it means to you?
I love it! I love representing Latinas as a brand ambassador because I grew up with Clinique, and I know the presence that Clinique has in Mexico, which is huge. Being able to be the face of Clinique and having so many women look at me and think, “Yeah, she looks like me” or “Because she’s a brand ambassador, I could be a brand ambassador one day,” I find that beautiful. Clinique has been in my family for generations, so it feels very full circle to be an ambassador for a brand I actually know and love and that has been in my family for years.
How does being the brand’s ambassador reflect your idea of beauty?
One of my favorite things about the brand is that they genuinely care about making people feel good and making everyone accept their own unique beauty. I love how all the makeup products are skincare first. … When we look in the mirror, if we like what we see, it affects us in a positive way for the rest of the day—how we carry ourselves, the energy we go into every room with. I always thought growing up that some people have flawless skin in middle school and high school, and some had constant breakouts and pimples, and it just feels unfair sometimes.
I feel now, being with Clinique, that beauty is an energy that comes from within, but we also want our outside to match our inside. I think that’s the mission of Clinique: to create products and be a brand that’s safe for all skin types and helps everyone achieve their best self. I love being a part of that message and knowing it’s a brand that’s accessible and safe for everyone to feel beautiful.
Let’s talk about your look for the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
What I loved about that look is that it tells a story of sensuality that I like because it’s not upfront. It’s reserved, but it’s there. So sometimes through the gap of the dress, you can see my leg, but sometimes, you don’t. I love this kind of way of telling a story of sensuality. But also, I loved it because it is, in my opinion, what Italian fashion is, what it always was. So it’s chic but minimal but very definite and very strong. It doesn’t need that much—it’s there. I tend to have a very soft energy, so something that makes me feel more strong, it was just perfect.
Was it one that you tried on and instantly knew “This is the one,” or did you try many options?
I tried many looks from many brands, but for some reason, my eye would always go back to that one because that dress was one that we tried, but it didn’t fit. It was the most complicated one, but I kept going back to it.
You had such cool hair and makeup. What was the inspiration behind your glam look?
I think that we were going for more of a natural look for the makeup. And then for the hair, we wanted a wet look, which is something I’d never done before and was exciting. The glam team was so talented. Peter Gray did the hair, and it was so good. And also the makeup artist Karoline Karakeosian works with Valentino Beauty. With makeup, I don’t like to have too much on. I always love a natural look, but this was the idea to create a sort of wet effect.
In 2020, an unsuspecting show about a group of friends who embark on a legendary treasure hunt in their coastal town of North Carolina premiered on Netflix. It quickly became a massive hit, changing the lives of its young cast practically overnight. Now in its third season, Outer Banks still remains one of the streamer’s most popular and anticipated shows. It’s the adventure-filled gift that keeps on giving, especially for star Madison Bailey.
Kiara—or Kie, as she is affectionately referred to by her friend group, the Pogues—isn’t just another character on Bailey’s ever-expanding IMDb résumé. The 24-year-old has literally grown up beside her passionate and loyal on-screen counterpart, and there’s a level of comfort in quite literally stepping back into Kiara’s shoes each season. But it’s not just the familiarity that makes her so special to Bailey. It’s what the character and the show have done for the actress personally. “Obviously, all my opportunities at the moment are stemming from this blessing of doing Outer Banks and the timing of everything, but it’s also turned my eye to action,” she shares with us on a Zoom call. “It’s showing me what I’m interested in and that I don’t want to do comedy as much as I thought I did.” Action-adventures, thrillers, and dramas come more naturally to Bailey. When season one of OBX premiered, people started comparing the actress to the likes of Michelle Rodriguez, which was a pleasant surprise for the North Carolina native. “I was like, ‘Wait, I do like that for myself.’ It opened my eyes,” she says.
